Kara Kovatch, 17, of Willowick, sits in Fiona’s Coffee Shop in Willoughby with her mother, Mary Urbina, giggling over a cup of coffee. Like most young girls, she excitedly talks about going to the prom.
Unlike most girls her age, she isn’t going to a typical prom. Kara, a cancer survivor, is looking forward to attending A Prom to Remember.
A Prom to Remember, in partnership with The Unforgettable Prom Foundation and The Ritz-Carlton Cleveland, sponsors a free, special prom for teens in Northeast Ohio who are battling cancer or have recovered from the disease.
This year’s event takes place from 7 to 11 p.m. April 7 at The Ritz-Carlton Cleveland.
“The event gives give courageous teens ages 12-19, a chance to make lasting memories in an environment of acceptance and camaraderie,” a news release from A Prom to Remember said.
This is Kara’s fourth time attending A Prom to Remember. She has attended every one since her freshman year.
“It means a lot to me to go. I get to spend it with my friends, which makes it like an even better moment,” Kara said. “It just makes me happy to be a part of that.”
With Kara being cancer free, A Prom to Remember is more like a celebration to her.
Kara excitedly talks about the purple dress she picked out to wear to the prom and how Cleveland Cavaliers players escort them down the hallway to the prom after a limo bus drops them off at the hotel.
I really like that they have Cavs players,” Kara said. “There is a long hall that you walk down that’s decorated and they have news people who ask you questions and then either a Cavs player or someone else escorts us. They even have the cheerleaders there.”
Kara, who usually takes a friend with her, said they always have a really good time.
She also enjoys the dinner portion of the prom, where a group from the Fine Arts Association comes in and performs.
Prom goers are given the full celebrity treatment, with professional hairstylists and makeup artists getting them ready for the photographers who greet them when they arrive at the red carpet.
Kara was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a form of brain cancer, when she was 9 years old.
After her diagnosis, she spent three years going through chemotherapy and radiation, many times enduring both treatments on the same day.
“I had to go through chemo and it went from once a day to once a week to once a month, to once every five months and then to once a year, and that’s where I am now,” Kara said.
She spent almost three months in the hospital after her cancer was discovered.
Kara is a cancer survivor who has been cancer free going on eight years, her mom said.
“We are doing pretty good,” Urbina said. “We are dealing with after effects right now, like her hearing loss, which actually came about five years after all her treatments and stuff. Now (Kara’s hearing loss) is progressing and that’s the biggest after effect.”
With Kara being a senior and set to graduate from Eastlake’s North High School this year, this will be her final time to attend A Prom to Remember.
Kara is in hospitality management in the tech program at the Northern Career Center.
“She’s an honor roll student and she works real hard,” Urbina said.
She has been accepted into Lakeland Community College and the University of Akron.
“I want to go to Lakeland for the first two years,” Kara said. “I will actually be taking American Sign Language class for the first two years and I will see how that works and maybe apply to Akron again.
Kara, faced with her own hearing loss, is interested in becoming a sign language interpreter for the deaf.
“We were kind of thinking towards my hearing,” Kara said of her decision to major in American Sign Language. “But I like to help others and I would like to help people that need sign language because they can’t hear.
According to her mom, Kara is also considering working in hospitals to help people who are sick.
“I’m not a big fan of being a medical worker like a doctor or something, but one of the people who (help teach patients) arts and crafts in the hospital like when I was in there. I think it would be really fun to work with children like me.”
“She always wants to help people,” Urbina said. “I’m just really proud of Kara. She is my inspiration.”
Kara also is a member of the school bowling team and helps with the sports medicine at school, tending to injured athletes.
Additionally, she likes to read and her favorites include “Goosebumps,” “The Babysitter’s Club,” “Nancy Drew Mysteries” and “Junie B. Jones.”
She is a fan of scary movies, with her favorite being “The Lost Boys” and enjoys painting pottery.
Kara describes herself as fun and dependable and a person who takes her time.
“I don’t get things done on time all the time but I do get them done,” Kara said. “I don’t say I will do something and not get it done.”
“She is very detailed and she puts a lot of time and effort and into everything she does and sometimes the time will get away from her,” Urbina said. “She gets everything done like she says she does and she never gives up — ever.”