Imagine being a mother and finding out your son with a promising career is now paralyzed.

That's the reality Judy O'Connor had to face in 2012, after her son Marty fell down a flight of stairs just two years after earning an undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado.

Judy was living in Florida at the time, but when Marty found out he'd be doing physiotherapy 5 days a week in Southern California, she moved to be with him and help him through it.

"After I got hurt, I didn't know which end was up. I didn't really have a direction," Marty O'Connor said. "I needed that mental challenge and wanted to add some professional value to myself."

Marty decided he was going to get his MBA, but his inability to use his hands would be a challenge.

"I didn't know how going back to school without being able to write, or use my hands, or raise my hand in class, any of that, would go," O'Connor told the Chapman University blog. "But I think it really kind of challenged me to do some introspection and see what strengths I do have to utilize, and how I can use my situation to work on some new strengths. This has really forced upon me some patients [sic] and thoughtfulness in everything I'm doing."

Judy, a business graduate of University of Notre Dame, returned to school with Marty and attended each of his classes.

Continue to the next page to see what Judy's surprise was!

Marty was given a $10,000 annual scholarship from Swim with Mike, an organization named after All-American swimmer Mike Nyeholt, who was paralyzed in a motorcycle crash in 1981.

With the help of Swim with Mike, voice recognition software, and his mom Judy, Marty graduated from Chapman University with an MBA.

"As a mom, you just want to help your kids get through things," Judy O'Connor told KTLA. "I always believed in him. I knew he could do it and I just wanted to have his back."

As Judy was preparing to roll her son across the stage to accept his diploma, the announcer pointed out a "special individual" who was receiving a degree as well.

Judy O'Connor.

"Mrs. Judith O'Connor has attended all the classes with her son Marty," the announcer said. "She has taken notes and worked with Marty throughout his academic career."

All of this was Marty's idea, and the faculty was on board.

"I was just so excited for her because she deserved it so much," Marty O'Connor said.

As for Judy, she couldn't be happier. Not for the degree, but for Marty.

"I'm a geek. I love being in school," she said. "I'm not going to lie. I've enjoyed every minute of it."