Courtney Johnson is a 15-year-old girl living in Los Angeles who just finished her last round of chemotherapy. She has been undergoing the treatment for a rare type of bone cancer called Ewing sarcoma.
At such a momentous time, it makes sense that her friends and neighbors would want to celebrate this victory with her. However, due to strict social distancing measures that have been enacted in California, they couldn't be with her to do so.
This didn't stop anyone: They just found a creative way to be there and support Courtney anyway. More than 70 people showed up to safely celebrate Courtney's triumph in a parade. They all decorated their cars with signs and streamers, and then Courtney's parents drove her down the street so she could see everything people had done for her.
Her mom, April, shared a video of Courtney's reaction (including her tears) on Twitter.
April wrote, "#Somegoodnews: my daughter, Coco, finished her final chemo treatment yesterday and our friends had a surprise social distancing welcome home parade for her!" In the video, you can hear her friends, family, and neighbors laughing along with her and cheering loudly. It's hard to watch it without having a pretty wonderful emotional response yourself.
Courtney's family explained that they planned to take a trip together to mark the last day of her treatment — and to also have a party at their home. However, both of those plans are currently put on hold. They weren't sure how they would celebrate until someone had this idea, and it was a perfect fit.
However, the family still has a lot to worry about. Given Courtney's recent experience with cancer, she is in a fragile state, especially with the health threats that she may face over the next few weeks or months. Her mom said, "We thought this week would be the end of worrying about her life, but that's not the case."
Her mom said that Courtney was totally surprised that so many people came out for her. "She wasn't expecting it. Her reaction was so pure."
April decided to share the clip after actor John Krasinski asked everyone to tweet out stories that made them feel good this week.
And if you're looking for it, there are a lot of great stories out there. In this time of upheaval and uncertainty, it can definitely help to be reminded that good things are still happening in the world. One dad shared that his daughter's video about making a smoothie (that exploded) got over 1 million views on TikTok.
Another man shared that his neighbor has been busy helping his family out: "this is my neighbor mowing my yard for my family while I’m deployed. Sometimes, he has pizza sent to our house on nights my wife happens to be at wits end with our 4 girls. He’s our guardian angel! His name is Art Cruz, a retired paratrooper, and a wonderful friend."
One mom shared that she also recently battled cancer and is thrilled that she is alive to see her oldest son get engaged this week: "After being diagnosed with cancer last year and not sure if I'd even make it to this point, was blessed beyond belief to be there to witness my oldest son propose to his high school soulmate. On a Volcano in Hawaii! She said yes!"
Another woman shared that seeing members of her community help one another has been great for her: "I just drove by the local elementary school and saw the cafeteria workers handing out food to the families in the community. It just made my heart swell seeing it."
A mom shared that the principal of her community's elementary school has been going out with their kids to launch dance parties at the homes of students. "Our elementary school principal and his daughters brought the weekly school dance party to all of our neighborhoods this week! Ashland, MA."
And a woman said that she chose to foster two cats right now: "I picked up two cats from the local humane society to foster as they prepare to shut down. The foster care coordinator told me that not only has her phone been blowing up with people offering to foster but their adoptions also sky-rocketed."
