SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In just a few days, the mother of a Sacramento Kings fan who died at a game last year will accept his diploma from Sacramento State University.
Janet Florez, who lives in San San Luis Obispo, says the school reached out to her to honor her son. Now, she'll walk inside the same arena where her son took his last breath.
Florez has grappled with the loss of her only son, Gregorio Florez Breedlove, for the last six months.
"I cope with grief in a way where I don't let it get me down and don't let it depress me. I really celebrate his memory and his love, the love I have for him, and I want to carry that on," said Florez.
The 34-year-old died during a Kings game at Golden 1 Center in early December. First responders tried to save his life.
"I had an autopsy done on him because I wanted to know what was the cause of his death and turns out it was related to his heart condition. Apparently, he had blockages in some of the vessels in his heart," said Florez.
Florez suffers from heart disease and says her son's father also died from it.
She questions if his death was preventable and if Breedlove could have fulfilled his goal of being a chiropractor.
One dream that will come true for her son involves his degree from Sacramento State, where he studied the past few years. The university will present his mother with his posthumous degree.
"That really made me so happy because he worked so hard to reach his goal of attaining that bachelor's degree," said Florez.
Come Saturday, she'll be dressed in a cap and gown and she'll walk down the aisle at Golden 1 Center to receive her son's diploma. It's the same place where he loved to watch the Kings play and where he took his last breath.
Janet says she won't be alone.
"I really believe that when he passed a piece of me went with him, but a piece of him stayed with me, so as I walk through that procession, I'm going to know that he's walking there with me too and experiencing what he had hoped to experience on that special special day," said Florez.
The reason it's so special is because he promised his mom she would see him graduate. She's just grateful he was able to enjoy life for the 34 years he was alive.
"Hiking was his love and I have myself taken on the task of going hiking and saying, 'You're with me son' and 'Look at this beautiful view. Look at everything you get to see because you're still with me.' And I really believe that," said Florez.
In a statement, Sacramento State said:
"We are grateful to be in a position to bestow a posthumous degree to Greg as a result of his hard work. Although the posthumous degree will not replace the loss his family and we are experiencing as a community, it was important for us to recognize the significant academic progress Greg made toward completing his degree."
