Sweet daughter takes terminally ill mom to her first prom: "I want her to live her life..."
Alexis Gaymon, a McKinley High School senior, was in her bedroom going through her classmates' "promposals" on social media when she had a novel idea. Alexis thought of asking her terminally ill mother to prom. "Well, I know that my mom didn't go to prom," Alexis said to WKBW. "So, if anything were to happen to my mom, I want her to live her life to the fullest," she added.
Just a few months after being certified in remission from stage three breast cancer, Libby Gaymon, Alexis's mom, received the devastating news that her mother now had terminal cancer. Libby, 42, claims that her cancer spread to her hips, pelvis, femur, liver, lungs, spleen, spine, and skull.
What makes this "promposal" especially unique is that Libby did not attend her original prom. While still a senior in high school, she gave birth to her first child, a daughter.
Alexis secretly requested approval from her McKinley High School principal before executing the promposal. Graduating seniors are typically restricted from bringing dates younger than 21. "When I asked her she said, 'You want to take your mom to prom?' I know she didn't know that she got sick again, so I had to explain that," Alexis said.
Once Alexis received the all-clear, she planned a gathering of her entire family and extended family. Her relatives were instructed to line up in a straight line while holding boards with letters that together read, "Mom, would you go to PROM?" With a bouquet of flowers in her hands, Alexis was towards the rear of the queue. "I didn't see it coming," Libby said while fighting back tears. "I hope my mom feels very special because I love her. It's my mom," Alexis said.
It has been difficult to find a dress that hides Libby's scars, tumors, and chemo port. She spent weeks looking before finding one that gave her confidence. "I want it to be beautiful. I want it to be everything I wanted it to be when I didn't go, too, as well as making it extra special going with my baby girl."
The mother-daughter dates' prom is being supported by a GoFundMe campaign. "My story isn't any different than any other cancer patient that has metastasized cancer except the fact that my 17-year-old daughter Alexis, who is a senior at McKinley High School, asked me to her prom which is on May 19th," Libby wrote on the GoFundMe, adding that even if somebody can't donate, they should "just say a prayer for me and my family, we need lots of prayers."
The grateful mom then just thanked everyone for reading her story. "Thank you all just for listening to our story," she concluded the fundraiser.