Jared Springer suffered a cancerous brain tumor at the beginning of his senior year and spent months in the hospital.
Jared’s motivation to recover was to attend his prom, but due to district policies, he was not allowed.
However, he had a supportive community that worked hard to bring his prom dreams to fruition.
Jared Springer, from California, was a big surfing enthusiast until he came close to death in 2014. He collapsed at school and suffered a brain hemorrhage and stroke.
It turned out that Jared had a cancerous tumor in his brain. He was just about to start his senior year in high school and ended up in a coma for 20 days and spent five months in ICU.
The then-teenager underwent ten months of chemotherapy, and after his long battle, he returned to Arroyo Grande High School in 2015 under a special educational program for his senior year.
Due to his brain tumor, Jared had a mild cognitive and speech deficit, and his right side was paralyzed. Nevertheless, Jared was determined to finish high school on a high note and was incredibly excited to attend his prom.
Why Was Jared Springer Now Allowed to Attend His Prom?
After his return to school, Jared went through another unfortunate event. He fell off his wheelchair and broke his hip, leading him to spend three weeks in the hospital.
But through his recovery journey, one thing that kept Jared going was the thought of attending his prom. He spent several weeks in rehabilitation fighting to get back in shape for this special day.
His father, Frank Springer, also started preparing for his son’s special night. The concerned father was willing to attend the dance with Jared and had even bought the tickets.
This was before the Springer family received a call with bad news from a teacher, who told Frank that Jared might not be allowed to attend prom due to district policies.
Since Jared had spent a long time away from school, the teacher informed Frank that only students enrolled in the institution could attend school functions.
The news completely broke Jared. “You could just see his mood completely change. You could see the disappointment in his eyes,” said his distraught father. Frank also discovered he could not accompany his son without a tuberculosis test and a general medical background check.
Then there was hope that Jared could go to his prom if the family got a medical waiver, but Frank thought there was not enough time and threw in the towel. Jared’s parents were defeated because this night was why he worked hard to recover. His mother reiterated, “That was the one thing getting him through everything: prom.”
Despite his disappointment, Jarred still decided to put on his prom outfit, an all-black outfit with a pink tie paired with Converse sneakers, and took his date out for dinner.
Although the moment was meant to be cute, Frank still thought it was sad, even for Jared, who expressed, “It was the only prom I was going to go to. Last year, I didn’t get to go because I was in the hospital.”
The Springer Family Took Their Matter to Facebook
Frank could not bear his son’s heartbreak, so he took his frustrations to Facebook. The father wrote a long message explaining that his son was denied access to his high school prom, adding, “He deserved to be able to go; he deserved to enjoy the moment, enjoy the music and feel good about himself.”
Frank’s post got a lot of traction, with over 3,000 people sharing it. It eventually got into the right hands of Brighten A Corner Ministry, a non-profit organization that offered to throw Jared a memorable prom.
The organization’s founder Robin Lee said the event would include a red-carpet arrival with Jared at the head of the table. The prom also featured a surf theme with Jared’s favorite food to make him feel like the man of the hour.
Lee wanted Jared to have the experience he longed for after fighting cancer and hip surgery. The founder said, “We are trying to help him rewrite the ending to his story and give him the prom of his dreams.”
The Springer family also received an apology from Lucia Mar Unified School District Superintendent Raynee Daley, explaining that students absent from school for medical reasons need an official medical release within a specific time frame.
However, Danley admitted a flaw in their communications and wrote, “We failed to communicate this in a timely way, and we failed to provide a path that could have made Jared’s dream come true. And for that, I accept responsibility and apologize.”
Luckily, Jared had a community supporting him to ensure he got the prom of his dreams. He celebrated with his date and several students from neighboring high schools.
The Springer family expressed their gratitude to everyone that helped bring the amazing prom event together. “Jared has a smile back on his face.” wrote Frank.
Here is another inspiring story of a young boy with cancer who raised money to help other sick kids.
