The Florida teen whose dream came true when an NFL player escorted
her to the prom has died, hospital officials announced Friday.
Khameyea Jennings, 18, of Jacksonville, who was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2013, died Thursday, the Florida Times-Union reported, citing Wolfson Children’s Hospital spokesman Cindy Hamilton.
Earlier this month, Jennings went to her prom with Jacksonville
Jaguars defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks. The pair wore matching white
and gold formalwear and drove to the Frank H. Peterson Academies of
Technology prom in Marks’ Lamborghini.
Marks, flowers in hand,
had visited Jennings in April at Wolfson, where she was undergoing
treatment, and asked the teen to prom after the nonprofit Dreams Come
True approached the Jaguars about the prom invitation.
Marks said at the time he jumped at the chance to make a difference in Jennings’ life.
Jennings' mother said the teen enjoyed the opportunity to attend prom without having to worry about her cancer treatments.
“She said this is a day to be normal,” Laquandra Jennings told the
Times-Union at the time, “not to have to worry about needles, chemo,
potassium levels. Just a day to be a teenager and enjoy the prom.”
“I really want to make a difference,” Marks said on prom night. “I want
to do something where you actually make someone’s day, to make a
difference in someone’s life.”
Jennings’ friends and family offered messages of support after her death on Facebook.
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