A patient at a hospital in Tyler, Texas had one ultimate wish: to see his child graduate from high school. But the loving father was not sure he’d be able to keep fighting until the May ceremony, so the school did something amazing and held an emotional ‘mock’ graduation ceremony on Wednesday so he could attend.

Mark Patterson was diagnosed with stage-four esophageal cancer in January, and although he’d taken down the cancer once before, this time it was back and had spread to his lymph nodes, according to CBS 19. As his organs started to fail, Patterson was taken into hospice care.

His wife, Darla, at one point questioned what his last wish would be. “What is your goal?,” she said. For Patterson, the answer was clear. Through tears he told his wife, “I just want to see my baby girl graduate.” He was referring to the couple’s daughter, Christian, who is a senior at Lindale High School in nearby Lindale, Texas.

https://www.facebook.com/LindaleISD/videos/305278223485231/

Before his cancer, Patterson had been a school bus driver for the school district’s depot. Thus, when his former coworkers heard of his final request, they knew they were going to make it happen. They couldn’t guarantee Patterson would be alive to see the entirety of the ceremony, they though, but they could make sure to have the next best thing. So they started an effort to set up an early graduation ceremony at his hospice, and Lindale ISD said yes.

On Wednesday, Christian proudly put on her royal blue cap and gown and strolled down the “aisle” to the traditional graduation song, “Pomp and Circumstance,” as a crowd gathered outside Hospice of East Texas. In an amazing video posted on the school district’s Facebook page, Christian embraces her dad at his bedside, and they’re joined by her mom, who gives a beautiful speech about the adopted daughter they raised as if she were the couple’s own biological child.

“I’ve never been loved in my life, even by my parents, like this precious baby is loved,” Darla Patterson said. “Eighteen years ago, we were blessed with a child that had to be raised by old people,” she then joked. “But she’s amazing.”

Patterson was able to wave at his daughter as she stood next to him and posed for pictures.

“My dad is my rock,” Christian told CBS 19. “Even though I might break down once in a while, I know God has my back, and I want to stay strong for my family, as well.”

The ceremony was a blessing for Christian, as well. “The graduation in May will be special, [because] I know I will be laughing more and be more outgoing since I’ll be with my classmates,” she told CBS 19. “But I know this one will definitely be something in the books.” She said she is also grateful that her dad had his wish granted. “I was thinking about my dad a lot, thinking about him more than my feelings,” she said. “Because I want to put him first before me.”

Patterson, though, could not express his emotions on the outside, so, on his behalf. his family shared some words.

“Amazing. That would be his word,” Darla told the station. “Because all these people that love our family, they stepped up. They left their jobs. He would say amazing. That’s what he would say.”

“I just know my dad is very caring and very loving, and that he thanks everyone that was a part of this,” Christian added. “And if he wasn’t on medicine and everything, he would be crying right now.”