frankgands: Terminal cancer sufferer checks prom off her bucket : theCHIVE

Friday 29 March 2013

Terminal cancer sufferer checks prom off her bucket : theCHIVE

March 28, 2013 | In: Awesome, Beautiful

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When 14-year-old Katelyn Norman learned that her bone cancer was going to take her life, she drew up a list of her final wishes ? attending the prom was at the very top of her list. But as her friends gathered at a venue in LaFollette, Tennessee on Tuesday night to throw the prom in her honor, Katelyn had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital after she began struggling to breathe. So, thinking fast, classmates and relatives brought the party to her bedside instead, bringing balloons, music and her smartly-dressed date to make sure she didn?t miss out on completing her bucket list.

Katelyn has been fighting osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer, for two years but doctors told her last week that it has spread to her heart, arteries, pelvis and spine and that there is nothing more they can do. An instructor at Katelyn?s school and prom coordinator, told WATE-TV, ?Once you meet her your life will never be the same, she has such an impact.? The Campbell County mayor, William Bailey, also headed to the prom ? where he announced Tuesday ? March 26 ? would be known as ?Katelyn Norman Day?. Her best friend Brandon Huckaby, 16, added ?She doesn?t care that she?s suffering. She cares that other people are suffering and she wants to stop that.? That?s the kind of person Katelyn is.

It?s powerfully evident how the community and the nation are getting swept up in supporting and sending Katelyn their prayers, support, and their love. Katelyn?s mother, Erica Nelson, said they hope to complete as many activities as possible as she spends her last days at home. ?She doesn?t let the fact that the doctors said she won?t last very long bother her,? her friend Brandon added, ?She has an attitude that, ?I?m Katelyn. I?m bald, I?m beautiful and I will beat this.?

And though it is sad that sometimes it takes the most tragic of events to reveal the most wonderful qualities of the human spirit, it is beautiful to be reminded of the special bond between all of us that makes this planet one worth living on. God bless you, Katelyn. I hope you get everything out of this life you desire and I send all my love and prayers to you.

You can donate to Katelyn?s bucket list fund HERE.

: Katelyn is presented a sash at her prom in hospital on Tuesday night. Her father kisses her.

: JROTC prepares an official entrance to the prom

: Friends and family entering the prom

: Katelyn entering her prom

: Her date presents her with a corsage

: Staff and family members gather for the prom

: Posing with a nurse

: Outside the hospital, thousands of people lined along Highway 63 as part of a candle-lit vigil for Katelyn, who had insisted that a party continue in her absence.