A Texas high school student confined to a hospital bed because of a condition he has endured since birth still got to enjoy his senior prom -- and was even crowned prom king, WFAA reported.
Terrence Mayhorn was born with encephalocele, a rare birth defect of the neural tube that affects the brain. He required surgery when he was 3 days old to drain excess fluid from his brain into his abdomen.
As his senior year at Grapevine High School ended, Mayhorn required more surgery, meaning he would miss his senior prom.
However, Mayhorn’s fellow students brought the prom to him, WFAA reported.
Mayhorn had been voted prom king, and last Friday nurses in the neurology unit at Parkland Hospital in Dallas decorated a meeting room to transform it into a prom ballroom.
The school’s prom theme was “Midnight in Paris,” so nurses included a cutout of the Eiffel Tower.
Mayhorn’s mother convinced him to put on a tuxedo, telling him he was going to have his picture taken. When he walked into the makeshift ballroom, he was surprised by the nurses and several classmates, who held a banner proclaiming him prom king and brought a crown for the coronation, WFAA reported.
"I'd like to announce that our class voted you as prom king,” student body president Lyon Lee said as his classmates applauded.
“We don't think it's because Terrence was special needs or anything. It's because he is a special guy," Lee told WFAA. “And the class recognized that and we all voted for him.”
"I'm just overwhelmed," said Terrence's mother, Sharon Okafor. "He's such a popular kid, and he's just so sweet. So, couldn't happen to a better person. He deserves it."
Mayhorn said he was overwhelmed by the surprise.
"Was it awesome?" Okafor asked him.
"Yes. It was awesome," he said.
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