Cathedral High School student recovering after collapsing during rugby practice
A Cathedral High School student is recovering after collapsing during rugby practice last week.
17-year-old Aaron Cobos was at rugby practice at Alethea Park in Kern Place when he collapsed. Cathedral High School President Brother Nick Gonzalez says it was Cobos’ first practice with the team.
“They’re doing light jogging, running with the ball, sadly, Aaron collapsed very suddenly. Hadn’t shown any signs of distress.”
Emergency crews arrived immediately and Cobos was taken to Providence Hospital in West El Paso.
School administrators say Cobos, who is also on the school’s cross country team, is a perfectly healthy student. It’s unclear why he collapsed but they tell ABC-7 it was very unexpected.
“Your heart breaks because it’s one of those cases that nothing told you ahead of time that that was going to happen,” Brother Nick said.
According to a GoFundMe account created for Cobos, he suffered severe brain damage and was in an induced coma. As he recovers, the family needs help with medical costs, rehabilitation care recovery and possible relocation.
“I believe they’re either looking at Austin or Houston to assist with him developing or re-developing his motor skills. Every day he’s a little bit better and of course we know it’s going to be a slow progress but we as a school are committed to that,” Brother Nick said.
Principal Pamela Howard tells ABC-7 his classmates and teammates have held a prayer vigil for Cobos, visiting him regularly in groups while he’s in the ICU.
“These young men go to school together long before they go to Cathedral so they have these bonds,” Howard said.
Athletic Director Carlos Puertas tells ABC-7 Cobos’ dream is to attend West Pointe after graduation. The high school senior is in the process of submitting college applications and scholarship applications.
“We don’t know how long it will be. Whether a couple of months, we don’t know but we do want Aaron back,” Puertas said.
“Aaron is just an exceptional young man that kid always has a smile on his face. Very hardworking athlete, incredibly hard-working scholar, and I think that hurts too. He’s just one of those kids who’s a light in the class, and it’s just a great cause,” Brother Nick said.
To help Cobos’ you can donate to the GoFundMe account HERE. Administrators say they have received overwhelming support from the Cathedral High School community and they are in the process of creating a fundraiser to help him.
