Rochester football player who collapsed during game graduates high school
The Beaver County football player who collapsed during a game last year graduated from high school this week.
Rochester High School's Carter Mason collapsed on the sidelines after taking a hit in the fourth quarter during a game in October 2024 against Shenango. Mason suffered a brain bleed, his family said.
On Thursday, he walked across the stage and received his diploma, a milestone his family said they were not sure he'd ever reach.
"How far he came, yeah, it's amazing every single day," his mother, Terri Mason, said.
"He makes it look easy," she added. "But it's very depressing, very depressing because he can't do everything he used to do and go places like he used to."
After spending nearly three months in the hospital, Carter Mason went home and began occupational, physical and speech therapies. His mom said he still struggles with memory loss.
"He doesn't know where he's going," she said. "He doesn't know places, people. So, whenever he goes somewhere, he has to have somebody with him at all times."
But she said that her son has not let that stop him from achieving his goals. Terri Mason said he went to school for two to three hours per day to graduate with his classmates.
"It was so exciting," she said. "The whole auditorium, I think, was just amazed."
Terri Mason said Carter Mason will continue therapy for the next two to three years. But she hopes to get him back to doing things independently, with the goal of a full recovery.
