A Young Pennsylvania Teen Won The “Prom Queen” Title For One Very Special Reason

Two years ago, one incredible young woman was awarded one very special title from her senior classmates – and deservedly so. Brittany Chieze of New Castle, PA, a long time sufferer of muscular atrophy, took home the queen’s crown at her high school’s homecoming court.

“Brittany seemed healthy when she was born in 1996, the fourth child of Rochelle and Art Chieze. But her parents began to worry when she was slow to start walking, and fell down frequently as a preschooler,” reports the Edmond Sun. After repeated trips to a number of medical centers in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Cleveland, she was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic condition that inhibits the control of muscle movement and limits her to a wheelchair. “Brittany's muscles continued to atrophy and, by age 8, when she was in third grade, she began to lose her ability to get around.”

She wasn’t expected to live to her senior year of high school, they add, but she persevered in spite of her prognosis. In the video below, we watch the moments during and leading up to Brittany receiving her crown, all while being showered with praise and support.

"I live one day at a time," she tells the Edmond Sun. "That's all you can do. I think I'm a pretty lucky girl." Lucky, maybe — but indisputably powerful.

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YouTube video