A woman is fighting to recover two months after she was hit by a stray bullet and paralyzed in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. Aleyah Fernandez was not the intended target of the shooting. 

Fernandez was shot on Dudley Street on Oct. 8 while she was walking with her boyfriend. She says they were outside a restaurant when they heard gunshots. 

"I got hit in my spine and I just remember falling to the ground, and everything was dark," Fernandez said.

Her boyfriend called 911 while a bystander put pressure on the wound. 

"I just got my life together"

"I'm religious so I remember asking God like, 'please I just got my life together, this shouldn't be the way my life ends,'" Fernandez said. "A year before this happened, I was homeless, I was dealing with homelessness, and it was really hard for me. But I pushed myself to do what I needed to do to get myself a space." 

After two months of intensive therapy, Fernandez is working to regain the use of her hands and redevelop fine motor skills at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. 

"Aleyah's injury is on her cervical spine, which is higher up on the spine, so everything below her level of injury is impaired right now," said occupational therapist Rosalie Shnorhokian. "She's really motivated, has such a positive energy, she's always up for a challenge." 

The medical team said Fernandez has made huge strides in regaining use of her right hand. She's also an artist, so getting back to drawing has been a part of her therapy and a major goal for recovery.

Two men have been charged in connection with the shooting. Prosecutors said the suspected gunman was captured on surveillance video running across the street before firing approximately 20 rounds. The intended target ducked into a restaurant for cover.