If someone asked how then 14-year-old Andrew Shumway knew his dance date, no one would believe his story.
Andrew, who has cerebral palsy, had blast at his school dance, bobbing to the music and all dressed up to the nines. His date that night was as dazzling and as beautiful as the rest of the attendees. Extraordinarily, however, she lives five hours away from Andrew’s neighborhood.
So how did he get her to come to the dance with him?
Brittany Klocke, a then 19-year-old student from Kuemper Catholic High School, went on a trip to Disney World with her friend’s family. Unfortunately, they hit a snag on the way back when their flight was canceled.
She was stuck in Orlando for 14 hours, frustrated and just wanting to go back home. She didn’t know that she was about to make an amazing story.
Andrew and his family, just like Brittany, were stuck in the airport as well.
As Brittany was walking, she stumbled upon the young man with his family.
“I came across Andrew, and just I could not pass him by and not say hello.” Brittany shared with WKBT TV.
She approached Andrews’ family and started chatting with him. It didn’t take long before they became comfortable with each other, especially when Andrew swept her off her feet with his long list of jokes.
“I started talking to him and he started telling all these jokes,” said Brittany to ABC 13. “I met his mom and dad. I talked to Andrew pretty much all day long and fell ‘in love.'”
In the span of their conversation, she learned that a special event was coming up.
Andrew, feeling a bit courageous at the time, asked Brittany if she could join him for his school dance.
The young lady agreed, but unbeknownst to Andrew and his family, Brittany’s choice came at a price she was more than willing to pay. Coincidentally, Brittany’s prom night fell exactly on the same day as Andrew’s dance. And while others consider prom as the event you can’t miss, here’s Brittany not attending hers just to make sure that Andrew didn’t miss his dance.
“My heart was so overwhelmed and touched,” Lauri Shumway, Andrew’s mom said to the news outlet. “Andrew was so happy. He is a people-person. He loves to introduce people, so he was very excited to introduce her to the special needs staff, the classmates. He’d say, ‘This is Brittany from the airport.'”
Showing love to kids with special needs is not something new to Brittany.
Her younger brother Cayden has autism and she knows that they also deserve as much love as anyone else. And while people are commending the young lady for her big heart, Brittany insisted that the attention be shifted to Andrew.
“This isn’t even about me. This is about Andrew and the opportunities for kids with special needs,” she said to ABC News. “I would much rather give attention to families, any person with a disability and how amazing they are. They can do anything they put their minds to. They have the biggest heart and can put a smile on people’s faces. They are just full of life and happiness.”
Brittany still keeps in touch with Andrew. She also attended Andrew’s next dance events.
Watch how this airline inconvenience led a boy with cerebral palsy to his dance partner in the video below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
