Texas high school holds early graduation ceremony for student with cancer

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A special graduation ceremony was held Monday at Kilgore High School in Texas for Lynzee Ford, who is battling cancer.

The 17-year-old was diagnosed with leukemia in January, according to KLTV. After five rounds of chemotherapy, doctors told the young student she has about four months to live.

The school’s gym was filled with Kilgore residents and mayor, as well as Ford’s family and friends.

“It’s a culmination of kindergarten through twelve years of education for her, and a life of memories with her and her classmates. Lynzee is one of the strongest people I know, and she’s taught us a lot about family and fighting and never giving up,” Kilgore teacher and assistant coach Kathy Mehringer said during the ceremony, according to KLTV.

“Graduation is a right of passage for every high school student,” Ford’s mother told KETK. “Just like prom is, your first date, riding your bicycle…I didn’t want Lynzee to miss out on anything. We’ve been in the hospital for 9 months and she missed out on summer, getting her first job, her driver’s license and stuff like that. So now we’re just gonna make life as normal as possible.”

The school’s principal Gregg Brown served as the keynote speaker.

Brown told KLTV of the event, “Lynzee is a very special young lady here at Kilgore High School and is loved by us all, and she wanted to graduate from here and we wanted to make sure that happened.”

Thanks to efforts by her classmates, Ford will have the opportunity to attend prom in November.

A fund has been set up for Ford and her family to assist with medical bills. You can donate at the I Love Lynzee Project at Kilgore National Bank.

Follow theGrio.com’s Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals