Boy receives special gift after missing graduation

[Lucas didn’t miss out on his graduation ceremony thanks to some engaged teachers/Boston Children’s Hospital]

A five-year-old boy recovering from surgery received a sweet gift last month when his teacher surprised him with his own private graduation ceremony at the Boston Children’s Hospital.

Lucas St. Onge was slated to graduate from pre-school just days after receiving organ transplant surgery to replace his intestines, liver, and stomach. His mother, Heather, told PEOPLE he was devastated to miss the ceremony.

“[His classmates] practiced going across the threshold to get the diploma,” Heather. “When he found out he was going to miss it, he was crushed."

Heather asked Lucas’ teacher, Laurie Archambault, if she could FaceTime her son during the ceremony. The pre-school teacher had a different idea, reports TODAY.com.

Archambault, along with three other teachers at the Hellenic American Academy, visited Lucas at the hospital, where they staged their own private graduation ceremony with a cap, gown, and diploma.

Lucas suffers from short bowel syndrome and immune deficiency syndrome. He could not stop talking about his special graduation gift while recovering from surgery.