Franklin teen battling cancer surprises girlfriend with promposal

It’s a rite of passage for teenagers: high school prom. And one local ‘promposal’ is causing quite a stir in Franklin.

Though he was diagnosed with stage four cancer in February, Raymond Cruz is sure to be the star of the show, which is just weeks away.

From his time spent on stage, to snagging his girlfriend Maddie, Raymond is about as smooth as any 16 year old you’ll meet.

“I always thought he was cute in choir,” explained Maddie Anderson.

“I was like wow, I’d like to talk to her sometime,” added Raymond.

Lately though, he is rocking a new do, after chronic hip pain became a life changing diagnosis.

RELATED: Classmates raise money for Franklin teen diagnosed with cancer

“We ended up finding out I had Stage 4 cancer, Ewing’s like sarcoma,” explained Cruz. “It was hard at first to accept the baldness.”

The news came back in February with Ray taking center court hours later, announcing his news to all of Centennial High School.

“I wanted to come here today, to thank you so much for all your support and prayers.” Cruz said to the crowd. “My treatment will be a hard battle, but I’m determined to fight this.”

Brimming with confidence, despite his cancer, Raymond’s biggest battle was prom.

The party loomed large and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to attend.

“I’m hearing all this prom talk and I’m seeing all these other boys doing their promposals,” said Raymond. “I was like, ‘Maybe I should to go to prom, and maybe I’ll surprise Maddie.’”

“Like really overwhelmed,” said . “I shed a few tears.”

Months of treatment lay ahead of Raymond, but for now he’s focused on one night of dancing.

“I can’t wait to dance my butt off until my hips hurt, that’s my plan,” noted Raymond.

His next goal? To spread his story across the nation on the show “Ellen.”

Raymond has taken his plea to social media, hoping to catch Ellen DeGeneres’ attention.

Courtesy of WKRN’s News 2