Oklahoma student with cerebral palsy walks for the first time to receive his diploma

For high school seniors, graduation culminates years of hard work. For Oklahoma student Micah McDade, walking across the stage also marked a milestone long in the making.

McDade, a graduate of Okmulgee High School, was born with cerebral palsy, a disorder that inhibits the brain’s signals to muscles and impairs movement.

But at his school’s May 20 commencement ceremony, McDade made his first walk in public across the stage at Harmon Stadium to receive his diploma. Okmulgee News Network, which first reported on the event, captured the moment:

After being rolled up to the on-field stage in a wheelchair, McDade stood up and used a walker to cross the stage. A standing ovation came from his classmates, who didn’t know McDade had been working toward this moment for months.

McDade’s parents, Mark and Anisa McDade, cried tears of joy in the moment, according to the network, having watched their son overcome multiple surgeries and countless hours of physical therapy throughout his life.

With the crowd still roaring, McDade reached the end of the red-carpeted stage.

A voice boomed from the stadium’s P.A. system: “Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve been doing this a long time. That was the best ever!”

[h/t Okmulgee News Network]

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