San Angelo Central High School Swimmers Hold Fundraiser for Seriously Ill Teammate

SAN ANGELO – A fundraiser for a member of the San Angelo Central High School swim team recently diagnosed with cancer will take place this Thursday.

Hunter Vela, a teenager at San Angelo Central, has been diagnosed with lymphoblastic lymphoma, a form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma that primarily affects children.

This Thursday, April 28, 2022, members of the San Angelo Central swimming program will be swimming in increments of 100 yards to raise money for Hunter. You can make a flat donation or sponsor per 100 meters. No other fundraiser has been planned for Hunter at this time. The swimmers got together and decided to do this on their own. This fundraiser is going to take place during practice.

Hunter Vela is a 14-year-old from Kerrville who has been enrolled at Glenn Middle School since June 2021.

Hunter had a deep and persistent cough that didn’t concern doctors at first since he was new to the area’s allergens and was new to continued chlorine exposure.

On Monday, March 14, 2022, his mother took him back to the hospital where a precautionary X-Ray was done. While Hunter’s lungs sounded clear, he had obvious swelling in his lymph nodes around his collar bone. A large supraclavicular mass was found and by Tuesday, Hunter was referred to a oncologist at Cook’s Children Hospital in Fort Worth.

The Vela’s made it to Fort Worth the next day for a 3:00 p.m. appointment where multiple tests were done that day and on Thursday.

On Friday night, Hunter was diagnosed with Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. He was admitted to the hospital by 8:00 p.m. and was scheduled for port insertion, bone marrow testing, and chemo treatment.

You can read all of Hunter’s story on Caring Bridge. There, you can also donate to his GoFundMe and read updates about how Hunter is doing.

If you wish to make a donation in the swimming fundraiser, you can make checks payable to CHS Swimming and send checks to Central High School at 655 Caddo Street, San Angelo, Texas, 76901. The kids will go into the pool at 7:15 a.m. and swim until 8:30 a.m.

For questions, contact Ricki Gaylean and you can direct message her HERE.