Texas Teen Dies Days After Special Early High School Graduation

Back in January, 17-year-old high school senior Lynzee Ford of Kilgore, Texas, was diagnosed with a nontreatable form of leukemia. Her friends rallied around her, even fixing her mother's home to be wheelchair-friendly. Then, after months of battling the disease with multiple rounds of chemotherapy, doctors informed Lynzee that she had only a few months to live. When her friends heard that she might not make it to graduation, they put together her own special early graduation. So on Monday, with the entire student body in attendance, Lynzee got to wear her cap and gown and accept a high school diploma.  Principal Gregg Brown was the keynote speaker and said of the teen, "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."
 
During the graduation speeches, Lynzee's teacher and assistant softball coach, Kathy Mehringer, shared a special memory of a talk they had following practice: "That day you became the teacher and I became the student, and you showed me what it's like to have family and to have dreams. And this is your day, this is an awesome day: your graduation day. I love you."
 
Her friends didn't stop there. They began to plan a special early prom in November for Lynzee, but sadly she passed away Thursday night. Thanks to the school adminstration and her friends, Lynzee was able to call herself a high school graduate. A GiveForward donation page was set up to help her parents with medical expenses.