Arnold Herrera died Sunday at the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago. His relatives said he did not have any underlying conditions that they were aware of and they were amazed at how quickly his condition worsened.
Herrera was a help for whom the sky was the limit, said his brother, Pablo Portilla.
“A huge amount of energy, just …” I’ll do it because I’ll do it, “because I can do it.” I can, “he said.
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Arnold’s brother said his younger brother never saw a problem he didn’t try to solve – including in the garage, where he worked on cars for a living.
But on Saturday, Herrera’s giving spirit was taken by COVID-19.
“I kept praying that he would be better because I knew he was always strong,” Portilla said. – It wasn’t God’s plan.
Pablo said Arnold was diagnosed last week and was recovering at home, but his condition worsened a few hours after he called in the new year.
“He told us ‘Happy New Year’ and, unfortunately, he only had complications for a whole day,” Portilla said. “He was in pain and I took him to the hospital and that’s it.”
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Arnold played guitar at his church and graduated from Benito Juarez High School in Chicago, where he worked in the ROTC junior program.
His death comes with a warning, his family hopes that others will heed.
“It doesn’t discriminate age. It just happens. And we should all be careful. We shouldn’t think, ‘Yeah, because I’m young, it won’t happen to me,’ or not,” Portilla said.
Arnold Herrera would have turned 20 in March. Records show that he is the eleventh person in Illinois under the age of 20 to die from COVID-19.
Pablo Portilla accepts donations in memory of his brother on GoFundMe.
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