Watch student with cerebral palsy ditch his wheelchair and walk across the stage at graduation ceremony!

Video Credit: Jennifer D Long

Jericho Burroughs from Florida is an 18-year-old man with cerebral palsy who decided to ditch his wheelchair in order to walk across the stage during his graduation ceremony.

While the young wheelchair-bound teen believed all of his dreams got crushed when he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy years ago, he not only surprised himself but everyone around him when he stood on his legs to claim his diploma.

Initially, the boy’s mom thought her son would sing on the stage due to his vocal talent when he told her he had a surprise ready. As the mother realized on the day of the graduation, May 30, 2019, however, Jericho did something even more remarkable.

“I won prom king. When they called my name, I am telling you, I was literally about to fall out of the chair,” Burroughs said in an interview with WJXT.

“After months and months of preparation and working very hard on my graduation day, it just so happened I walked across that stage and I went to get what I deserved, and that was my high school diploma.

“It felt liberating. I felt powerful in that moment.”

As the teen went on to explain, he was brought up in the company of his brother who has epilepsy. Both of them, however, were taught they were no less capable than everyone else.

“You can’t pull that disability card around here. They aren’t going to play that. You are going to clean up like everyone else. You are going to fix your food like everyone else,” Burroughs added.

“For me, it’s just challenging. It’s all you think about: a life full of challenges. For so long, I have had to roll in this wheelchair.  Don’t get me wrong, I make it work.”

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