A very special prom date

It brings tears to Melissa Lambert's eyes when she thinks about seeing her 16-year-old son Taylor in a tux and bowtie on his way to the prom.

These motherly tears of joy reflect the emotion of watching her son experience this teenage rite of passage, but it's not just because he is growing up and almost done with high school.

"We just never thought that he would get this opportunity, and now he is," the Worley mom said Wednesday in a phone interview, her voice breaking. "It’s been an emotional week for sure. I can't wait until Saturday to see him dressed up with his older sister. She’s excited because she never thought they would be able to get dressed up and go to prom together."

Taylor was born with a seizure disorder that has severely delayed his development. He is in a wheelchair and doesn't really talk, but he has his own way of communicating. Melissa said doctors diagnosed him with cerebral palsy because that's the only condition that seemed to explain his disabilities.

Because of this, the family never expected Taylor to learn to drive or have a girlfriend or attend school dances ... until a friend of Taylor's big sister changed everything.

"I was kind of in shock," Melissa said. "I don’t know what I said to her or what I did, I just couldn’t believe that she was asking if she could take him to prom."

Celine Garcia, 16, of Plummer, is a close friend of Taylor's sister, Téa, and has known Taylor since they were in preschool. She and Téa include Taylor in walks they take around the neighborhood and make him laugh when they run as they push his wheelchair.

Celine said it was really no big deal to her to invite Taylor to prom because he is a friend of hers.

"It was because we grew up together and I haven't really seen him be involved in many of the school activities," she said. "He deserves to go just as much as anybody else."

She said when she first talked to him about going to prom, he couldn't stop smiling.

"He has buttons he can hit to respond," she said, giggling. "He kept hitting the 'yes' button. It was so funny."

Celine said she wanted to invite Taylor to homecoming in the fall, but decided prom would be even better. They are both sophomores at Lakeside Junior/Senior High School in Plummer, a small school which allows all grades to attend the big night. 

"After seeing how emotional everybody was, I realized how big of a deal this was because they thought he'd never be able to participate in something like this," she said. "A lot of (our classmates) are really excited to see Taylor outside of school.

"I'm excited about it," she continued. "He really is fun."

Téa, 17, who is very close to her little brother, shares in this excitement. She and her boyfriend will be going along with Taylor and Celine.

"It's something I thought I wasn't going to be able to do," she said. "He seems a lot happier. He smiles a lot more lately."

She said she plans to get Taylor out on the dance floor, "if Celine doesn't hog him."

Melissa said they have always wanted to give Taylor as normal a life as possible. They are a very tight-knit family and the bond of love is unbreakable, for Melissa, her husband Glen and their four kids.

She said she couldn't imagine a better person to trust with her son on this special night than Celine.

"I hope that there are people who have children like Taylor who let them have these experiences if they can," she said. "And thank you to the parents who raise children like Celine because it means so much to Taylor and to us."