CROTHERSVILLE
Riding in the front seat of a police car wearing a red cap and gown, Brandon Defibaugh headed to Crothersville High School to pick up his certificate of completion.
The 18-year-old thought he was going there Monday afternoon just to receive the certificate. He had no idea what school officials had planned.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Inside the school, Principal David Schill greeted Defibaugh and asked him and his family to come down to the auxiliary gymnasium.
There, chairs were placed in rows facing a podium, set up just like the school’s graduation ceremony that was conducted Friday night.
Defibaugh, his family members, police officers Christopher Cooper and Brent Turner and his teacher, Lee Anne Hahn, took their seats. Schill and Superintendent Terry Goodin said a few words before Defibaugh walked up to receive his certificate.
From riding in the police car to experiencing the special ceremony, the smile couldn’t be wiped away from Defibaugh.
“Oh my, a bucket full of emotions. I was in tears,” said Defibaugh’s mother, Wendy. “I could not believe they all went out of their way. I was a crying mess. I was so proud of our school, police officers Cooper and Turner and Lee Anne. It was a wonderful feeling that they went and did this.”
With all of the fanfare Monday, Wendy Defibaugh said her son thought it was his birthday.
“He said, ‘Mommy, is it Oct. 21?’ all afternoon,” she said. “I hope he understood that he’s loved and there are still great people still around.”
Living with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy, all of his life, Brandon has several different types of seizures daily. The past six months have been particularly difficult for him, Wendy said.
“With seizures, it’s all challenging because there is never a warning when they are coming on,” Wendy said. “It’s hard for him to live a normal life. When he has a seizure, it wipes him out, depending on what type he has. The hardest for me is watching him and not being able to do anything to help.”
Brandon is on homebound service with Madison Area Educational Special Services Unit, and Hahn had visited his home for school lessons.
As graduation approached, the family decided Brandon was not going to be able to participate in graduation, so they hoped for a small service in the school lobby so they could get pictures.
Brandon’s older brother, Cody, though, wanted to do something special for him.
He asked his friend, Cooper, to escort Brandon to school in a police car that morning because he loves policemen and police cars. Cooper picked Brandon and Cody up at their home in the early afternoon.
“I knew Brandon’s love for cops and cop cars, and with me and officer Cooper being friends, we thought it would be a wonderful idea to make Brandon’s big day the best it could possibly be,” Cody said.
“As Brandon got in the cop car, his eyes lit up, and he had a smile that was a mile wide,” he said. “What I thought was only going to be a quiet ride to the school turned out to be the full deal — lights and sirens and the whole nine yards.”
Turner joined the escort at Preston Street on the way to the school.
“This only made Brandon’s smile grow,” Cody said. “I couldn’t be happier as an older brother, and to have a friend that was willing to wake up early before his shift that night to make all of this happen should show you just how big the hearts of a small-town police force really is.”
Cody said he was just as surprised as his family members when they arrived at the school and were taken to the gym for the ceremony, which lasted about 20 minutes.
“I had no part of it, but it was amazing, to say the least,” Cody said. “I’m very, very proud of my brother and what he has accomplished.”
Brandon’s family attending the ceremony included his parents, Wendy and Monte; brothers, Jerry, Jacob, Cory and Cody; sisters, Amberlee and Cassie; aunt, Becky Sawyer; and cousins, Andrew Prince and Brandon Sawyer. His friend, Marissa, also was there along with Hahn, Cooper, Turner, Teia Thomas, Schill and Goodin.
Monte Defibaugh said it was great to be a part of his son’s special day.
“I was overwhelmed with what the school had done and Crothersville police officers Cooper and Turner and all of the time his teacher had spent with Brandon through the years,” he said.
“We did a card party on Facebook, and he received 25 cards from complete strangers and friends and family,” he said. “Some sent money, which he’s wanting to buy a portable DVD player with, headphones and a new Dora movie.”
Schill said Madison Area Educational Special Services Unit officials had contacted him at the beginning of the school year about Brandon being a senior and wanting to go through graduation.
Once Schill found out Brandon’s seizures were going to prevent him from participating in that ceremony, he shared that information with Goodin.
They agreed to arrange a small ceremony for Brandon. With the help of a few students, they set up a podium and some chairs in the gym.
Schill said he made a few comments about Brandon’s hard work and steadfastness in finishing his program and thanked Hahn for working so diligently with Brandon. Schill then presented Brandon to Goodin, who congratulated him and presented him with his certificate.
Brandon posed for pictures with his family and even received one with Schill and Goodin, smiling the whole time.
“This was all done to help a young man enjoy and feel special about this wonderful event in his life,” Schill said. “Dr. Goodin and I both are very humbled with the enjoyment and excitement that Brandon and the Defibaugh family felt that day. It will definitely be one of those special moments in my tenure as principal and an educator that I will remember and tell others about for years to come.”