At 97, he thought he’d never wear a white coat again. Then his great-granddaughter got into his old med school
Kristi D. Johnson described that the grandpa never went to college until he was in his 30s and was often told that he was too old to attend one
At 97 years old, a former doctor thought he would probably never wear a white coat again. But as he donned one, after a decade, he was mesmerized. It was his great-granddaughter, Haiden Hauret’s “White Coat Ceremony” at the University of Kentucky, the same university where he graduated at the age of 41. His reaction to returning to his university in the vintage white coat was documented by his granddaughter and Hauret’s aunt Kristi D. Johnson (@kristidjohnsonfam). Her August 2, 2026 Instagram reel has since been viewed 6.2 million times.
Back to college memories
“And that’s for you,” Johnson’s told him while laying out the white doctor’s coat for him to see. The coat was embossed with his name “Westel Creager, MD,” and was from the university where he graduated in 1970, at the age of 41. While the footage showed Johnson’s sister dressing their grandpa in her white coat, Johnson described that the grandpa never went to college until he was in his 30s and was often told that he was too old to attend one.
The pride of the 'white coat'
According to Johnson, Creager did well and then decided to keep going. He applied to the University of Kentucky Medical School. At the age of 41, he was the oldest student in the class, but he didn’t care. Now, after decades, he is headed back to the same university to watch his great-granddaughter get the same white coat. In the graduation ceremony, “Is there no stethoscope in there?” He said, playfully, while dressed in it. 51-year-old Johnson told Newsweek that her grandfather had “the best weekend” celebrating the white coat ceremony, and it was something he “wouldn’t have missed for anything.” She added that Hauret is one of grandpa’s many great-grandchildren, but the first to go to his medical school.
At the ceremony, he was reminded of his own days when he was an emergency care doctor. “He’s told Haiden that if she got into medical school, he’d be there. He felt so respected and important for the first time in a while. 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,” Johnson said.
Reminiscence bump
Researchers call what Creager experienced a “reminiscence bump,” a phenomenon in which memories are triggered when an older person witnesses a grandchild’s college graduation. Usually, one peak is 35% of the memories, which consist of 10 to 20 years of their age, while another peak is 23% of the memories, which are from their 20s and 30s. The moment also connects two very different eras of medical education. The modern White Coat Ceremony was established in 1993, 23 years after Creager graduated in 1970. Today, the tradition or a similar ceremony is observed at 99% of AAMC-accredited medical schools in the U.S.
An inspiring lesson
Watching the grandpa rejoice after wearing the doctor’s coat, viewers, including those from the University of Kentucky, flooded the comments section with inspiring messages. Many were left teary-eyed. @dr.z_neurosurgery commented, “The look of happiness on this man’s face makes me realize never to take for granted the fact that I get to show up every single day in my own coat and practice. It really is a privilege. Thank you for sharing.” @your.doctorbestie said, “His whole energy brightened up in that confident hands in coat pockets.”
You can follow Kristi D Johnson (@kristidjohnsonfam) on Instagram for more updates on her grandpa.
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