Central Texas high school holds ‘graduation for one’ ceremony for teen who overcame obstacles

LAMPASAS, Texas (KWTX) - Avery Hamrick, a senior at Lampasas High School, was honored during a “graduation for one” ceremony after she missed her 18th birthday celebration, prom night and graduation while receiving treatment for an illness at a hospital.

Relatives said Avery was administered a bronchoscopy in March to find out why she kept contracting pneumonia. Her results came back normal, except one.

Doctors learned she had mycobacterium abscesses in her lungs and she required treatment with antibiotics at a hospital for a month.

While Avery was receiving treatment, her mother Crystal was fighting cancer. Crystal finished her chemotherapy treatment just before her daughter’s hospitalization and underwent a double mastectomy while her daughter was in the hospital.

“To say this family had been through a lot is an understatement,” said a friend of the family.

Nurses and doctors at McLane’s Hospital did all they could to make Avery feel special, including setting up a room where she and her family could watch her graduation via live stream.

On June 15, Avery was the guest of honor at her own personal graduation ceremony.

Lampasas High School Principal Joey McQueen presented her with her diploma with her family and friends in attendance.

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