Emilia Nowicki’s prom night was a little different than the average 16-year-old’s.

For one thing, she wore a string of brightly coloured “bravery beads,” rather than pearls. And instead of a date, she brought Paul the pole.

Her enteral feeding pole has been her constant companion for the past few weeks, as doctors at Sick Kids Hospital attempt to find a way to bring nutrients to her fragile body, debilitated by Crohn’s disease.

Photo blog: Prom night at the Hospital for Sick Children

Despite it all, Emilia beamed brightly as she stepped onto the red carpet with her sister Magda at Sick Kids’ prom-inspired dance Friday. She said the soiree would help her feel like a normal teen for the night.

“Ever since I was a kid, every single thing that was fun, I’ve had to miss out on,” she said. “It brings you hope too, because you see others who are really sick and they’re just grateful to be here.”

Emilia is one of about 75 young patients who attended the raucous dance party, held in the lower level of Sick Kids Hospital. The prom offers sick teenagers a chance to experience a rite of passage that many of them would otherwise miss.

Inside the dance hall, Carly Rae Jepsen and the Black Keys blared from the speakers, spun by 16-year-old spina bifida patient Alex Salmon, also known as DJ Skinnzy. Alex has spent most of his life in and out of Sick Kids and learned how to DJ when he was 8.

“It’s all about mixing it up for the crowd and bringing in different cultures of music,” he said, adjusting knobs and levers on the complex switchboard in front of him. “I like to surprise them sometimes.”

All the hallmarks of a high school prom were there: corsages, tuxedos, awkward slow dancing and, of course, young love. For Kayla Johnston, 17, and Callum Mullen, 16, the night marked their first formal outing together.

The pair met in Sick Kids earlier this year, while Kayla received treatment for severe abdominal problems and Mullen underwent chemotherapy for Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

“Even though we were facing different illnesses, we both had the same struggles, the same frustrations, and it was just easy to talk to him because he understood,” she said. “We started talking and we never stopped.”

The couple has become incredibly supportive of each other, while Callum undergoes chemotherapy that leaves him exhausted and Kayla copes with chronic pain. Kayla’s mother, Leighann, said that she’s not sure what her daughter would have done without Callum.

“Her friends don’t always understand when she’s in pain, or too tired to go to a party,” she said. “Callum gets it, and they feed off of each other’s positivity.”

The hospital started the event five years ago after realizing that many teenage patients miss their proms and graduations. Since then, the annual dance has become a crucial night in many young patients’ lives, said Susie Petro, child life specialist at Sick Kids.

“Because of patient confidentiality, we actually can’t tell teens about each other,” she said.

“But by bringing them all into one spot, they share their stories and they realize they’re not alone. Every year, there’s lasting friendships at the end.”

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As for Emilia Nowicki, she felt a twinge of sadness even as she mingled with other teens from the hospital. The trained ballroom dancer desperately wished she could join others on the dance floor.

“It’s sad. Even if I wasn’t connected to the tube, I wouldn’t feel well enough to dance. I’m in a lot of pain,” she said.

“But I know that everyone else isn’t feeling well either, and when I get out, I’ll be able to dance all the time. Today is one of those moments in the journey that I know it’s only going to get better from here.”