For Rolling Meadows grad with MS, accepting diploma was 'like walking on air'

At the sound of his name being announced Sunday afternoon, Fernando Rodriguez rose from his wheelchair and began walking across the gymnasium floor at Rolling Meadows High School.

For years, he and his classmates had been working toward their high school graduation day - the day they commemorated four years of classes, experiences, challenges and friendships.

But for 19-year-old Rodriguez, who uses a wheelchair and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 11, it also was the day he fulfilled a dream that had been blossoming since middle school: Walking in front of his friends and family to accept his diploma.

"Ever since my eighth-grade graduation, it was always a goal in my heart that I was going to do it," he said. "I felt like I was walking on air."

Using a walker, Rodriguez concentrated on taking one step at a time. He had been practicing his graduation walk with school staff and therapists for two years, he said, and his hard work was finally paying off.

It wasn't until he only had a few yards to go that he realized the entire gymnasium had erupted in cheers, and the audience - including his classmates - was giving him a standing ovation.

"It was sort of a surreal moment," he said. "I felt 10 times more ecstatic."

Watching Rodriguez walk across the gym floor was certainly a moment of pride for his older brother, Mateo Rodriguez, especially because Fernando hadn't told his family members that he would be walking until days before the ceremony.

"I wanted it to be a surprise for them," Fernando said.

Having multiple sclerosis, a neurological disease that disrupts the communication between the brain and other parts of the body, has never stopped Rodriguez from pursuing his dreams, said Dianne Schocker, his case manager throughout high school. Over the next year, Rodriguez will continue working with his team at Rolling Meadows High School while learning to be more independent, she said. He eventually plans to attend college.

"I know he'll go far because of his personality and his perseverance," Schocker said. "We're amazed at how strong he is."