Caleb Woodrum graduates high school by his mom Stacey's hospital bed.
Caleb Woodrum's mom, Stacey, had one dying wish: to see her son graduate from high school. Ten years prior, she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Woodrum, a senior at Blanchard High School in Blanchard, Oklahoma, was set to graduate months later in May 2023 when Stacey's health took a turn for the worst.
“The hospital actually contacted me and they said, ‘Listen, things are getting bad and the only thing that she wants is to see her youngest son graduate.’ So I told them, I said, ‘What do I need to do? Let’s get this going,'” Woodrum’s sister-in-law, Cara Harris, told KFOR News.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
Within 24 hours, a ceremony was put together. Southwest Medical Center's intensive care unit agreed to hold a graduation ceremony for Woodrum and his mom. Hospital staff rallied around them, providing food, balloons, personalized signs and music for the ceremony. Blanchard High School Principal, Greg Jackson, handed Woodrum his diploma and ensured Woodrum had a cap and gown.
“A lot of people were supporting me. My school, the Southwest medical staff, but especially my family. That was a moment that really made me proud. I didn’t expect the hospital to go above and beyond, but it was truly amazing what they did, and especially my principal, Mr. Jackson,” Woodrum told KFOR.
Caleb Woodrum embraces his mom Stacey following his graduation ceremony.GoFundMe
During the short ceremony, Woodrum and his mom held hands as Mr. Jackson presented Woodrum with his diploma. Stacey applauds as his son accepted it, and they shared an emotional embrace together. Woodrum wiped away tears following the ceremony. Unfortunately, Caleb's mother died the very next day on March 29, 2023, on her 57th birthday.
"I have a really good relationship with her. I took care of her. She was on oxygen, so I had to fill her bottles regularly and stuff like that. Made sure when she needed to go to the doctors, she had a ride to the doctors and stuff like that," said Woodrum. "It was probably one of the greatest moments I’ve actually ever had. Like, she did want to see me graduate. She did want to see me go to college. Unfortunately, she won’t have the chance to do that. But she got to see me graduate high school, which I know is one of the biggest accomplishments for me and her."
The incredible video has experienced a resurgence in popularity, garnering heartfelt responses from new and old viewers. "Very sad and beautiful at the same time," Kaneda1985 commented. VivienneVelvet2 added, "Such a heartfelt gesture shows the true spirit of community and compassion." And donmreddit wrote, "The simple gesture is going to have some positive impact on that young man’s life. Not to mention everybody at the hospital, who observed it. Stellar." Another touched viewer, CapnRaye, responded, "This goes to show you that little things really matter. At most, this man had to take time out of his day to drive to the hospital / hospice / their home, where this kid's mom is. Was it probably effort on his part to do that? Yeah, sure, but it's very easy to do. This kid will remember this for the rest of his life."
A GoFundMe was started by Cara Harris to help with Woodrum's college tuition and expenses.
Be the hero of your own life.
When you think about your life, do you ever imagine it's a movie or a book with yourself as the main character? And not just any main character, but an actual hero? If not, you may want to start.
Research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggests that making yourself the hero of your own story, with all the elements of a classic “hero’s journey,” can make your life feel more meaningful and significant and may even increase your resilience in the face of challenges.
Study author and assistant professor of management and organization at Boston College, Benjamin A. Rogers, tells TIME that human brains are wired for stories and respond to them in powerful ways. "This is how we've been communicating and understanding ourselves for thousands of years,” he said. Think of how many stories we have of heroes, from Hercules to Harry Potter.
That doesn’t mean you need to go out and slay dragons or take down bad guys or rescue someone from the brink of disaster. It simply means that the story you tell yourself about your life matters, and seeing yourself as the hero in your own life story makes a difference. But how do you do that? How do you make yourself into a hero, especially if you don’t see yourself as one?
You are the protagonist in your life story. Photo credit: Canva
The researchers created identified seven key Hero’s Journey elements that people can reflect on to see their lives in a new light:
Protagonist: The main character of the story—you. The protagonist is the person people are rooting for, so reflect on who you are in your life story. What is your identity? What do you stand for? What values do you hold most dear?
Shifts: New things or circumstances that push your life in different directions. What changes in your life have led you to where and who you are today?
Quests: Something you're working toward. What do you want in life? What are your goals?
Allies: People who are on your side. Who do you have in your life to support you on your journey?
Challenges: Could be situations or other people that are obstacles pursuing your quest. What or who is getting in your way?
Transformation: How you grow as you take your journey. What lessons have you learned? How have you become better, stronger, wiser, healthier, etc?
Legacy: What you leave behind for others. What will you share from what you've gained? How with the community benefit from your life's journey?
The study authors shared in Scientific American how they used these elements in the study to help people develop this hero's journey lens for their life story:
"We developed a 'restorying' intervention in which we prompted people to retell their story as a hero's journey. Participants identified each of the seven elements in their life, and then we encouraged them to weave these pieces together into a coherent narrative.
In six studies with more than 1,700 participants, we confirmed that this restorying intervention worked: it helped people see their life as a hero's journey, which in turn made that life feel more meaningful. Intervention recipients also reported greater well-being and became more resilient in the face of personal challenges; these participants saw obstacles more positively and dealt with them more creatively."
According to the researchers, it didn't matter how meaningful the participants had felt their lives were before. All participants got a boost in meaning and well-being from the exercise. However, there were two key components of the intervention that made it effective. Not only did participants identify the seven elements of the hero's journey but they wove them together into a coherent narrative—literally telling their life story as a narrative. "In other studies, we found that doing only one or the other—such as describing aspects of one's life that resembled the hero's journey without linking them together—had a much more modest effect on feelings of meaning in life than doing both," the researchers wrote.
It's definitely worth a try. As Rogers told TIME, “The way that people tell their life story shapes how meaningful their lives feel. And you don’t have to live a super heroic life or be a person of adventure—virtually anyone can rewrite their story as a Hero’s Journey.”