Amazing Kilmarnock teen planning 'dream' prom after devastating terminal cancer diagnosis
Katy Hay has planned a bucket list after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
A Kilmarnock teen facing terminal cancer will fulfil her dreams of having a prom with help from her school, her family and friends.
Katy Hay, who recently won an award for being the most resilient young person of the year at East Ayrshire's Youth Awards, has spent the past year fighting one of the rarest and most aggressive forms of bone cancer.
Katy, an S4 pupil at Park School, was diagnosed with stage 4 Ewing Sarcoma, also known as Metastatic Ewing Sarcoma, on April 12, 2024 after complaining of a pain in her thigh for three weeks.
Since then, 15-year-old Katy has endured hospital stays, 10 rounds of chemotherapy and had major surgery as well as radiotherapy to help with the pain after finding out her cancer was back.
Since finding out the news, Katy has been at home and has constant contact with specialist nurses that assist with anything she needs.
With help from family she also started creating a bucket list of things she wants to do, including having a prom.
Together with her best friend Kirsty they have been dreaming of going to prom since they were in first year at school.
Katy's family, friends, headteacher Mrs Carole-Anne Burns and local businesses that kindly offered their services, will make Katy's dream come true on May 19.
Katy's mum Shelly Cornick, 45, told Ayrshire Live: "Katy and her best friend Kirsty have been planning prom since they were in S1 so this is something we wanted to make sure they got.
"Katy and Kirsty went to try on dresses at Beau Beau Boutique in Ayr where they found their perfect dresses. The woman there gave Katy her dress for nothing.
"We also needed to have some alterations done to make sure it was safe for her as she walks with crutches and uses a wheelchair. Elizabeth Wallace is doing the alterations for free also."
The prom will take place on May 19 at Crosshouse Bowling club, who have very kindly donated the hall.
Katy and Kirsty have created mood boards for the prom and have come up with the theme 'Summer Nights'. The dress code is 'Dress to Impress', with the colour theme of blue and pink.
Katy's aunt has organised a limo to take Katy from her house to St Joseph's Academy where the rest of her classmates will be waiting. They will then be taken to Crosshouse Bowling Club on a Boogie Bus, the owner of which has kindly reduced his normal rate.
Park School headteacher Mrs Burns said: "The planning of the prom has given the girls a purpose and something positive to focus on.
"We really want Katy to have the best prom ever and to make beautiful memories for all her family and friends."
The family has also managed to secure special trips, including Craig Tara stay, while Make a Wish is flying Katy to Legoland for a few days.
Shelly also shared that James Cunningham, Murray Bar owner, is trying to arrange for Katy to have a helicopter land outside the house and take her for a ride. He is also planning on taking her for flying lessons at Loch Lomond.
While Shelly feels "heartbroken", she is trying to help her daughter as best as she can to make her life as joyful and comfortable as possible.
She said: "Nothing is harder than watching your child so sick and there is nothing you can do to help.
"Katy spent more time in hospital than at home so the ward became our home and the nurses, doctors and all the staff are our extended family. I will forever be grateful to them for what they did for us all as a family."
Katy was first diagnosed with stage 4 Ewings Sarcoma on April 12, 2024.
Shelly said: "At this point we did not know what kind of cancer she had as she needed to undergo more tests.
"As you can imagine we were devastated and scared."
Shelly continued: "Katy had been complaining of a pain in her thigh for three weeks and was taking regular pain medication which was abnormal for her. She also said she could feel a lump but when we felt her leg we couldn't feel anything, it wasn't until she was at the doctors and was getting on the examination bed that I finally saw the lump.
"Katy was diagnosed with stage 4 Ewings Sarcoma, this is a very aggressive and rare bone cancer.
"After meeting the medical team Katy was started on a regiment of five different chemo drugs, one week she would get three of them and then two weeks later she would get the remaining two.
"She had surgery to remove the femur and replace it with a prosthetic bone. This took 13 hours.
"Katy should have had 14 rounds of chemotherapy but she suffered really bad side effects from the chemo drugs so she was only able to have 10 rounds and got sepsis 3 times.
"She also spent 6 weeks in the PICU where we nearly lost her a few times. She had to have an operation to remove 2/3rds of her colon which left her with a stoma."
Last month, Katy mentioned the pain in her hip and top of her leg so the doctor brought her scans forward.
Shelly said this is when medics found that the cancer had come back and it was spreading around Katy's pelvis.
Shelly said: "Due to the fact the chemotherapy was basically killing her she couldn't have anymore. This is when we were told that Katy was now terminal.
"Since finding out her cancer was back she has also had radiotherapy to help with the pain."
She continued: "Katy is honestly one of the most amazing resilient people I know, through this whole journey she has just got on with it and been so strong. I have said it so many times throughout her life that she is my hero.
"I think Katy's strength and determination have helped us get through it as she is the one going through it all. We are just helping her as best as we can."
She added: "It has been such a hard journey, made harder for the girls as they lost their dad suddenly last year also."
Recently, Katy won an award for being the most resilient young person of the year at the East Ayrshire Youth Awards at the Park Hotel.
Katy has seven sisters and is the youngest child. She loves Lego, going for family days out, having chippy by the sea and being on her phone.
As a family, Katy enjoys Disney dinners, where they choose a Disney movie and base the food around it, for instance for Lady and The Tramp night, Katy's family would watch a movie and have spaghetti and meatballs.
Shelly said: "Katy is a funny cheeky girl who loves her family and friends more than anything.
"I just love watching her laugh and joke with her sisters.
"This is only a snippet of what Katy has endured through the last year and she is still smiling."
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