When one Texas dad was diagnosed with ALS, he cherished the fact that he’d be able to see his daughter graduate college since he most likely wouldn’t be there for her on other momentous days.
Brad Gildenblatt was first diagnosed with ALS during his daughter Caitlin’s sophomore year at Oklahoma State University and has been immobile since then. They knew his condition would only get worse but always planned to make it to Caitlin’s graduation day so he could watch her graduate.
However, when Gildenblatt got pneumonia, the only way he would survive was to get a tracheotomy but it also meant he wouldn’t be able to leave the hospital in time for Caitlin’s graduation. “I was upset, I was sad, but I knew this is where he needed to be,” Caitlin said. “It was just mixed emotions, because I didn’t want him trying to come to graduation and have something happen. I’d rather him just stay in the hospital and be where he needs to be.”
The family thought Gildenblatt would have to watch the ceremony on a live stream, but when Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences Bruce Crauder heard about the tragic situation, he reached out to the family and explained he would drive three hours to the hospital to throw a private graduation. “It just meant the world that they would actually do that,” Caitlin said. “I thought he was just going to have to watch me on the live stream.”
“We were going to do it in his little ICU room, but they actually got a room with us. They decorated it for us, they got chairs, they made cupcakes, there were balloons. It was nice,” Caitlin said about the ceremony where she got to walk across the room to get her diploma and the dean even read a speech.
The next day Caitlin and her mom drove back to school so she could walk in the real ceremony and live streamed the special moment so her dad could still see everything. “He’s okay,” Caitlin said about her dad who only has about a month left to live. “We’re finally home, so he’s very happy to be back in his own house. We just take it day by day, and I know he’ll always be with me.”
Watch the entire video below to see the touching moment this dad got to see his daughter graduate.
Can you believe what the Associate Dean did for this family during such a difficult time? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
[Featured image: Youtube/Inside Edition]
Sick Dad Sees Daughter Graduate In Hospital Ceremony is an article from: LifeDaily