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Student with cerebral palsy surprised with prom queen nod by London, Ont., high school

Student with cerebral palsy surprised with prom queen nod by London, Ont., high school

When it came to nominating their prom queen this year, graduating students at John Paul II Catholic Secondary School in London, Ont., stacked the vote in favour of one special student.

Of the 250 votes, 230 were for 17-year-old Samantha Sands.

Social butterfly” Sands has cerebral palsy. And while she has physical limitations — she requires a special wheelchair to get to class, uses a feeding tube and is unable to speak — she’s also one of the school’s most popular prom queens ever.

“She’s beautiful inside and out,” educational assistant Diana Pageot told the London Free Press. ”We’ve watched her grow from a little girl into a lovely woman.“

Last year, Sands was put in palliative care after experiencing some medical complications. Despite an initially bleak prognosis, she recovered and returned to school, inspiring her fellow students to celebrate her at this year’s prom.

"I think when the students heard she was so close to death, it really affected them,” said teacher and prom staff advisor Kathleen Jarvis.

The students organized their voting on a private Facebook page.

Jarvis told student Michael Bielen in advance that he was going to be named prom king so he had time to figure out how to dance with someone in a wheelchair.

He and Sands picked their first dance together — Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are” — and choreographed their dance moves before the school formal last Friday night.