Lonely Grandpa At Nursing Home Looks Out Window To See Grandkids Startling Him In Cap And Gowns

May 28, 2020 by apost team

One of the toughest aspects of the strict quarantine rules during the coronavirus pandemic is that everyone is unable to visit the elderly, especially those who live in nursing homes away from their families.

But some families have found ways around this, such as what Vana Ebrahimi did for her 86-year-old grandfather Hayrik. After graduating from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, Vana and her brother, who graduated from medical school, surprised their grandpa at his nursing home window wearing their graduation robes.

Vana Ebrahami and her brother wanted to do something extra special for their grandfather when they both graduated this month—Vana from law school, and her brother from medical school. Both of them are first-generation college students in their family, and it's thanks to their grandfather Hayrik that this was possible.

That's because decades ago, Hayrik fled war-torn Iran, leaving for America without any money or knowledge of English. But thanks to his heroic efforts, his grandchildren have now graduated and are able to live the American dream.

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However, the coronavirus pandemic put a glitch in their plan, since not only have visitations to his nursing home been restricted since March, but there would be no commencement ceremonies to honor graduates, which means Hayrik wouldn't be able to witness his grandchildren graduating.

Well, Vana had a great substitute idea. Her and her brother dressed up in their graduation robes and came to visit Hayrik at the nursing home, surprising him from outside a window. Luckily, they recorded the visit so we could all enjoy their touching family moment.

In the video, Hayrik can be seen sitting in his wheelchair by the window. His granddaughter and grandson are standing outside in their full graduation robes, looking in at him. Vana is already wiping away tears, before Hayrik also starts to cry while inside.

Vana told KTLA why the moment meant so much for all of them:

"For us to be able to not just go to college, but also get a graduate degree...it was like the struggle of coming here and escaping war and doing all that was worth it."

It's an incredibly moving moment, as it converges so many major things in life at once—war and building a new life, making it through the coronavirus pandemic, and the next generation growing up to live their dreams. No wonder both Vana and Hayrik were brought to tears.

Hayrik has lived at the nursing home since January and since the lockdown started in March, it's meant that Vana hadn't seen him for months. Now thanks to the clever idea of visiting him through the window, the family were able to reunite for this important moment.

What did you think of Vana and her brother surprising their grandfather at the nursing home? Let us know in the comments and be sure to pass this on to your loved ones.