Cancer survivor gets special graduation ceremony at Medical City Children's Hospital

DALLAS - A teen who is in remission from a rare form of cancer missed graduating with his classmates in May, but he did not give up on his dream to graduate.

Tyler Vinh has been out of school since he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer that affects the bone marrow and blood, at 15 years old.

For the last three years, Vinh completed his classes online and the people at Medical City Children's Hospital who helped encourage him along the way couldn't let him miss a ceremony to go along with his diploma.

"He has met the requirements to graduate. We are graduating him here because this is where he went to high school," said Kammie Tessitori, Pediatric Oncology Coordinator at Medical City.

On Saturday, a ceremony was held in his honor. But instead of a principal, his doctor did the honors.

"It is nice to have my medical staff here. They fought with me," Vinh said. "It was hard to keep awake. To get up every day and go to my chair."

Tyler's dad, Zack Vinh, was a partial match for a stem-cell transplant last year and Tyler is now in remission.

"He's accomplished so much. Not only to be able to beat blood cancer, but to continue his education," Zack said.

Tyler could not attend school during his treatments, leading him to miss graduation from Diana High School.

On Saturday, he officially became a high school graduate.

Tyler's mother, Brandy Pipkin, says words cannot express their gratitude for the people who helped him reach this moment.

"I love each and every one of them. We could not have done it without them," Pipkin told the staff.

Tyler says he is taking a deep breath now before he decides what happens next.

He says he does have an interest in electric engineering.