Arnold Herrera passed away on Sunday at the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago. His relatives said he had no underlying conditions they were aware of, and they remain amazed at how quickly his condition got worse.
Herrera was a helper for whom the sky was the limit, said his brother, Pablo Portilla.
“A tremendous amount of energy, just… ‘I’m going to do it because I’m going to do it,’ because I can.
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Arnold’s brother said his younger sibling never saw a problem that he was not trying 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 he would get better because I knew he was always strong,” said Portilla. “It wasn’t in God’s plan.”
Pablo said Arnold was diagnosed last week and recovered at home, but his condition worsened hours after the ringing of the new year.
“He told us ‘Happy New Year’, and unfortunately after that he just had complications all day,” said Portilla. “He was in pain and we took him to the hospital, and that’s that.”
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Arnold played guitar in his church and graduated from Benito Juarez High School in Chicago, where he was active in the junior ROTC program.
His death comes with a warning that his family hopes others will heed.
“It doesn’t discriminate by age. It just happens. And we all have to be careful. We shouldn’t think, ‘Oh yeah, because I’m young, it’s not going to happen to me’ like no,” ”Portilla said.
Arnold Herrera is said to 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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