The beep of a heart monitor was the first sound she heard in the hospital room. She opened her eyes to bright, shining lights. With a tube down her throat to help her breathe she couldn’t speak, but she did overhear the doctors tell her parents the chances of surviving the surgery were slim.

At only 15, sophomore Abigail Garcia could die.

“My dad looked at me,” she said. “All I did was nod and smile.”

After being involved in a serious car accident last school year, Garcia returned before winter break.

“She is taking what happened to her in stride, and she’s not allowing it to defeat her or hold her back,” Counselor Gerry Blake said. “It is a blessing to even know this young lady.”

Garcia and her family members were on their way home.

“At around 2 a.m., (we) dropped off our friends,” she said. “I fell asleep across the back seat without my seat belt (on).”

They went down a two-way street, and Garcia’s sister pulled over to the side to let a truck pass.

“It was raining really hard that day,” she said. “The tires got stuck. We slid and ended up hitting the electrical pole.”

While falling onto the floor of the back seat, Garcia hit the front armrest and suddenly was unable to move.

“Thankfully, these two ladies helped me out of the car and laid me down on the grass,” she said. “If the ladies had not came and helped, the car could have exploded.”

She remained conscious.

“I remember laying down on the grass, and my sister calling my mom (and) telling her to come quick because (we) had just gotten into an accident,” she said. “I was yelling at my sister, telling her that I could not feel my body.”

The impact of hitting the armrest caused a spinal cord injury that left her disabled from her waist down to her legs.

“I can still feel my feet,” Garcia said. “I was supposed to be paralyzed (from) my neck to my legs.”

Garcia said that the hardest part of the accident was hearing her sister and brother-in-law blaming themselves.

“It’s not like it was their fault,” she said. “I chose to go out that night. They didn’t force me.”

There were three people in the car with Garcia. She was the only one in critical condition.

“Things happen to me for a reason,” she said. “I think that (out of) all of us, I’m the strongest. I could handle it.”

Sophomore Joy Tama said when she visited Garcia it pained her to see her.

“I cried,” she said. “It hurt me knowing my best friend was hurt, and I couldn’t prevent it.”

After hearing about her student’s injuries, AP Human Geography teacher Lindsay Matthews said she felt an overwhelming need to be a support for the family.

“I wanted to see her because I care about her well-being and all of my students’ well-being,” she said.

Matthews said she was able to relate to the event.

“(I have) a sister of my own that experienced a traumatic brain injury that sent her into a coma,” she said. “The families are always given two sets of possible realities: one that is positive and one that is negative. Abigail, as well as my own sister, was incredibly fortunate to be on the positive side of things, even though (her) life is still difficult and not the same as it once was.”

Many of the teachers donated money to the family to help them with meals while they were staying at the hospital with her.

“I also wanted her family to know that Wolves take care of our own,” Matthews said.

Blake said that Garcia’s spirit impresses her.

“She always has a smile and such a positive attitude,” she said. “Despite what she’s been through, nothing gets her down.”

After two weeks at John Peter Smith Hospital and eight weeks at a rehab center, she returned to her house.

“I didn’t like the hospital at all,” Garcia said. “I really missed home. Being back really pushed me more to be with my family and friends.”

Garcia said that her mom is her strongest motivation.

“I see how hard she has to work trying to help me and how much she needs me,” she said.

Other relatives have supported her since the accident, as well.

“She has the most loving family who are doing whatever it takes to assist with her recovery,” Blake said. “Her mom is so sweet, and each time you see her she has the same big smile and warm heart as Abigail.”

Every day Garcia does an hour of therapy with her father and works out.

“They taught my dad at Baylor,” she said.

Garcia said that she depends on her mom a lot, and she wants to become more independent.

“I transfer, balance and feed myself,” she said. “If I ever need anything, I ask.”

Tama visits every other week.

“We mostly talk about her improvement since (the) accident,” she said.

Garcia used to take doses of a muscle relaxer so that her body could stay still, but now her stretches and bike training support her.

“I have gone three months without pills,” she said. “It’s really helpful because I can relax and control my body.”

Since Garcia only missed the last six weeks of the former school year, her teachers gave her the assignments in order for her to finish those credits.

“She’s a very smart, young lady and has done an excellent job of keeping up with her work through her homebound teacher,” Blake said.

Matthews said that Garcia was a very hard worker and wanted to do well in school before the accident.

”She was a good role-model for her fellow students, and her influence was definitely missed in the classroom after the accident,” Matthews said.

Tama said that it was different for her to not see Garcia every day at school.

“She’s not there to help me through it all,” she said. “We used to FaceTime to gossip, but now we don’t.”

This school year, Blake rearranged Garcia’s classes so that all her core subjects are in the morning.

“Sitting at home 24-hours every day was really difficult,” she said. “Going to school gives me a break.”

Garcia said she really missed her old routine.

“I can see my friends, socialize, laugh with them and learn too,” she said.

The teachers give her fewer assignments.

“They cut down my work, but it’s still hard,” she said. “They sometimes give me shorter test, quizzes and homework.”

Garcia only attends first through fifth period.

“I still have eight classes (and) go to school for four hours, but during the week I get more hours (with) a teacher, who comes over to tutor me,” she said.

Garcia said that the accident helped her establish a better connection with God.

“I had ask(ed) God to help me be a better person than I was,” she said. “Even if I was good, (I wanted him to) help me be great.”

Blake said that Garcia’s tenacity inspires her.

“Nothing is stopping her, not her school work and definitely not her accident,” she said. “She is bound and determined to make a full recovery. I support her 100 percent.”

Even though Garcia struggles daily to recover, she said she’d rather take being paralyzed than not living at all.

She said, “I’m glad I survived because I cannot imagine the pain that others would have had to go through.”

Garcia said she is optimistic about her future.

“This is the time where you know who your true friends are,” she said. “My friends and family have motivated me to not give up (and) not lose hope that one day I’m going to walk again.”