Carol Grace Bailey is crossing her fingers today. The 22-year-old from Gordo, Alabama, is heading up to UAB Hospital in Birmingham, AL, to be checked out. Carol Grace Bailey may have an issue with her kidneys or her bladder, possibly an issue related to her spina bifida. She wants desperately to be home on Sunday evening to watch her favorite football player.

It was five years ago yesterday. Carol Grace Bailey sat in her wheelchair, taking in the 2018 Night To Shine. All over the world, churches were hosting proms for young adults with special needs. The brainchild of Tim Tebow had spread after it had offered joy and goodwill for years.

Carol Grace Bailey was seventeen years old back in 2018. She looked at the handsome young man, who was all but 19 years old at the time. Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts looked resplendent in his maroon tuxedo. He smiled at Carol Grace and told her how beautiful she looked.

Jalen Hurts was a month out from being benched in the national championship game. It was four weeks prior when Tua Tagovailoa rescued the Crimson Tide in Atlanta. Jalen was just fine with that, as he knew how much he contributed to the team that season. After all, Jalen was a national champion.

“The special thing about that night at Shelton State was that Jalen didn’t show up just to shake hands,” Carol Grace’s mom Hope tells me. “Jalen was there to volunteer — to help out — to make sure the night went well. He visited with all of the young people who attended — he seemed in no hurry to leave — he was there all night. And the most memorable thing? He never stopped smiling.”

Carol Grace Bailey has always loved the University of Alabama. Her mom was a Crimsonette, and her grandpa Ken Bailey played for coach Paul Bryant. But ever since Jalen Hurts spent time with Carol Grace and chatted and hugged and showed that he cared? Says mom Hope, “Carol Grace has had a crush on Jalen ever since, and her love of the Crimson Tide has grown.”

On Friday night, hundreds of Night To Shine events will take place all over the world. And while young people will be enjoying a night to remember, Carol Grace will be thinking of a night she will never forget.

There’s a good chance that Carol Grace Bailey will be lying in a hospital bed tonight, her fingers crossed. Carol Grace is hoping that she will be home with her family on Sunday, rooting for her favorite football player.

She’s hoping that Jalen Hurts has a game he will never forget.

Five years after the young Bama quarterback took time to love, Carol Grace Bailey hopes that Jalen never stops smiling.

She hopes that it will be Jalen’s Night To Shine.