The sweet reason this teenager ran a half-marathon in a Cinderella dress
Not all Cinderella stories end with a kiss from a prince. For Katy, a 17-year-old from the U.K., her Cinderella story involved a finish line and clean bill of health.
Katy was diagnosed with a type of kidney cancer called Wilms’ Tumor when she was 4 years old. She spent 10 months in and out of the hospital for treatment and is now a healthy young woman who goes for annual checkups and lives an active life despite having one kidney.
How does a tiny tot stay positive during such a trying time? By wearing a very special dress. “When I was having my chemotherapy at 4 years old, I always dressed as my favorite Disney princess Cinderella, to help keep me smiling,” Katy wrote in a blog post to support her run.
A post shared by Teenage Cancer Trust (@teenage_cancer) on Sep 11, 2017 at 6:54am PDT
So, when Katy decided to run the Great North Run in Newcastle on Monday to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust, an organization that provides life-changing care and support to young people fighting cancer, she decided to honor the outfit that got her through those tough times. If it helped her through cancer, it could definitely get her through a race. “Not only did I decide to tackle a half marathon, I decided to do it dressed as Cinderella as a throwback to my time going through cancer treatment,” she said in her post.
The teenager wore a baby blue dress that was reminiscent of the one she wore as a child. On Instagram, Teenage Cancer Trust shared a side-by-side shot of Katy in the gown as a kid and now. Next to the little girl with a shaved head and one baby blue glove on, teenage Katy now had both gloves and a Cinderella-style bun. All smiles, she didn’t look at all concerned that she was about to tackle 13.1 miles in a princess gown.
“After running I was completely shattered, but I really enjoyed it,” Katy recalled. “I nearly lost my shoe, just like Cinderella, at Mile 3 when my lace came undone, but managed to keep it on — maybe that’s why I didn’t find my Prince Charming!”
It sounds like Katy’s living happily ever after, and thanks to Teenage Cancer Trust, other kids will get a shot at living happily ever after too.
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