CHELSEA PIERCE, Manhattan (WABC) — An adorable little boy battling a life-threatening illness put his key-wielding talent on full display at the annual Ronald McDonald House fundraiser in New York City.
9-year-old Kai Brown Collie is to be applauded. He wrote two plays on Monday night.
His passion pours from his fingertips, but his pain is etched in the scars that snake around his head.
Kohli underwent seven surgeries and more than three dozen radiation treatments for brain cancer.
“Three years ago, our lives changed forever when our son was diagnosed with brain cancer,” said Kai’s mother Kari Cowley.
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Kai Brown Coley took center stage at the annual fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House in New York on Monday night.
Since 1979, the Ronald McDonald House on East 73rd Street has hosted, served and hosted more than 59,000 families from around the world.
It is a home away from home that provides a rainbow of services for families with sick children. She started with children with cancer, but now she takes on other childhood illnesses as well.
For the Coleys, who moved here from Panama to try to save their son, the Ronald McDonald House saved them.
“While we were there, we didn’t want for anything,” Kaya’s mother said. “They provided food, private space and places where families going through the same struggle could support each other.”
“Hopefully, one day there will be cures for all kinds of childhood diseases,” said Ruth Brown, president and CEO of Ronald McDonald House New York. “In the meantime, we’re doing everything we can to make sure we’re participating in this journey of health and healing.”
They hope to raise more than $2 million to help the next wave of families.
For the 9-year-old, it not only became a haven for his family, but also the home of Ronald McDonald, where he discovered music as therapy, and now he is happy to share that joy.
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