Extra sweet celebration
On a warm fall Friday, Ashley Souba lifted the long skirt on her pale blue, one-shoulder formal dress and stepped into a convertible, prepared to reign over the homecoming parade at Batavia High School.
Any girl would be thrilled to be given the honor her classmates bestowed on her this week.
But it's extra sweet for Souba. Last year at this time she was getting whole-body radiation at a Chicago hospital in preparation for a life-saving bone marrow transplant.
Friday was an extra-special day for the homecoming king, too, a football player who also has been tackled by a medical issue.
"I think it proves that people can have a negative view of us (teenagers), but there are a lot of good people there," Souba said of her classmates.
They've supported her through her five-year fight against acute lymphocytic leukemia, including raising money for the American Cancer Society by selling orange and white rubber bracelets emblazoned with the words "hope" and "faith."
Wednesday night's announcement at the pep rally shocked her. She almost didn't attend since she was tired and had homework to do. "My friends said, 'You have to go, you have to go,' " she said.
"My friends are awesome that they did that (voted for her) and thought that much of me," she said.
"I love everyone in our class."
Souba already had agreed to go to the homecoming dance with Bryan Worden, the homecoming king, before the election. But not all boys call a girl and ask her over the phone anymore -- elaborate requests are in.
Worden snagged her with an orange poster: "I've got hope and faith it will be you and me going to homecoming," it read, with "hope" and "faith" in white.
The defensive tackle has had to sit out his senior season but was planning to be on the sidelines Friday night wearing his jersey.
Worden has a benign tumor growing in his nose and sinus area, underneath his right eye. The particular type of tumor can damage the bones of the face, fill the nasal and sinus cavities and even cause blindness. They occur mostly in boys younger than 19.
Worden was diagnosed after his sophomore football season and missed half his sophomore year undergoing radiation treatment to shrink the tumor. The tumor might be growing again; it caused a severe nosebleed last month after a hit in football practice, and doctors won't let him play anymore.
He is undergoing tests to determine what kind of treatment might be needed. Surgery is complicated because of the location of the tumor and the risk of heavy bleeding.
Worden, too, had no idea he'd be homecoming royalty, and is touched by his classmates' vote.
"They are very thoughtful and very great people," he said. "They were generous enough to vote for her and me."