Terminally ill child receives honorary high school diploma

Published October 26, 2015

In this May 31, 2015 photo, Tri-City High School Valedictorian Bethany Daniels hugs Jordan Planitz after he received an honorary diploma during the school's commencement ceremony in Buffalo, Ill. The six year-old Planitz suffers from a terminal condition characterized by brain abnormalities and excess fluid inside the skull. (David Spencer/The State Journal-Register via AP)

A young Illinois boy with a rare, fatal condition has received an honorary high school diploma from a graduating class.

The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports Jordan Planitz is not expected to live long enough to see his own graduation.

But the 2015 class at Tri-City High School in the central Illinois town of Buffalo invited him to their ceremony Sunday to receive the diploma.

The 6-year-old from the central Illinois town of Waverly has a condition called MPPH syndrome, which is characterized by brain abnormalities and excess fluid inside the skull. He was named the Children's Miracle Network's Illinois Champion Child in 2013.

Class president Mackenzie Lyons says Planitz taught them "how precious life really is and how much we take it for granted."

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