NORFOLK, Va. — It takes guts to leave home and join the United States Coast Guard, but that is what Irv Antonio decided to do after graduating high school in Las Vegas, eventually bringing him to Hampton Roads.
Antonio said the Coast Guard allowed him to travel the country. However, his life took a turn one night in Washington, DC, while he was visiting his brother: he was mugged.
“I had my skull busted, and then I had a brain bleed,” Antonio said, adding, “I had an emergency surgery that night to have the blood drained, and a piece of my brain is taken out to kind of make it better.”
It left Antonio’s head swollen, a 14-inch scar on his head and injuries to the brain. After spending several months recovering in the hospital, he was discharged from the Coast Guard.
"Once I started seeing the Coast Guard medical people, they told me that I'll probably be pushed out of the military because I can't do my job that I was able to do before at the same level,” Antonio said.
Although the mugging may have ended Antonio’s career in the Coast Guard, it did not stop him from pursuing his education. In Fall 2022, he enrolled at Old Dominion University, majoring in biomedical science.
“Since I was in high school, [I was interested in] neurology or neurosurgery, and funny enough, I have the most experience with those with not even shadowing but being patient,” Antonio said.
Antonio hopes to break into the medical field and increase its diversity.
“I think that it is very important to mention that the medical field is underrepresented for people of color and for any others who might be out there,” Antonio said.
He added: “It’s something I hope others can strive for a position in that field.”