Miami high school cross-country team shaves heads, runs to honor teen with brain injury

The Explorers Cross-Country team at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami may be running their most important race to date Saturday, because it's in honor of a teammate who’s been in the hospital for a week. 

Eighteen-year-old Matthew Nunez is a cross-country star, who should be in Lakeland with his teammates about to compete in the Florida Runner’s Invitational.

“It's like one of the biggest races that happens in the state of Florida,” said Danny Areces, the team’s coach.

But instead of competing, Matthew is in the hospital in the ICU after suffering a spontaneous traumatic brain bleed.

On Sept. 27, during a cross-country meet, Matthew felt a pain in the right side of his head. He pulled off the course and was taken to the EMT on site. 

They thought Matthew suffered a concussion, but at the hospital a C.T. a scan confirmed his brain was hemorrhaging. NBC6 was told pathology would have to determine the exact cause.

The brain bleed resulted in complications with Matthew’s heart and lungs.

His team said the runner had brain surgery Friday, and everything went well.

“When we saw him he was very happy and stuff. We were like, just letting you know that we're all there for him, just like, saying kind things, making him laugh, and then they sedated him again and intubated him,” his teammate Alexander Lopez said.

Since being hospitalized, the team has rallied behind Matthew every step of the way, taking the lessons learned from racing and applying them to life. 

“The main thing Danny always tells us, our coach, is, ‘Hey, we need to run together,'" teammate Ayden Mondaca said. "That has been the biggest part about coming together over our friend Matthew... We spent days at the hospital, you know, over there in the waiting room supporting his parents, supporting his family coming together and doing rosaries. And I'm sure you heard about the haircuts, right?"

Lopez explained.

“When I saw Matt in the ICU, I didn't know he had his hair buzzed," he said. "I was like, like maybe we should do it for him."

So Matthew’s teammates decided to shave their heads in solidarity.

“It made me feel really amazing actually, like I feel like we've grown not even just the school or the team, like the whole community,” Lopez said.

As for Saturday’s invitational, Matthew may not be there physically, but he will definitely be there in spirit. 

“We're doing it in support of Matt," Areces said. "He would be someone that would be toeing the line tomorrow morning with us. But... now we have a big chip on our shoulders, something to run for, so we're gonna try to make Matt and his family proud tomorrow."

Medical bills are going to set Matthew’s family back. They’ve created a GoFundMe page to raise funds for his care.