After their teammate spent some time in Children's Hospital, one local football team wanted to give back to the hospital that took care of their friend.

On Aug. 21, the Hawk Silver football team from Parker did crafts and played games with patients and the patients’ family members at Children's Hospital in Aurora. Two years ago, Mateo Aguayo, a member of the team, suffered an illness call an AVM, which caused him to go into a coma. He spent two months in the hospital, and his family was told he had little chance of survival.

But 13-year-old Aguayo has made a full recovery, and after taking a year off from playing football, he is back on the field with his teammates. Pam Lehman’s son plays with Aguayo, and she said when Aguayo was in the hospital it was a hard time, but it’s a blessing to have the team member back.

“The fact the he survived is amazing, but what is even more amazing is that he fully recovered, she said.

Lehman said the team is a tight-knit group. During Aguayo's year off from playing football he still attended all of the games and was as a part of the team like always. She said to watch the boys sit and do crafts and play games with the patients at Children’s Hospital was a sight to see.

“It's been really neat to watch how close the team has grown together,” she said. "It gave the boys a chance to see what some other kids are going through, and it was pretty humbling being there. It was a great experience for the boys to be there and see other children going through something really tough.”