11-Year-Old Girl Gets Dream Prom Experience After Being Told She Has Just Months To Live
For many girls, prom is the moment they’ve waited for their entire lives.
From the long, elegant dress to the curly or braided hair, it’s the one night that you get to dress to the nines and not need any excuse besides, “it’s prom.”
But for 11-year-old Madison Smallwood from Monroe, Ohio, she may never live to see this day during her senior year of high school. In fact, she may never live to see high school at all.
This young fifth grader was diagnosed with bone cancer and was given only months to live.
Madison made sure that each moment was special because she didn’t know how many she had left.
So on Wednesday, May 30, she got to live out her long-awaited dream of going to prom, surrounded by her family and hundreds of her fifth grade friends.
All dressed up, Madison got ready for her prom at Lake Lyndsay in Hamilton, Ohio.
When she realized she didn’t have a date, parents in the community heard and knew just what to do.
That’s when four boys stepped up and asked Madison to prom, wanting to fulfill her wish. They came bearing gifts like cakes, flowers and donuts.
“I went to go find a dress. And then I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t have a date,’ and that’s when those four dates happened and then it kind of turned into a whole prom,” Madison said.
One of her dates, Colby Watts, said, “It fills my heart because she’s going through a rough time, obviously, so if it’s anything to make it better, then why not?”
Madison rode to prom with all four dates, and her friends followed behind in a pink limo.
Some of Madison’s other biggest wishes include going to the beach, and seeing Fiona, the baby hippo, at Cincinnati Zoo.
Lori Smallwood, Madison’s mother, always taught her children that “no one is promised tomorrow, and so we have to live for today.”
What a wonderful reminder to live by, and what a powerful move for the community to fulfill Madison’s lifelong dreams.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Smallwood family.
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