A dozen years have come and gone since Savannah Solomon hosted that first Red Carpet weekend, providing a welcome escape from the brutal chemo-and-radiation regimen and the faint sense of doom that lingers over cancer patients like so many IV poles.

James Bostic knows what that’s like. So do Lauren Bullard and the 13 other teens shuttled last week from their hospitals in Savannah and Columbia, South Carolina, to Lake Lanier’s Legacy Lodge.

That’s why, they said, Solomon’s ongoing efforts mean so much.

After a day at Stone Mountain, they looked forward to being chauffeured about town in stretch limos. Dressing to the nines and walking on the red carpet. Shopping at Atlantic Station. Enjoying dinner parties and dancing. And instead of cancer, talking about the importance of laughter, giving compliments and cherishing each moment they’ve been given.

“It’s been really fun,” said Bullard, 15.

Their weekend ended Friday, but later this week, Solomon, now 28, will be in New Orleans with that city’s retreat leaders ready to treat another group of cancer patients. She plans to expand the leadership program next year to Charlotte, North Carolina, which will become the third site for the Red Carpet retreat.

Read more about Solomon and her Red Carpet event here: http://www.myajc.com/news/lifestyles/health/cancer-survivors-get-red-carpet-treatment/ngCxj/

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