A 9-inch scar runs from the base of 17-year-old Kendra Kannegaard’s neck down the middle of her back. The scar, which she shows to almost anyone who asks, tells the story of the past five months.
On Jan. 10, during a visit to the doctor, Kannegaard, a junior at Scotts Valley High School, learned she had a massive tumor growing on her spinal cord.
“That was a shock,” Kannegaard said. “There were no symptoms of it.”
A month later, doctors at UCSF Medical Center performed a 14-hour surgery to remove the cancerous tumor from her spine.
Kannegaard had gone to the doctor to find out why she dragged her feet when she walked, because she hoped to land a part that required dancing in the recent Scotts Valley High musical “Urinetown.”
She auditioned for the play the day before she went into the operating room.
“When I came out of surgery, my boyfriend (Luke Thornley) was there,” she said, “(and) he told me I got cast as Little Sally. I don’t think I’ve ever been that happy. I cried in the hospital.”
Kannegaard left in a wheelchair, unable to use her legs. But her spirits remained high as she prepared for the musical.
“That’s what drove me through rehab,” she said. “Not even being in a wheelchair could stop me from doing what I love doing the most.”
The cast and crew supported her once she went back to school and built several wheelchair-accessible ramps onto the set, so Kannegaard could make it onto the stage.
“We knew we really wanted her in the show,” said Thornley, one of the set designers. “We realized ramps worked well with the set, and actors could run up them.”
Kannegaard, an aspiring actress, performed as Little Sally in the musical last month.
“I tell the school this is my emotional therapy and that I need it just as much as the physical therapy to get through,” she said.
Movement is slowly returning to her legs, but it is a slow process. Her goal is to walk with her graduating class in June 2012.
In support of Kannegaard and her family, the Friends of Kendra organization and the Scotts Valley Rotary Club are putting on a 1950s-style sock hop to raise funds.
Scotts Valley City Councilman Jim Reed said the dance, set for June 3 at the Scotts Valley Community Center, will feature dinner, live music and a silent auction.
“We’re marketing it toward being a real family event,” Reed said.
According to Reed, there will be two options for dinner. The Rotary Club will offer a $40 per plate dinner, which Reed described as being somewhat fancy. The Friends of Kendra will offer a pasta and salad dinner, priced at $15 for a pasta and salad plate and $10 for kids under 12.
Kannegaard’s father, Ken Kannegaard, is a well-known wrestling coach at the high school.
“Each day, her attitude has been ‘I can do this, Dad,’” Ken Kannegaard said. “She’s an inspiration for me. She gives me purpose, and I love her very much.”
Kendra Kannegaard said she has found that the high school and the people she knows have been very supportive through the struggle.
“This is just something you never think would happen,” she said. “It opens your eyes to things you’ve never even thought about. I have a new respect for people in wheelchairs. They’re pretty brave.”
At a glance
WHAT: 1950s-style sock hop to raise money for cancer patient Kendra Kannegaard, 17
WHEN: 6 p.m. June 3, a Friday
WHERE: Scotts Valley Community Center, 360 Kings Village Road
DETAILS: Proceeds from the evening — which includes dinner, a silent auction and music — will help with Kannegaard’s medical expenses. The fundraiser is sponsored by the Scotts Valley Rotary Club and Friends of Kendra.
COST: $10 to $40 per person
INFO: 345-5299 or http://scottsvalleyrotary.org/
