Yankees surprise inspirational siblings with Bronx Zoo visit

Nayyelyn Garcia, 7, wasn’t afraid of the procedure, she just wanted to save her brother’s life. Victor Garcia, 11, was diagnosed with Biphenotypic Acute Leukemia in 2015 and needed a bone marrow transplant, so his little sister stepped up to the plate.

Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro used words like “unbelievable” and “amazing” when asked about the Garcia kids’ story. Speaking with reporters on Monday afternoon, Castro said he felt “really happy” to help put smiles on their faces.

He and three teammates, pitchers Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman, and shortstop Didi Gregorius escorted the Garcia family on a tour of the Bronx Zoo as part of the team’s annual Hope Week initiative. After surprising the family at Yankee Stadium in the morning, the group headed over to the zoo for lunch and some sightseeing.

Yankees co-owner Jennifer Steinbrenner-Swindal, a driving force behind Hope Week, was on hand to help present a $10,000 donation to the Icla da Silva Foundation. Airam da Silva, the foundation’s president, gave a short presentation at the zoo, highlighting its origin and their involvement with the Garcia family.

26 years ago, Icla da Silva, Airam’s sister, was diagnosed with leukemia. The family traveled from their home in Brazil to Connecticut to seek out a bone marrow transplant at the Yale University Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

"“For two years, we were not able to find her a bone marrow match, and she passed away,” da Silva said."

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In their efforts to find Icla a donor, they were able to find bone marrow matches for other patients. The Icla da Silva Foundation grew from there, and today it’s the largest recruitment center for the Be The Match Registry in the U.S.

Victor’s doctor in the Dominican Republic reached out to the da Silva Foundation because he wanted to know if Nayyelyn was indeed a match for a transplant. The foundation brought the Garcia family to Yale to find out.

"“There is only a 30 percent chance that a sibling would be a match,” da Silva said. “We tested Nayyelyn and she came out as a perfect, 100 percent match for Victor.“Nayyelyn was very courageous… I asked, ‘are you afraid,’ and she said, ‘no I’m not because I’m going to save my brother’s life.”"

On Monday, there was no need to be courageous. The battles were won. Victor and Nayyelyn were just kids at the zoo having fun.

Champman called the experience “incredible.”

"Betances said, “This is what it’s all about and I’m glad I’m here today.”"

The Yankees will continue Hope Week through Friday. Stay tuned to the Yankees’ website and social media channels for more inspiring stories like the tale of the Garcia kids.

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"“[The kids] always come and watch us play so it’s like us giving back,” Gregorius said of the Hope Week experience. “It’s always fun to give back. As much as they support us, we gotta support them back.”"