I have a friend who once tried to claim that he was from a small town. Curious, I asked him what the population was. "Oh, around 17,000 I think," is what he replied. I couldn't help it. I started laughing. That, I told him, is larger than any town within 100 miles of where I grew up. If he thinks 17,000 is small, he doesn't know what small is.
I grew up in Fosston, Minn. It's a town of less than 1,500 people in the northwestern part of Minnesota. We have seven churches, two bars and one stoplight. Our movie theater only has one screen, and our high school's graduating class is usually somewhere between 50-60 people. It's small, but there are lots of towns around that are smaller. Much smaller.
I often hear people complain about living in a small town, and I can understand it. Heck, I've done my fair share of complaining, too. It always seems like there's not a lot to do, not much to see, and people always know all about your business. It gets tough at times. But something that people from bigger towns will never be able to understand is what it means to have a small town come together. When something happens, it seems like the whole community is there to either celebrate your victories or raise you up when you've been knocked down. There is always someone with a helping hand or an extra "congratulations."
On Saturday, April 23, 2016, Fosston came together in a way that only small towns can, and lifted up an 11-year-old girl and her family. On Saturday, Lydia Wahlstrom went to the junior/senior prom with her grandpa—giving her a chance that she probably will never have again. Lydia has a rare neurodegenerative disorder called Batten's disease, and is not likely to live long enough to go to her own junior/senior prom.
Batten's disease is estimated to occur in only 2-4 out of every 100,000 births in the U.S. per year and does not have a cure yet. Those who are diagnosed with Batten's disease suffer progressive neurological impairment throughout their lives, including seizures, visual impairment/blindness, personality and behavior changes, dementia, loss of motor skills, and loss of the ability to walk, talk and communicate.
The fact that Lydia got to attend this prom is itself amazing, but what makes it even more outstanding is the fact that Lydia isn't from Fosston. Her grandparents live in Fosston and her mother grew up there, but Lydia and her family now live hundreds of miles away. Still, she went to prom. She got to dress up, walk down at grand march with her grandpa, and while Fosston doesn't select a prom king or queen, Lydia got to be the princess of the night.
That is what can happen when a small town comes together.
If you wish to support Lydia or her family (her younger brother, Drew, has also been diagnosed with Batten's disease), feel free to follow this link.
