Dr. Westel Creager made his great-granddaughter Haiden Hauret a promise years ago: if she got into medical school, he’d be there for her white coat ceremony, the ritual that marks the start of a medical career. This summer, at the University of Kentucky, he kept it.
Westel of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, started adult life as a carpenter before pushing himself back into school in his thirties. He was accepted into the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, graduated in 1970 at age 41 as the oldest student in his class, and spent decades afterward working emergency rooms, well into his 70s.
Haiden is one of Westel’s many great-grandchildren. “She’s one of grandpa’s many great grandchildren, but the first to go to his medical school,” said Kristi Johnson, 51, Westel’s granddaughter and Haiden’s aunt.
“He loved his career and always gave back to low economic areas that were underserved medically,” Kristi said. “He got his pilot’s license and flew his plane with the Good Samaritans into Mexico and treated patients. He also opened an AIDS hospital in his later years.”
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The ceremony meant more to Westel than most people around him realized, Kristi said. “He felt so respected and important for the first time in a while,” she said. “His mind is so sharp, yet people treat him like a child most of the time because of his age. But no one treated him like that at the ceremony – he felt honored and respected.”
“I’m overwhelmed,” Westel said quietly in a video posted online, moments before he watched Haiden receive her own white coat.
Westel hasn’t slowed down much since, either – he still drives himself around, keeps up his hobbies and spends time fixing up his boat, Kristi said. He’s already planning to attend Haiden’s hooding ceremony, the ritual that will mark her actual medical school graduation.
“Grandpa was tired of being poor and wanted to become a well-respected doctor, so he did it,” Kristi said. “He says it’s the key to staying young and sharp. You are never too old – keep pushing yourself, keep taking the stairs, adding new hobbies and changing your path if needed.”
