EDINBURG — Dozens of family, friends and supporters gathered outside the entrance of DHR Health Rehabilitation Hospital Friday afternoon.
Among them were members of the PSJA Early College High School freshman football team and cheerleaders, wearing their maroon jerseys and awaiting their chance to see their friend and teammate, Aaron Bazan.
For many, seeing Bazan, 14, walking out of the hospital was a momentous occasion considering that most had not seen the young football player walk since the evening of Thursday, Aug. 25, during the third quarter of a game against the PSJA North Raiders.
At 5:30 promptly, the crowd of supporters erupted into cheers as Bazan, with the help of his parents, delicately walked out of the hospital through the sliding doors.
“Show your muscles, Aaron!” someone called out. He responded by immediately flexing his biceps, prompting another round of rousing applause.
As the crowd of supporters surrounded Bazan and posed for pictures, a large C-shaped scar was visible on the right side of his head — a grim reminder of the fateful August day.
“It happened during our first game, actually — our first real game,” freshman football coach Matthew Benavides recalled. “It was a rivalry game against PSJA North, and he was having an incredible game playing great football.”
“Unfortunately, something happened and he came off the field,” the football coach added. “He let one of our assistant coaches know that he wasn’t feeling right, so the assistant coach sent him with a trainer and from there it took a turn for the worst at that moment.”
Bazan had spent the game playing outside linebacker on defense and slot receiver on offense. Benavides said that there was no indication initially that the freshman football player was injured, let alone required immediate emergency medical care.
Aiden Soto, 15, plays quarterback on offense and safety on defense and described Bazan as his best friend on the team. He described Bazan as the best linebacker that he’s ever seen, recalling their days playing football in middle school.
“I don’t remember him leaving, but I do remember hearing that he got injured,” Soto recalled. “I was originally worried and then distraught.”
“He didn’t lay out on the floor, or he wasn’t hit and came out,” Benavides said. “He just came to the sideline. We were going to go out and punt, and we were told that he wasn’t able to go back in. He had told one of the assistant coaches that he didn’t feel right.”
For Bazan’s mother, Danielle Reyes, she knew immediately that something was not right as she watched her son who appeared to be off-balance.
“He wasn’t walking properly,” she recalled. “Right there, to me, was like we need to get him out of there. Honestly, it went by really quick. He was off-balance. I told the coach to get him out. We rushed him to the hospital, and at the hospital they accepted him right away. They intubated him and took him into surgery.”
Bazan was found to have a subdural hematoma, which is described as blood leaking out of a torn vessel in the head into a membrane between the brain and the skull known as the dura mater. He was also found to have suffered some strokes, resulting in the young boy having to undergo a craniotomy — a surgical operation in which a part of the bone is temporarily removed from the skull in order to access the brain.
“It’s been life-changing,” Bazan’s mother said.
Yet, the family — sporting wite t-shirts with the hashtag “AARONSTRONG” — described the moment that Bazan walked out of the hospital as “the best feeling ever.”
“I’m excited. I’m nervous. It’s a lot of feelings all at once,” Reyes said. “We just need to get the pieces back together. We need to start working with him, transitioning him to the home. He has more therapy to be done on him. He still has to gain more strength to his right side on his hand and his extremities, and just getting his memory back up again — his mind working again and getting him back on track.”
Since the surgery, Bazan has undergone extensive physical therapy and speech therapy, spending upwards of three hours a day, every day for the past five weeks.
“He went from not being able to phonate and voice to now conversing, and also receiving all of his nutrients through a feeding tube to now being able to eat and swallow regular texture foods within liquids,” Ysa Camargos, DHR Health speech language pathologist, said. “We’re continuing to work on cognitive therapy and his memory, but we’re very happy with the gains he’s made in rehab.”
“Anyone with a neurological injury, their progress is different from one person to the next,” Libby Garza, DHR Health physical therapist assistant, said. “We really can’t tell how quickly somebody is going to progress. Based on previous patients that we’ve had, his progress has been steady and quicker than normal. I think his age has a lot to do with that.”
The journey ahead remains long and winding for Bazan, with much more work needed physical therapy-wise to improve his balance and coordination, as well as continued efforts to improve his cognition and memory.
Despite his recent hardships, Bazan remained outwardly positive — brandishing a seemingly permanent smile.
“I’m feeling pretty good. It’s been a rough journey, but I keep on moving. I don’t stop trying. I made it,” Bazan said. His mother kept her arms around him to support him as he prepared to get into a black truck with “God is great” written on the rear window.
“It feels heartwarming to me,” he continued, in observance of the large show of support. “I can’t really explain. It’s like a happy moment for me.”
“I’m not going to stop. I’m going to keep on going.”
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