Teen overcomes stroke, brain surgeries to attend senior prom

Surrounded by friends and family, Destinee Hayes walked out to a standing ovation as she headed to her senior prom — a milestone her family once feared she might never reach. In 2022, Hayes was diagnosed with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, or MIS-C, a rare but potentially life-threatening complication linked to COVID-19. After she suffered a major stroke, doctors warned her family that if Hayes woke from her coma, she likely would not be able to walk, talk or recognize them. Instead, she beat the odds and made what her family calls a miraculous recovery.