“I asked her if Meagan was going to the prom, maybe around January, and we started talking about it, so I offered to take her if she wanted to go,” she said.

The bond between the three girls was apparent during one interview at the high school. While Jessie answered some questions, Kelsey held Meagan’s hand in a touching way that showed their closeness, all the while reassuring Meagan with the occasional, “it’s okay.”

Staci said she agreed to the idea right away, adding she was very excited, impressed and overjoyed with Jessie for thinking of Meagan and not wanting her to miss the special occasion.

“It made me cry … it still does. There are a lot of dreams you give up when you have a special needs child and one of them was doing the mom and daughter dress shopping for prom like I did with my mom. We did all the mom and daughter things, dress shopping for the perfect “princess” dress (Meagan’s terms), getting her hair done, mani-pedi and pictures. My husband took tons and tons of pictures of her and Jessie and Kelsey at our friend’s house on the Muskoka River.”

Staci didn’t realize the magical night had something else special in store for her daughter.

Kelsey was a member of the prom committee and during one of the meetings, the idea of making Meagan the prom queen for the night was floated. She said the committee members discussed the idea with the rest of the graduating class, and all of them supported it.

During the prom, which was held at Touchstone Resort in Bracebridge on May 29, the students came in their finest attire, posed for pictures … and later on that night, awarded the promo queen crown and sash to a very special person.

Meagan’s excitement at being chosen queen was only matched by the emotion of many of the students as she went up to receive her honour.

“Her face when she heard her name (as queen) and we put on her crown and sash … we were all in tears and just so happy,” Kelsey said.

The students weren’t the only ones moved by the crowning.

“When Jessie texted me telling me that Meagan had won prom queen and I read it to Michael, we both cried,” said Staci. “I still cry when I think about it, that this graduating class could give her such a spectacular, memorable moment in her life.”

Meagan got to dance with the Prom King, Tim Knight – someone who has known her since junior kindergarten – and many others during the evening, one that according to her mom, will be something Meagan will remember the rest of her life.

“The prom party as Meagan calls it, was very memorable to her and she talks about it and winning prom queen every day,” Staci said. “She has her sash on the footboard of her bed and her crown on her dresser and looks at it every day. It still makes me cry that the girls and the rest of the class did this without any prodding or interference from anyone else. They just did it out of the goodness of their hearts.”

… and they all lived happily ever after.