Teenage Girl Receives A Prom Surprise
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A 16-year-old girl from Thief River Falls who is fighting cancer is getting a surprise for prom with the help of a Fargo restaurant. O’Kelly’s teamed up with Sanford to raise money for the teen.
Grace Woods has been in a fight for her life for four years. Her family has had several ups and downs but when they got the news about what O’Kelly’s did, they were ecstatic.
Grace is a sophomore at Lincoln High School. She likes to hunt and fish and is told she has an old soul. You would never know that she is battling terminal bone cancer.
“You just kind of know when something’s not working or when something’s going to happen and so you just try to make the best out of what you have,” she says.
Grace and her parents have had a tough four years. They’ve tried nearly every treatment and experimental medicine but nothing has worked.
“Another treatment comes along and that one doesn’t work and that’s where we are now. We’re at the end,” says her father Todd Woods.
At this point, Grace has accepted her condition and is living her life to its fullest potential. This includes going to prom. Her school made an exception for her since she’s only a sophomore.
“All of my sophomore friends are trying to get dates so they can come,” Grace says.
For every high school girl, going to prom means looking your best. And for Grace, that doesn’t just mean a dress. It means a new wig.
“They can run anywhere from a thousand dollars to over five thousand dollars,” says Todd.
Enter Mike Clevenger or “Clevy”. The second he got the call from Sanford about Grace’s wish, he starting fundraising with a goal of $1,700.
“I actually got a bucket and printed up a sign just saying what I’m doing,” says Clevy.
In just a short few days, they raised nearly $3,000. A big gesture that will make an even bigger difference in what Grace refers to as her last prom.
After prom, Grace has big plans for summer. She and one of her older sisters are taking a road trip to North Carolina. She plans to make it the busiest summer of her life.
