Taylor Haberman has had to miss out on many of the defining moments' of her senior year. However, the 18-year-old heart transplant patient was still able to "walk" in her high school graduation ceremony with a little help from technology.
Haberman, who attended Bartram Trail High School in St. Johns, Fla., spent Saturday at Shands Gainesville, where she is on the waiting list for a heart transplant, according to First Coast News.
But a five-camera stream set up by nonprofit group Streetlight allowed Haberman to watch the June 1 ceremony and her classmates -- who wore hearts on their sleeves in her honor -- to watch her.
When Haberman's name was called, her sister "walked" her across the stage on an iPad, the St. Augustine Record reports. As her sister turned the iPad to face the audience, the packed University of North Florida Arena gave her a standing ovation.
"Taylor, we want you to know that we all wish you the best,” Principal Dawn Sapp said, according to the Record.
Haberman's mother, Kelly, told ABC News that the compromise was "the next best thing" to graduating in person.
"She was ecstatic. Just like any other senior, she did it," her mother said.
Haberman was born with congenital heart disease that worsened her junior year in high school, according to ABC News. In January, she was admitted to Shands Gainesville as a last-ditch attempt to secure a new heart.
"In order for [Taylor] to be pretty high on the transplant list, she needed to be in-patient," Kelly Haberman said. "As far as organ donors, she could wait for years and years if she sat at home."
Taylor Haberman told First Coast News that she plans to take online courses and eventually help other children by becoming a pediatric nurse.
"After thinking that I'm graduated, like it's crazy to think that, but I know I have a lot of stuff going ahead of me so looking for the positive outcome of it," she told the outlet.