“She was diagnosed shortly after her second birthday, and was told she was out of options shortly before her fifth.”
A week before Lila May Schow turned five, her parents found out she was seriously ill.
Just days after from what would be her last birthday, Ryan Schow and Heidi Hall were told by doctors that the cancer that has ravaged their daughter’s body for almost three years would soon end her life.
Lila May suffers from Neuroblastoma, one of the most common cancers found in children. She was diagnosed shortly after her second birthday, and was told she was out of options shortly before her fifth.
For her fifth birthday, her parents knew that it needed to be special. And so they threw the party of a lifetime for their daughter.
Ryan and Heidi posted about the birthday party online, starting a Facebook group that caught the attention of their entire community in their Oregon hometown.
And the turn out was incredible.
Ryan and Heidi wanted the party to encompass all of the moments that parents should have with their children, but that they would never experience.
“We’re not going to get the prom dance or daddy-daughter dance,” her father, Ryan, told KATU News.
A bank was transformed into a magic castle. A horse-drawn carriage arrived to take Lila May to her ball. Two custom-made gowns were created for her to wear on her day.
And Ryan made sure to have his dance with Lila May. Tears running down his face, it was a moment to remember.
You can watch a video of the party below.
You can leave a message of support for Lila May and her family below in the comments section. You can also donate to the family by clicking here.
For more stories like this…
“I have terminal cancer. And I hate it when you tell me to live in the moment’.”
Tessa James on the devastating choice between cancer treatment or having children.