SAN ANTONIO — KENS 5 is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and is featuring people in our community who are making a difference.
Dr. Isabel Basaldu-Prado is a proud Latina serving the south-side of San Antonio. She cares for newborns and their families at Mission Trails Baptist Hospital.
How she got to her position, wasn't an easy journey. Her story is one of inspiration, filled with tragedy and triumph.
"I am firm believer that this is God's plan for me," Basaldu-Prado said.
The doctor knows how life can be challenging.
"My mother had schizophrenia and my father was an alcoholic," she said.
Basaldu-Prado grew up in public housing on the west-side. At a young age, she and her sister were forced to be the parents to care for their younger siblings.
"Unfortunately, we were on Medicaid, welfare, food stamps and all of that," she said.
Navigating life was a struggle, and as we know life sometimes can take an unexpected turn. She said when she was 17-years-old, her father was murdered.
"That really turned my life upside down," the doctor said.
Despite dealing with tragedy and no stability, she was determined to have a better life.
"I realized that the only way I could get out of that situation was to get an education, was to work hard in school," she said. "To get a career was the only way I was going to make it out of the courts."
She is a proud Edgewood graduate. She would then go into medical school applying on a whim.
"So, the fact I was able to go to college was big," she said. "And I remember, thinking there is no way I am going to be able to get into medical school, who is going to accept a Hispanic female from the west side of town?"
Basaldu-Prado said her upbringing caused her fear, even at one point not wanting to become a mom. But, she did. She has five children, including one as she said who's in heaven.
"But, the day he took his life, I didn't call him that day," she said. "I was sick that day."
Her son Roel took his life.
"He was 20," she said. "He was a junior at A&M. It has almost been about four years now."
Mental health is important for her, because of the impact it has had on her family. The doctor said what she does also helps too.
"Taking care of the newborns gives me joy," she said. "Being able to see their smiles lets me see life again."
Life for Basaldu-Prado is one filled with struggles, but a lot of perseverance and a lot of strength that she said was built on weakness.
"My story is a message of faith," she said. "Faith in God. Faith in my family, and faith in myself."
Dr. Basaldu-Prado had these encouraging words for others.
"You need to believe in yourself," she said. "And know what you want to do you are going to do. "You can do it, if you work hard and believe in yourself."