University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust/FacebookIf you cast your mind back to being 16, I think we can all agree prom was a bit of a big deal.
For most teens, it’s their first chance to dress up in a fancy suit or gown, and for others it’s a chance to hire a fancy limo to arrive at their venue in style.
However, one teen from Lancaster decided to take it that one step further by rocking up in an F-type Jaguar, driven by a complete stranger.
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust/FacebookOlen Howden would walk past the bright blue sports car on his way to school every morning for several months, until one day he decided to stop and leave a note for the driver.
The 16-year-old, who attended Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy in Lancaster, asked the driver if there was any chance he could get a lift to prom.
Unbeknown to Olen, the driver turned out to be Dr Marwan Bukhari, a Consultant Rheumatologist for University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, who was more than happy to oblige.
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust/FacebookAccording to a post on the hospital trust’s Facebook page, Dr Bukhari said:
Olen is a very enterprising young man. He left a note for me behind the screen wash in a plastic bag. I was very happy to drive him to his prom.
Olen’s grandmother, Svatava Hrazdilova, and his sister, Bela Howden, loved watching him drive off to prom in the flash sports car, which was sure to impress all the other kids at the venue.
How special is this!School pupils often turn up to their prom in luxury cars but one young man went about it in a most…
Posted by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust on Friday, June 28, 2019
The high school graduate said:
I thought it would be a great prom car. It was amazing.
But the feel good story doesn’t end there, as Olen’s family decided to make a generous donation to a national arthritis charity in return for Dr Bukhari’s kind gesture. Coincidentally, it happened to be Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness Week when the prom took place on June 20.
Olen said he feels good knowing he’s given back to the community and now says his goal in life is to earn enough money to buy his own Jaguar.
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust/FacebookHe said:
I would like to thank Dr Bukhari for driving me to the prom and making me feel like I was on a race track!
‘Dr Bukhari is very kind. Olen is a lucky boy,’ his grandmother added.
You can find out more information about the National Rheumatoid Arthiritis Society here.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.