Jak would be so proud – an invite to his prom means so much to me
Brave boy’s mum touched by tribute
KIND-HEARTED pupils have sent a poignant prom invite to the mum of their brave schoolmate Jak Trueman.
Jak died in February last year, just days after fulfilling one of his final wishes before he succumbed to cancer – to put on a smart suit and celebrate with his friends.
Although the big day was still two years away, a makeshift‘ prom’ was hastily arranged with Jak as the guest of honour.
The brave 15-year-old overcame his pain and accompanied his girlfriend Hannah Boyd in a wheelchair to the emotional event, held at Livingston Football Club.
He was only there for 10 minutes before he had to leave and – tragically – it would be one of Jak’s final outings.
He lost his battle against rare Gamma delta T-Cell Lymphoma just 48 hours later.
Now Jak’s mum, Allison Barr, has received a touching invite to join his school friends at their real end- of- high- school prom.
Allison is expecting the event to be an emotional rollercoaster and readily admits she will end up crying buckets.
The invitation was delivered by two senior West Calder High School pupils, Lorna Martin and Jordan Drummond.
They revealed the 2017 prom is to have a special gold theme to reflect the colours of the charity set up in Jak’s name, the TeamJak Foundation.
Since it was launched, the charity has raised nearly £250,000.
Last year Jak’s Den, a base for young cancer patients and their families to receive support and relax, was opened in Livingston.
Allison, of Mid Calder, said: “This is a huge honour.
“I was completely blown away when I opened the envelope and saw the invite.
“I burst into tears, it completely took my breath away. It’s so unexpected. As if one prom wasn’t enough.
“To remember my boy in such a lovely and poignant way is simply amazing.
“I’m so excited, but I’ll probably need five boxes of tissues to get through it.” Jak was in his fourth year at Mid Calder High when he fell ill.
He lost his brave fight just two weeks after learning there was nothing doctors could do to save his life.
His death devastated everyone close to him.
Incredibly, days after he died his mum and Hannah both received flowers from Jak, which was typical of just how caring he was.
Before he died the determined teenager captured the nation’s hear ts when he
I burst into tears, it completely took my breath away
pledged to make every final minute count.
His story inspired a major fundraising drive to help other young people who are battling cancer.
At his funeral – where pals wore the blue of his beloved Rangers – mum Allison told mourners he touched thousands of lives and left behind a “little bit of heaven”.
Now she’s looking forward to the West Calder High School Prom her big boy should have been at.
It will be held next June at Macdonald Houstoun House Hotel in West Lothian.
“It was a very emotional moment to receive the invitation,” said Allison, who plans to go with Jak’s sister Aimee.
“I thought the girls were just coming to talk about the charity.
“Instead they said they had a meeting with the new headteacher at the school and she had given them permission to invite us.
“What beautiful and caring girls.”