MIDLAND, TX (KWES) - It's a video seen thousands of times on MISD's Facebook of a Lee High School graduate receiving his diploma as he walked across the stage. Lee High School graduate Carlos Neira is what his mother Teresa Neira calls a "blessing in their lives."
Neira said it all started from the time she carried him in the womb.
"After having seven children without disabilities, I went to the doctor to get sterilized and he came back into the room with a bottle of vitamins," said Neira. "I asked him if I had anemia because he had drawn my blood and he told me, 'No, you're pregnant.' I was about three months into the pregnancy and didn't know it."
Carlos was born with down syndrome but his disorder didn't stop Teresa from knowing her son would be treated just like any other kid.
"My husband, he was the one who took things worse," said Neira. "He would say, 'What are you going to do with a child like this?' and I told him, 'Just like we did with the rest, we'll get this one through it all.'"
Nineteen years later, Neira would watch as her son walked across the stage, holding a high school diploma in his hand and holding joy in her heart.
"To our great surprise, they say 'Carlos Neira' and the whole world, the men in front of us and everyone recording, they started asking, 'Oh my God! Who is he?' Jeez! As if he was the president's son or something," said Neira.
Where Carlos finds his encouragement, whenever times get tough, determination and faith is where he finds it by looking up.
"He's given us an example of sharing, of love, of happiness," said Neira. "Nothing gets him down. He looks up and points to God. God. He's full of faith. Lots of faith."
Carlos will be attending Life College this summer and after, he wants to get a job where he can interact with people.
