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Kasey Matthews didn't think she would be taking to the dance floor this prom season, as her ongoing battle with leukemia has kept her in the hospital for the past several weeks.

But on Thursday, the Riverside teenager left her hospital bed for the annual Night of Stars patient prom at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She was one of about 85 patients to attend the event that transforms parts of the hospital into a party place.

"It was awesome. I didn't really know what to expect, but as it got closer I was so excited," Kasey said. "I felt like I was going to explode. I've never been to a school dance or anything this big before."

The 16-year-old traded in her comfy lounge clothes for a floor-length cream gown with pretty beading. She got her nails and makeup done before taking to the red carpet.

Kasey skipped the fancy hairdo and instead donned a pink glow-in-the dark band around her bald head. And she didn't let her wheelchair keep her off the dance floor.

"I danced the best I could in my chair. It was so much fun," she said Friday from her hospital room at CHOP. While her first big dance was different than she ever imagined, it may have been just what the doctor ordered.

"I had a headache for days and today it's a little bit better. I think it might have helped," Kasey said.

While Kasey looked as pretty as a princess in her gown and earrings, she is really a fighter.

Four years ago, she was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukemia.

"I wasn't feeling well," she said. "I was tired all the time and looked pale and they thought it was just teen laziness. But then my lips got real pale and we knew we had to see a doctor."

A high fever led to blood work. Kasey recalled the 6 a.m. phone call her mom got from the doctor after he received the results. He told them to get to the hospital. When Kasey's mom woke her up, the little girl feared things to come.

"Is it cancer?" she asked. Doctors would soon confirm Kasey's suspicions.

"It was like a punch in the stomach," she said of hearing her diagnosis. "It took the wind right out of me."