Rio Communities boy returns home after two heart transplants, months away

Hunter Rael rolled back into Rio Communities on Saturday, May 31, ending months away from home after two heart transplants and a long fight that drew support from across Valencia County and beyond. The 9-year-old returned with his parents in a procession that began in Bernalillo and was joined by multiple motorcyclists and the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office as the family made its way home.

The welcome marked a hard-won milestone for a boy whose medical crisis began years earlier, after a prolonged fever left doctors without answers. Hunter was admitted to Presbyterian Hospital on Nov. 1, 2022, and by July 2025 he and his mother, Anna Moya, were flying to Children’s Hospital Colorado in Denver to begin transplant evaluation. His illness was tied to Kawasaki disease, a rare and dangerous condition that mostly affects children younger than 5 and is a leading cause of acquired heart disease in children in the United States.

Health experts say untreated Kawasaki disease can damage the heart and blood vessels, including causing coronary artery aneurysms in about 25% of patients. Hunter’s case became a reminder of how quickly a child’s condition can turn into a life-or-death fight, and how far families in Valencia County sometimes must travel to find pediatric specialty care.

The support around Hunter widened as his treatment continued in Colorado. In November 2025, the family received a call on a Tuesday saying a donor heart was available. By May, while Hunter was still recovering in Denver with Anna Moya, he was well enough to take part virtually in a tribute by the Albuquerque Youth Orchestra at Popejoy Hall. Jelly Roll also dedicated a song to him in person, adding a public celebration to a private medical battle.

By the time Hunter got home, his mother said he had already exceeded the goals doctors set for him and was healthy enough to be back where the family wanted to be. He will still need to return to Colorado for routine follow-up visits and procedures, but the hardest part of the journey was behind him for now. Hunter said he has been exercising with walking, weights, push-ups and sit-ups, and he is looking forward to playing sports for the first time.

His return also put a larger shortage into focus. More than 103,000 people are on the national transplant waiting list, 13 people die each day waiting for an organ, and New Mexico Donor Services says more than 400 people in the state are waiting for a lifesaving transplant. For one Rio Communities family, that system meant months of travel, uncertainty and help from neighbors, law enforcement and musicians before a child could finally come home.