Following his rehabilitation, Lavoe's life was plagued by tragic events, emotional turmoil, and pain. In 1987, his seventeen-year-old son Héctor Jr. was accidentally shot and killed by a friend. In the same period, his apartment in Rego Park, Queens, was destroyed in a fire. One year later, Héctor was scheduled to perform at the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum in Bayamón, Puerto Rico on the night of Saturday 25 June 1988. Sales for the concert were poor, and promoter Rick Sostre decided to cancel the concert two hours before concert time. Héctor, defiant to the end, and knowing that it would be one of the last times he would perform in Puerto Rico, decided, against the promoter's wishes, to perform for the public who had paid to see the concert. The next day, 26 June 1988, Héctor attempted suicide by jumping off the ninth floor of the Regency Hotel Condado in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He survived the attempt, but from that day forward, would never completely recover.