Jennifer's graduation last night was just beautiful and I was so happy to be there I just bawled all night and was about to burst with pride, although I had nothing on Sharon and Billy! I have never seen two prouder parents and Savannah was glowing. Cappy, myself, two of Billy's brothers and their families as well as his mom and sister and a family friend all showed up to cheer Jennifer on and it was a wonderful night.
Congratulations Jennifer!!
Here is the Article in the AJC 5/24/07
Central Gwinnett graduate proves doctors wrong
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/24/07
Shortly, the Prince family would pack into the car and head to graduation. But first, Mom had to find Kleenex.
"I'm going to be boo-hooing," said Sharon Prince, scurrying about her Lawrenceville home.
The mortarboard-wearing daughter, Jennifer, rolled her eyes. Later on, her mother took the next logical step of teen embarrassment —- adjusting Jennifer's mortarboard and tassel. Did Jennifer need a clip to secure it to her head?
"I've never done this before," Sharon said. "I don't know."
Like a lot of parents, Sharon and Billy Prince waited a long time for high school commencement. Unlike most parents, the Princes weren't sure their eldest daughter, who earned her diploma from Central Gwinnett High School on Wednesday night, would even make it to her freshman year.
"Doctors said this day would never come, and here it is," Sharon said Tuesday.
Jennifer was 8 when doctors told her parents that she and her sister, Savannah, then 5, both had a rare genetic disorder, Sharon said. They were not expected to live past 10.
Jennifer and Savannah lack an enzyme that helps their bodies digest complex carbohydrates, a disease called mucopolysaccharidosis. Instead, the carbohydrates accumulate like calcium deposits on their bones, joints and organs, Sharon said. It causes pain throughout their bodies and makes bones curve.
In 2000, they joined a clinical trial that the Princes say has been a literal life-saver. The treatment, which the Prince girls take every Friday at Emory University, is not a cure. It only delays the progression of the disease, Sharon said.
But it has given the Prince girls time, and days like these for Jennifer. A couple of weeks back, she was a guest at ex-Falcons coach Jim Mora's going-away party. Mora struck up a friendship with Jennifer and Savannah when they visited the Falcons through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Last Saturday, Jennifer turned 18 and went to her prom at the Fox Theatre wrapped up in a black-and-white dress made by her best friend's mother. Then came Wednesday's graduation, the same day Savannah completed eighth grade at Richards Middle School. Savannah will be at Central Gwinnett in August.
On Saturday, Jennifer will leave on an 11-day vacation in Germany and Switzerland with her cousin who lives in Zurich, a gift from her parents.
"The last two weeks have been really hectic," Jennifer said. "It's awesome. I love it."
The days are not always so golden. Jennifer has undergone nine operations and may need to have a pacemaker inserted into her chest. The damage caused by the disease makes it difficult for her to do things such as tie her shoes, wash her hair or walk long distances without stopping.
But her family and friends say she takes on her trials with irrepressible buoyancy and determination.
"She is extremely outgoing and personable," said Caity Yonker, Jennifer's best friend and Central Gwinnett classmate. "One of the most reliable people I've ever met in my life."
Jennifer kept a B average and earned an award from her language arts teacher. This, despite the fact that Jennifer missed school every Friday for her four-hour enzyme treatment.
"I want you to know that her work ethic goes beyond any student that I have this year," Jenny Hainey, one of Jennifer's teachers, wrote in an e-mail to Jennifer's mother. "I have enjoyed having her in my class. I have even told [a colleague] that I wish I had 100 more like her."
As for her hair, Jennifer summons the grit to take care of it herself.
"I used to be able to not brush my hair at all," she said. Being "16, 17 years old, having your mom wash your hair —- it sucked."
Still, her smile never leaves her face, her best friend said.
"You feel better automatically seeing her." Caity said.
In the fall, Jennifer will begin study at Gwinnett Technical College. She wants to become a professional photographer.
What she likes about photography, she said, is "being able to take a moment in time and capture it."
To be sure, Wednesday merited a snapshot.
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