Just keep going: Student overcomes obstacles to graduate on time from Beaufort High School

Antonio Cruz graduated from Beaufort High School on Friday. But he had to overcome numerous obstacles to get there.

Cruz was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy when he was 5 years old, according to a video by the Beaufort County School District.

The disease gradually progresses, slowly causing weakness and loss of muscle mass.

Due to his disability, Cruz started homeschooling his sophomore year of high school, the school district said.

But he was determined to graduate on time. And that’s exactly what he did.

What’s his secret?

“Just go one day at a time, and then just try as hard as you can, and keep going,” Cruz told the school district.

Cruz had lessons with his home school instructor Susan Mitchell three times a week. And with her help, he completed a “normal course load,” according to the school district.

“I’m just amazed at his drive and willingness to learn,” Mitchell told the school district. “He really wants to learn, and that’s exciting for me.”

His father Jorge Cruz said in the district’s video that he’s very proud of his son.

“He’s completely without any movements anymore,” his father said. “He wiggles his fingers and his head and eyes, and that’s about it. So I know lately it’s even harder.”

When Cruz was first diagnosed, he’d already begun to have trouble walking, Cruz said.

“When I started, I was walking on my tippy toes, and then I started falling,” he said.

By the age of 7 years old, Cruz had to start using a wheelchair.

But his friends told the school district that Cruz never let the wheelchair slow him down.

“He was always out there, working hard, doing what he could do,” Raul Jaramillo told the school district.

Cruz doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.

In fact, he’s considering going on to study at the Technical College of the Lowcountry, the school district said.

“They told us that Antonio, the odds were very low of him being with us and the fact to see him actually completing his diploma and coming across that stage, I’m going to be filled with emotion,” said Beaufort High School Principal Corey Murphy. “I’m just very excited that we have this young man in our lives.”

This story was originally published June 4, 2017 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Just keep going: Student overcomes obstacles to graduate on time from Beaufort High School."