Former ABC-7 photographer who suffered stroke graduating from UTEP

More than 2,500 UTEP students will graduate Saturday in three separate ceremonies, including one graduate who overcame a massive stroke the past decade and is very special to ABC-7.

Former KVIA photographer Peter Gonzalez will receive a degree in Communication Studies.

Almost a decade ago, Gonzalez suffered a massive stroke in August of 2006.

“The priest there took me and my Mom to a room and told me was not going to make it,” said Gonzalez’s brother, Peter Varela.

Varela said about a week later, he got a call from the doctor.

“He told me, ‘Peter is awake and talking!'” he said. “I go, ‘What? No, are you kidding me? No, he’s awake and talking.'”

What followed was years of intense physical therapy, some of which still continues today.

“He made it through some real rough times,” Varela said. “We all thought we lost him. He’s my baby brother. We all thought we lost him.”

“When you have a stroke as severe as I did, you have to learn everything,” Gonzalez said. “You have to learn how to talk, walk, eat, just like a baby.”

But those challenges didn’t keep Gonzalez from taking his learning to a higher level. Five years ago, he started taking classes at UTEP, one at a time.

“It was a difficult journey because of the process,” Gonzalez said. “They let me take one class at a time, to see if i could handle it mentally and physically. Physically was tough, but mentally was even tougher.”

When Gonzalez receives his degree on Saturday, he will be thinking about all of those who helped him overcome his stroke and graduate.

“I’m really grateful for the support from the program over there at UTEP that helped me through this process,” he said, “and of course my family and members of the KVIA team.”

Added Varela: “We’re all proud of him, man. He’s like a miracle walking.”