On July 11, Caroline Mhley ‘26 was enjoying a day at the mall with her friends. Over the next couple of hours, she gradually lost all feeling in her body below her neck, leaving her paralyzed. The following day, a tumor was discovered in the spinal cord of her cervical spine. She underwent emergency surgery to perform a biopsy that day, and a few weeks later, a follow-up surgery occurred to remove the tumor.

After the surgery, Caroline continued to make great strides of improvement, recovering from her spinal cord injury and cancer, her father Gavin Mhley shared on an online CaringBridge post. In the following weeks, she started gaining some arm movement and made great improvements in breathing on her own. After a sudden medical emergency resulting in cardiac arrest, Caroline was able to fight to stay alive just a little longer. However, on Oct. 20 at 1 a.m. Caroline unexpectedly passed away.

“That Sunday night [of Caroline’s death], our friend group from elementary school went over to her house and put candles out,” friend Bridget Gilmartin ‘26 said.” It was really nice to be a part of that. Caroline’s grandparents came outside, and it was really nice to see them. It was [comforting] to be with the friends that were closest to her, and to all be together, remembering her.”

Following her death, the community instantly united to support their fellow classmate, friend, and community member. Many put up light blue–her favorite color–ribbons around trees in the neighborhood to show their respects. The Poms team showed additional support by leaving chalk messages and drawings for the family in front of their house. On Oct. 25, the whole school came together at the blue-out football game in honor of Caroline.

“It’s so nice to see how supportive everyone is,” Maya Bylsma ‘26, a close friend of Caroline, said. “You don’t really realize it until something like this happens, unfortunately, but I was just amazed by how supportive everyone was. Even the people that didn’t know her personally were just so inspired by her.”

Caroline had been an active member of her community throughout high school and before. Her passion was dancing. She danced for almost 10 years at Impact Dance Studio and was a member of LT’s JV Poms team. She was also involved in Yoga club and Future Healthcare Professionals of America. Over her summers, Caroline worked as a snack bar manager at the La Grange Field Club, and she enjoyed babysitting throughout the year and spending time with her parents and little brother, Sean Mhley ‘28. 

“[Caroline] was shy, but also, if you knew her well, she was so funny, outgoing, and lighthearted,” Bylsma said. “She was always making jokes in serious situations and always was silly. She could really find humor and positivity in any situation, no matter how hard it was. I heard about it, too, when she was in the hospital from her parents. She was still cracking jokes and staying so positive in the worst of situations that you could think of. It really shows who she was as a person, and I feel like I can learn from that by finding positivity in every situation.”

Caroline had always been a positive person, Gilmartin said.

“[Something I learned from Caroline is to] always have a smile on your face,” Gilmartin said. “Even when she would have a hard time in school, which was rare, she always had a smile on her face and was positive about everything.”

Caroline and Bylsma enjoyed driving around together, listening to music, and getting ice cream, Bylsma said. She was someone one could spend time with without having a planned activity.

“I hope her friends remember how she made them feel,” her father said. “Whether it was making them laugh or how they felt just hanging out with her. And I hope everyone remembers how courageous and graceful she was when she was faced with a seemingly impossible medical situation.”

Caroline had been hospitalized since the summer, but she could still take one class remotely as part of LT’s homebound program. She met with English teacher Katherine Karubas via FaceTime several times a week to discuss content from William Wesley’s AP English Language & Composition class. Caroline couldn’t use her hands to type out assignments due to her paralysis, but she could verbally complete her assignments using her iPhone, which she controlled entirely by voice commands. Her occupational therapists at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab taught her how to effectively use the voice and eye tracking software, which would have been continued with La Grange Area Department of Special Education’s (LADSE) resources when she came home.

“This class kept her connected to the LT community, which we are grateful for,” her father said. “The entire administration and teaching staff at LT has been so supportive, and we appreciate all they have done for our family.”

Throughout the whole journey, Caroline’s story has been an inspiration to many.

“We knew she was a special person, but we honestly did not know that she had made such an impact on others,” her parents, G. Mhley and Colleen Mhley, said in a statement to the LION Newspaper. “A lot of people followed her story since July when she was suddenly paralyzed by a spinal cord tumor. And the determination she showed was inspiring, as well as her grace in accepting that her life was forever changed. Even though she couldn’t move her body and needed a ventilator to breathe, she rarely complained about her predicament, worked incredibly hard to improve, and continued to greet everyone with a smile. She made an impact on so many doctors, nurses, aides, and therapists she met along the way at Comer Children’s Hospital, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, and Lurie Children’s Hospital, as well as all the people who followed her story. Many of her nurses and therapists commented to us that they had never seen a patient in her condition be so positive and upbeat.”

Not only is Caroline’s story an inspiration locally, but it has impacted many across the world.

“We have heard from people all over the world who have been moved and inspired by her story, from places like Germany and Honduras,” her parents said. “There were so many people rooting her on as she made such amazing progress, like starting to move her arms again. Her passing was especially shocking because she had been making so much progress. We were all looking forward to her coming home in November and eventually going back to LT in 2025, but obviously, that wasn’t to be. So we are left with memories of who she was and the lessons she taught us.”

A memory that stood out to Caroline’s parents was something they had not discovered until recently.

“Another memorable story we will never forget about Caroline is something that the priest who conducted her funeral spoke about,” her parents said. “She had picked St. Gemma as her confirmation name in eighth grade. After she passed, we learned that St. Gemma was the patron saint of students as well as the patron saint of spinal cord injuries. Like Caroline, she was paralyzed when she was 16 and was known as someone who greeted everyone with a smile despite her difficult medical situation. Obviously, this was an incredible thing to learn. To hear this amazing similarity with her confirmation saint, as well as many more similarities we have learned since then, gives us much consolation that what the priest said was true: that Caroline was guided by St. Gemma through her incredibly difficult journey in the last months of her life. It has made people rethink their lives, and it has brought our community together in ways we never could have imagined.”

To follow Caroline’s medical journey in more detail, visit her CaringBridge page and search “Caroline Mhley.”

Editor’s note: The counselors and social workers at each grade level are available to work with any students who are impacted by grief or loss. Students can make appointments with their counselor or social worker anytime for support.