A story of determination, recovery and purpose

Seven years ago, Rocky Fernandez’s life changed in an instant.

The 40-year-old Army Veteran was in school, working toward his future, when a car accident left him paralyzed and threw his life plans off course. What followed were years of grueling challenges, including multiple long hospital stays, a serious infection and the daily reality of living with limited mobility. Today, he is paralyzed and cannot eat by himself. But this spring, he rolled across the finish line in the best way possible: He graduated with a degree in petroleum engineering from Houston City College.

Keeping the faith

“I’m not gonna lie, it was hard to have faith after all these setbacks,” Fernandez said. “But I learned to take my time and just get it done.”

Fernandez credits his success to three things: never giving up, believing in himself and taking full advantage of the resources available to him through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

At the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, he found not just medical care, but a team of people committed to helping him move forward.

Eyes on the prize

Shaun Smith, his vocational counselor at VA, was one of them. Smith worked alongside Fernandez to remove the practical barriers standing between him and the classroom, and says the determination he witnessed in Fernandez was amazing.

“Rocky never gave up and has an incredible way of not taking his eye off the prize” Smith said. “He is a true pleasure to work with.”

Beyond vocational therapy, Fernandez has embraced a range of wellness offerings at Houston VA, becoming something of a beloved fixture among the staff. His energy and positive attitude have made him popular throughout the medical center. Darcy Robinson, his yoga instructor at VA, says Fernandez approaches life with remarkable optimism.

“Rocky is incredibly open to trying holistic things,” Robinson said, noting that his sessions include yoga, meditation, deep relaxation and crystal sound bowl therapy, a practice that uses the pure, high-frequency vibrations of quartz bowls to promote calm and energetic balance. “The deep relaxation gets him ready for the week,” she said. 

It is that same openness, that same refusal to be defined by limitation, that Fernandez hopes other Veterans will carry with them.

“I have learned that there are no limits to what you can accomplish,” he said.

Dr. Donna Huang is one of the physicians who cares for Fernandez at Houston VA. 

“What stood out about taking care of Rocky was his unwavering resilience and optimism in the face of a complicated medical course with multiple setbacks,” Huang said. “Despite all the challenges he faced, he was thinking of others. During the early phases of rehabilitation, he recognized that disability is a normal part of the spectrum of human experience, and he hoped to become a peer support partner for other Veterans with spinal cord injuries to show them what is possible while living with a disability. He’s incredibly inspiring.”

While celebrating his graduation, Fernandez is already looking ahead to the next chapter: finding a job in his field and putting that hard-earned degree to work.