MATHIS, Texas — Officials with Halo Flight are remembering a fourteen-year-old boy by naming a landing pad in his honor.
With the donation going to Mathis EMS, the landing zone will impact many lives in the area for years to come.
Diana Velasco is a mother of four, one of them being Xavier Velasco. After weeks of doctors' appointments with Xavier complaining of headaches, an autopsy proved he had strep throat. However, since it was not diagnosed in time the ailment traveled to his brain. The complications ended up getting worse from there.
"They finally took him in to check his head, but he passed away as he was going under," Velasco said. "He had another great seizure so he couldn't, his little body couldn't take it."
Velasco said the best way to honor her son was to give back to the community.
"He's always wanting to help people. He was just that kind of boy," Velasco said.
Wanting to honor her sons memory, Velasco raised $23,000 using a portion of the money to help Halo Flight and Mathis EMS build a new landing pad in Xavier's honor.
Director of Marketing for Halo Flight, Heather Selim, said she feels that Velasco's contribution is a tremendous blessing to the community.
"There's a lot of individuals within our community that experience some sort of tragedy," Selim said. "And being able to turn that around and to help someone else is something that's invaluable.
Just as the name, 'Halo, implies, in this way, Xavier can be remembered as a guardian angel to those in dire situations.
"The service Halo Flight provides is something that really we were given another chance at life," Selim said.
Paul Pulley, EMST for the City of Mathis, is grateful for the community's support.
"This landing pad will give emergency responders a designated location that is safe for the helicopter to land without interfering with other entities that we're currently landing at," Pulley said.
The impact the Velascos have made in the community will live on forever, and so will Xavier's memory.
"I believe that he can see and he knows what I'm doing for him. I want to be able to help everybody that can," Velasco said.
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