NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – A New Mexico musician is stuck in the hospital overseas and his family is fighting to bring him back home. The family tells us it’s been a heartbreaking time. “He’s just a wonderful family man. A talented musician and it’s just so heartbreaking that this tragedy happened the way it did,” said Crystle Lucero, singer and former bandmate.
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Leo Maes is known by friends and family as a jokester who loves music. The 73-year-old musician has played drums since he was a teenager and toured with multiple bands throughout New Mexico, including Cascabel and FunAdixx. However, during a family vacation in Rome last week, Leo collapsed while touring the Vatican. “He fainted and fell forward, hit his neck, and caused this serious spinal cord injury which has caused him to now be paralyzed. He had to have an emergency surgery,” said Terika Martinez, goddaughter.
The family later learned Maes had gotten COVID-19, which could have caused him to faint. They say Maes finally woke up Thursday, but they don’t know if he’ll ever walk again. Crystle Lucero used to sing alongside Maes. She says they’re not giving up on him.
“He’s literally like my band dad, he taught me everything I know in the way of singing…We just pray for you, we know that you’re a fighter and you’re very strong,” said Lucero.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to try and fly Maes back to the United States so he can start rehab. They say right now they’re just playing it day by day. “We need you to get better and come home and just get healthy and we want to see your smiling face again,” said Martinez.
Maes’ former band, Cascabel, was scheduled for a reunion concert with him in Las Vegas, New Mexico in July. That concert will now be a fundraiser for Maes.
