Only on ABC-7: From rehabilitation to graduation

Walking across the stage for a diploma is a feat for many high school seniors.

But for Isabel Hernandez, 17, it has special meaning. She was involved in a crash in January 2014 that killed her brother Pablo, 13. Isabel was in a coma for weeks. She spent months in physical therapy, learning how to walk and function again.

But 26 months later, Isabel is walking on her own.

“It makes me really happy because when I was in the hospital, all I wanted to do was be normal again,” Isabel said. “(I wanted to) be able to do things that everyone else my age can do.”

Since returning to Horizon High School after missing the entire second half of her sophomore year, Isabel has hit the ground running. The 17-year-old joined the school group Scorpion Success Initiative, which helps students in the 10th and 11th grades with reading, vocabulary and pronunciation. Isabel also regained her footing academically, graduating in the top ten percent of her class.

Isabel was also able to partake in the social part of school, attending prom with friends. While the coach lets Isabel participate in team shoot-arounds, the former varsity basketball player wasn’t able to regain her position on the team. Isabel admitted that when she returned to school, it was hard to hang out with her former teammates.

“I guess now that I’ve realized that it’s not for me anymore, it makes me happy being around them,” Isabel said.

As Isabel sat in her yearbook class in the final days of school and played Jenga with her classmates, her advisor pointed out something Isabel didn’t mention: the yearbook was dedicated to Isabel. The full-page spread was topped with a picture of Isabel smiling, cradling a basketball, flanked by the Horizon Scorpions varsity girls basketball team. Under the picture was Isabel’s story, described as “a story of tragedy, hope, determination and resolve” — beginning with the crash that killed Isabel’s brother and sent her to the hospital, and ending with her graduation and future plans.

Isabel told ABC-7 that once she finishes school she’ll attend the University of Texas at El Paso. Isabel wants to study psychology, a career she chose because of her own life experience.

“I want to help people who’ve gone through what I’ve gone through. It’s really tough emotionally, almost more than physically,” Isabel said. “And it carries on long after the incident’s happened. I would really like to help people who go through that.”

Her English teacher and family friend Linda Ramos told ABC-7 that she admires Isabel greatly.

“I feel a lot a pride in her, and I feel that she’s exceptionally a good student. She’s awesome,” Ramos said.

Isabel said she would also like to use her experience to remind her classmates — and anyone who may get behind the wheel after drinking — of the consequences of their actions.

“It’s not just about you. It’s not about just hurting yourself, it’s about hurting others,” Isabel said. “You can make someone’s life miserable if you just make the wrong decision.”

While Isabel is focused on making her way across the stage of the Don Haskins Center on Tuesday morning, she’ll remember her younger brother Pablo. Isabel told ABC-7 in 2014 that she credited her brother with helping her put one foot in front of the other during rehabilitation.

“Of course I’ll never forget, that’s what drives me,” Isabel said.

Her motivation to move is also branded across her shoes. The phrase “Isa Strong” is splashed across the back heels of her sneakers, visible to anyone who follows in her footsteps.

“At your darkest times, you feel like you’re never going to get out of that hole. You’re never going to be happy again,” Isabel said. “But things end up working out. You just never give up. If you have a goal, you keep working hard to achieve it, and you’ll end up achieving it.”

The man police charged with causing the death of Pablo Hernandez, Julian Tapia, is charged with Intoxicated Assault and Intoxicated Manslaughter.

His trial has been pushed back several times, but court records show that Tapia, 35, is scheduled to go to trial on Sept. 26, 2016.