A South Dakota high schooler’s perfect pick for a dance is warming hearts around the country.
His little sister has a rare blood disorder and doctors believe she won’t live long enough to go to high school.
So, her big brother decided that instead of choosing a classmate, he would make meaningful memories with his beautiful sister.
"What girl doesn’t like to get all dress up and beautiful?" mom Stephanie Spader said.
This Valentine’s Day, 10-year-old Rebekah was transformed into a princess.
"It’s a lot of fun watching her, she’s so excited and she’s smiling," dad Tony Spader said.
"It’s like they live in, you know, that princess world," Stephanie Spader said.
The experience is all thanks to her big brother.
"I wanted to ask my sister because she’s most likely not going to be able to experience high school," AJ Spader said. "So I just thought, why not aske her to formal."
The Valentine’s winter formal could have been his first dance with a date.
"I guess, but Rebekah kind of trumped them all," AJ said.
He came up with the plan to make sure his sister got to experience the important rite of passage.
"He’s thinking about his sister and she’s not going to get to go to the prom or the formal when she’s in high school because she’s probably not going to make it to high school, so he just wanted to give her that memory," Tony Spader said.
He made sure his sister got the whole formal experience, bringing her to dinner with his classmates and their dates.
"It’s fun to watch her live part of life where the disease doesn’t creep in, where she is just excited to be going and doing something that every child and every teenager gets to do," Tony Spader said.
While the day may be all about his sister, it’s clear the evening was not just for Rebekah.
"Her laugh is pretty great, it’s really fun to just be around her and just make memories," AJ Spader said. "I want to spend as much time with her as possible while she’s still doing good."
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