Family raising money to help Pleasant Hill teenager paralyzed after wrestling injury

PLEASANT HILL, Calif. (KGO) -- Pleasant Hill's College Park High School students are learning more about a fellow student who was paralyzed from the neck down during a wrestling match last week.

Ryan Joseph suffered a C4 spinal cord injury during the match.

The school's principal made an announcement addressing the issue first thing Tuesday morning.

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Students told ABC7 News they expect school be somber all day. As students arrived, they had more on their minds than their classes. "It's going to be a little hard to concentrate, yeah a lot of people going to be distracted today," A.J. Acevedo said.

Acevedo played lacrosse with Joseph and described him as funny and very social. He also added Joseph has a lot of support at school. "He's just a really good guy in general. He would laugh at my jokes. I would laugh at his. I think he can get through this," he said.

Joseph's friend was watching the match that left his buddy paralyzed. "The guy put him in a hold and the referee pulled him off. He shook his head like I can't get up, he just laid there and the ambulance had to come and take him," Acevedo said.

School started off with an announcement that encouraged kids to see the counselor if they needed someone to talk to. The shock of what happened to Joseph had many students feeling at a loss for words. "I was surprised, didn't know it could happen, but I guess can happen to anyone," classmate Elijah Lara said.

Some parents said they talked to their kids about it over the weekend, but that it's tough for them to know what else to do. "I was mortified, it's terrible and so sad. I just prayed, I don't know what to do at this time," parent Lisa Lara said.

Click here if you'd like to donate to the GoFundMe for the family's medical expenses.