A Bronx teen who made a miraculous recovery after she was shot in the head by a stray bullet in 2009 that left her in a coma graduated high school Friday, according to a published report.
Vada Vasquez was 15 when she was struck in the head with a bullet on her way home from school.
Doctors performed a life-saving surgery to remove bone fragments from her brain and Vasquez regained consciousness after a few days.
Vasquez has been in rehabilitation since the shooting. Though she still has some difficulty with speech and balance, with the help of tutors Vasquez was able to catch up with her classmates and return to school eight months later.
On Friday, only a block away from the scene of the shooting, Vasquez received her diploma from the Bronx Latin School, along with a Perseverance Award, the Daily News reported.
“This is my greatest achievement. I really didn’t think I’d be able to graduate the same time my friends did,” Vasquez told the News.
The high school grad will be attending LaGuardia Community College in the fall and hopes to eventually transfer to an art school to study graphic art, the News said.
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