Girl surprises hospitalized dad with bedside graduation

After a health scare threatened an Indiana father’s dream of attending his daughter’s high school graduation, hospital staff, his family and school administrators came up with a secret plan so that he could attend.

In a surprise ceremony held at Baptist Health Floyd hospital on May 30, Jack Bailey proudly watched on as his daughter Hollie graduated from Floyd Central High School right next to his bed.

“My dad was admitted to Baptist Health Floyd on May 19, 2017,” Heaven Bailey explained in a Facebook post. “He has cancer and he’s a tough fighter, that’s for sure! My little sister, Hollie has graduation at Floyd Central High School on June 4th 2017!!! We were super excited, and we were praying that dad could make it to her graduation even if that meant we had to wheel him in a wheelchair.”

“Sadly, on May 26, 2017 the doctors told us he would not be able to attend Hollie’s graduation so with the help of Sophia Plamer and Brady Esarey, they talked to the principal of FC, Rob Willman and they decided to have graduation a little early for Hollie!!!!” Bailey wrote in part on Facebook.

Photos and video of the special surprise were posted to Facebook afterward and have since gone viral. More than 3,800 people have liked the post and it’s received over 1,200 shares.

“It was such a blessing for all of us to witness such a magical moment!” Bailey wrote.