Teen Evan Rasmussen from Florida recently graduated high school, and like many of his peers, he was very keen to attend his graduation ceremony.
But due to his immobility, he needed some assistance to get to his graduation ceremony and move across the stage.
Before his graduation, Evan was in the care of the paediatric intensive care unit at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Florida.
The medical staff at Arnold Palmer Hospital found out that Evan was about to graduate and were determined to attend his graduation ceremony.
So they decided to make Evan’s wish come true by arranging a special transport team.
Evan’s family was ecstatic when they found out about the news!
The graduate’s mother, Chandra Evans Campbell told Inside Edition, “The whole family is extremely excited.”
“It’s something that we weren’t sure… they told us from day one they weren’t sure if he would ever do. So to reach this accomplishment is pretty exciting,” she added.
The Florida teen was born with Spina Bifida, a birth defect where the spine and spinal cord don’t develop properly, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Despite Evan’s condition, he has worked very hard in his studies and he certainly deserved his high school diploma. His school was also excited that he was able to join the rest of his classmates for the big day.
The school was very understanding of Evan’s condition. They announced and gave him his diploma at the beginning of the graduation ceremony so he could quickly return back to hospital.
But his graduation did not end at the school. As soon as the Florida teen got back to the hospital, his room was beautifully decorated and he got to spend his graduation day with his family and the medical staff!
The transport team from Arnold Palmer Hospital was glad to be able to help Evan to attend his graduation ceremony.
Paramedic Brian Clough told Inside Edition, “It’s really an honour and a privilege we get to do this for him, to help him walk this stage to help him complete school to be able to graduate and move on with the rest of his life.”
The gesture by Arnold Palmer Hospital is extremely inspiring and touching. We hope Evan had an amazing graduation ceremony at his high school and the ‘after party’ at the hospital, and we wish him all the best with his future.