Last night was one of those "thank my lucky stars" nights. Jen and I are active with the Unforgettable Prom Foundation charity; the mission of the charity is to give the ultimate prom experience to children affected by cancer. It was Prom night for 200+ kids in the South FL area at the Ritz on Fort Lauderdale beach. For many of these kids, it will be the only prom they ever go to - many are too sick to go to prom with classmates, or they are not up to the physical and mental challenge of trying make a normal, monumental teenage night as the one who's different - as the girl with the wig or the boy with the walker. Last night, these teens had a chance to soak in every wonderful moment surrounded by kids who are afflicted by the same illnesses and relate to the same struggles. Teenage years are hard enough without having to fight potentially terminal illness, so enabling these children to enjoy one night of just being a teenager gives them both wonderful memories and something to look forward to during their treatments. It's also personal to me - as a cancer survivor with 3 grandparents who lost lives to cancer and too many friends who've been affected (with the silver lining that they're all here to tell their scar stories, too) it hits very close to home; I still can't even imagine the strength some of these children need to battle daily. A co-worker's daughter was one of our attendees this year, and she (the co-worker) brightens every time we talked about the upcoming prom and how her girl was so excited after months of painful and difficult treatments. Hearing the mom that excited was the lump-in-your-throat, misty-eyed moment I realized this is making a real difference in the lives of kids that have so much less than I do.
The prom was started 3 years ago by good friend Brandon Opre; it has also made it's way to Cleveland (and we're looking to grow to other cities - certainly contact me if interested to see if there's an opportunity to do something where you are). A network of dedicated volunteers procures the services of many to make the evening a success - there was a Las Vegas theme, complete with a red-carpet walk filmed by Deco Drive (the wildly popular Miami Beach gossip show), photos, dinner, dancing with a great DJ, and a surprise performance by Brandon and Savannah (I'm getting old - apparently they are popular teenybop singers with the teens/tweens demographic), plus appearances by several Miami Dolphins players, Dolphins and Panthers cheerleaders, and several of the Miss Teen Florida pageant contestants. The night is made as magical as possible, from the limo/limo bus ride to the Ritz to the gift bag stuffed with goodies.
We were so busy pulling the event off that it was tough to appreciate the magnitude of the moment - by the time I finally got upstairs to the actual prom (3 hours into it), the kids were dancing and getting photo booth pictures and doing everything you'd expect kids to do (take your prom and cross breed it with a Bar Mitzvah or Sweet 16 you see on TV; that is probably the best analogy I can come up with). For this one night, they were just kids at a prom having fun, and it made all the prep work worth it. You could see the smiles on the faces of nearly everyone involved, and that was reward enough for the work put into this.
At the end of the evening, another board member and I assisted one of the children getting on and off the bus. She was wheelchair-bound and had little use of her right arm and leg; getting her in the jump seat of the limo bus gave me new respect for how delicately orderlies handle their patients (and how difficult is). We got to the hospital, and reality set back in - parents were lined up waiting, just like any other parents would be anxiously awaiting their child returning home from prom. These parents and children weren't thinking about this weekend's sports practices, upcoming exams, summer jobs, and college preparations. They instead focus on what time their next pills are needed and making sure the kids hadn't drained themselves too much for their next treatments. The escape from their illness can only be temporary, no matter how great a Prom it was. Many of them will be still fighting when next year's prom arrives, hopefully buoyed by the spirits of the ones who have won their battle and serve as inspiration. The reality, though, is it's likely several won't be with us to celebrate next year. One girl should have been at the Prom Friday; instead, they had her funeral. The child we helped on and off the bus talked and smiled with us as we journeyed back to the hospital; she said this was her first prom and she had "so much fun". For the next 11+ months, I'll pray I get to assist her off that bus in 2013. God bless these children and those who love them.
For more information visit www.apromtoremember.org or contact me directly
Follow the Prom on facebook at @FTLProm or
http://www.facebook.com/APromtoRemember or on Twitter at #teenswithcancer
A clip from the local news pre-prom:
http://www.local10.com/news/Cancer-patients-to-take-part-in-A-Prom-To-Remember/-/1717324/13065578/-/15ulwxsz/-/index.html
More clips to come as we get them. Thanks from the Board to all the volunteers, sponsors, celebrities, chaperones for making this possible, and for our special guests, who provide us all with the hope, strength, and inspiration to assist in their battle against cancer.
Posts
