Two best friends given a 2% survival rate at birth beat the odds and graduated from their school in Tyler, Texas, last Thursday.
Odin Frost is non-verbal autistic, and his best friend, Jordon Granberry, had brain damage due to complications at birth that led to a lack of oxygen in the brain, Odin's dad, Tim Frost, said.
Frost shared a post of the two best friends that went viral on Reddit, showing Odin and Jordon on the first day of school and on graduation day.
The father recalled Odin and Jordon playfully bonding from that very first day of their special needs school, which started at age 3.
"Jordon had just bit Odin, and Odin retaliated by pinching him back," Frost said to NBC 5 via Instagram direct message. "I think that was their way of showing each other what they were capable of, and in a funny way, a bonding moment."
Frost explained that the two were told they would never walk and live in a vegetative state if they made it past 7 years old.
But Odin was the first to walk, and he would push Jordon's wheelchair as the two defied the odds and developed a special relationship that endured through 18 years of school.
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"Most kids Odin's age, as well as adults, have not been kind to him," Frost said. "They look on, stare or even are scared of them ... [However], with each other, there never was any thought in the world that there was something different or wrong with them, as it should be."
And on June 16, Odin and Jordon both graduated in what Frost called a "surreal" moment, holding his son's hand across the stage and trying to hold back tears.
"We almost didn't go," Frost said. "We wanted to keep him safe, same with Jordon's parents. But something in us said, 'We can't let Odin miss out on graduation.' I never graduated high school or even went to high school, so I didn't want him to be robbed of this privilege."
And now Odin and Jordon are officially high school graduates and also internet famous. You can follow Odin's journey on Instagram.
"My son has not been happier about all the exposure," Frost said. "So I say: bring it!"
