Five years after a diving accident left him uncertain he would walk again, Juan Hernandez is a father of two and, with his wife, Valeria, a children’s book author. The couple spoke with 7News from their home in West Miami-Dade about the road from that injury to their new book.
Hernandez was hurt in 2021 in a diving accident at a sandbar. Doctors told him he may never walk again. At the time, the couple was newly engaged and focused on his recovery. He had asked Valeria to marry him 27 days before the accident.
Hernandez walked down the aisle to marry her in 2026, and the couple now has two children. Valeria said that when she searched Amazon for a book about a dad in a wheelchair, she found nothing similar. That gap led to “Why Does Daddy Use Wheels?”
The book started as a project for their own family, but the couple said they hope it will help other families who use wheelchairs see themselves on the page. They also hope it will show children who do not use wheelchairs that a chair is simply how some people get around.
The Hernandezes said they feel “grateful, thankful and blessed.” They plan to write more books as their children grow. The story did not say where the book is sold beyond a link to purchase it.
