New Mexican musician faces uphill battle after tragic accident in Rome

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – If you’re from northern New Mexico, the band “Cascabel” rings a bell. Leo Maes has been singing and playing the drums with the band for years. 

“Leo has always been a musician, since I think the day he could hold a drum stick, that was his first love is playing the drums. He’s a jokester, he is crazy (laughs) he loves his family, he loves his daughter and his whole family,” said Barbara Maes, Leo’s wife. 

It was that love for his daughters that drove him to book a family trip to Rome this summer. His daughter, Alex Maes, says she went to the Vatican last year and wanted to share the experience with her dad.

“My husband I planned a tour of the Vatican. My dad really, really wanted to go see the Vatican and his main goal is to bring back a souvenir for one of his cousins, like a rosary or something like that,” said Alex. 

On their second day of vacation, things took a turn — Leo collapsed during the tour.

“He essentially snapped his neck, which resulted in a severe spinal cord injury,” Alex said.

Leo had to be rushed into emergency surgery. The family found out he tested positive for COVID-19, but doesn’t know if that had anything to do with the collapse.

“From a window, I can just look. And then like Alex said the language barrier to get information from doctors it has been very difficult,” said Barbara.  

As they remain stuck thousands of miles away, they’re leaning on the New Mexico community to help bring Leo back home.

“He is well-loved by the musician community. It has been overwhelming the support we are getting,” said Barbara. 

They’ve already raised more than $20,000 through a GoFundMe page. Their goal is to get him to UNM hospital for the rest of his care. 

There’s still a question about whether he’ll ever be able to move his arms or legs again.

“The urgency really is securing an air ambulance that is equipped to transfer an intubated patient. These ambulances are extremely expensive. We’ve looked into several, and our main goal is to get him home. I want him home,” Alex said.   

While the road ahead is long, they are thankful for the community support.

“I can’t even put into words how thankful I am for all of the support, all of the love and prayers that we have been sent. I just want to tell my dad if he can hear me that I love him so much,” said Alex.