Band Member Goes To Emergency Room

August 28, 2009
Filed under Band, News

As fans attending the Panther’s season opener last week watched the Panther Band halftime performance, most were unaware that one of the baritone players has fully recovered after being rushed to the emergency room earlier in the week.

Senior Ray Flores suffered from a collapsed lung on Tuesday morning. The chest pains began after band practice that morning and had become unbearable during second period. According to Flores, he was rushed to the Emergency Room after a trip to the nurse’s office.

“The chest pains had become more hurtful once I had woken up after the movie that we were watching in class,” Flores said.

The band members were informed Wednesday morning that their fellow band member had been hospitalized and senior Ariel Hardin, who has been in band with Flores since the sixth grade, said she could not imagine Flores being hurt.

“When I first heard about Ray, I was in total shock,” Hardin said. “He’s such a good baritone player. There was no way that he could be that hurt.”

Band Man Scott Williams says that he plans to make accommodations for Flores if the doctor has issued a statement describing the extent in which he can push Ray.

“We need to see what the doctor has to say about Ray’s condition,” Williams said. “We are a band family and will take care of each individual as needed.”

Although Flores could have been permanently disabled to participate in the band, he said the experience won’t affect his extracurricular life and he still plans to keep moving forward.

“Even though my chest hurt almost to the point it was unbearable,” Flores said, “I have been in band for the past six years, so why in the world would I get out after all of that hard work?”

Flores said he plans to push himself every day and to not let anything stand in his way of living life to the fullest.

“There is no reason for me to stop moving forward,” Flores said. “This incident has made it to where I want to do more while I still can.”