214@100: Staff helps student in wheelchair walk

It started as a simple conversation: How could Rolling Meadows High School help Fernando Rodriguez, a wheelchair-bound student, gain more independence?

Working alongside Fernando in and out of the classroom, Rolling Meadows staffers Scott Sauer and Tony Tanner came up with a plan that went above and beyond anyone's expectations.

Sauer and Tanner worked with a team of others to create a harness to safely help Fernando walk during his physical education class. Together, Sauer and Tanner supervise Fernando as he walks in the harness and grows stronger with each step.

In just under a year, Fernando - a cheerful, outgoing teenager - has made great progress. His goal is to walk, even if only for a few steps, across the stage at his graduation in 2016.