Riley kids get special prom shopping trip

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Prom night is a major milestone in any teenager’s life.

For teens with cancer, the event takes on a whole new meaning.

Dozens of area teens with cancer on Wednesday browsed the aisles of “Promingdales,” a makeshift boutique inside Riley Outpatient Center at IU Health.

Local shops donated more than 200 new prom dresses along with tuxedos and other prom necessities for the teens to try on.

For 16-year-old bone cancer patient Lauren McGlaughlin, the extra help preparing for the big night meant the world to her. 

“I remember last year I had to be in a wheelchair. We had to take an extra long route up here when I was in the wheelchair and wearing a mask,” McGlaughlin said. ” I couldn’t really get up to look at all the dresses and to see all of this coming together is crazy because you just feel so loved.”

The Riley Cancer Center Prom will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. May 4 at Fairbanks Hall at 340 W. 10th St.