Imagine trying to make friends without the ability to talk. 
 
 That's the situation for MichaelAnn Byrne, a senior at Cumberland Valley High School who has a rare brain disorder known as beta-propeller protein-associated neurodegeneration (BPAN.) Only about 50 to 75 people worldwide have the disorder. 
 
 So when Byrne was selected in late August by the Make a Wish Foundation, she wished for 100 new friends. 
 
 Her classmates rallied around her and took it up a notch by nominating her for homecoming court last month. She got the most nominations of the eight girls who made the court, according to Melanie McCormick, who was also on the court. 
 
 On Friday night, during halftime of the football game, Byrne was named Homecoming Queen. 
 
 "We were all standing on the field. It was the moment we were all waiting for," McCormick said. "I was so happy that she got homecoming queen. One of the other girls on the court was crying, she was so happy for MichaelAnn." 
 
 MichaelAnn normally cherishes her sleep and is in bed by 8 p.m., her mom Sherry Byrne said. But MichaelAnn stayed for the entire football game, accepting congratulations and posing for photos with classmates. 
 
 Afterward, Byrne couldn't stop smiling, according to her mom. 
 
 "It's 1 in the morning and MichaelAnn is still up giggling," Sherry Byrne wrote on her Facebook page. "At one point, I thought she was asleep, but when I checked on her she was just lying there smiling. I am surprised at how much making Homecoming Queen has meant to her." 
 
 MichaelAnn's 600 senior classmates learned about her wish during a school assembly where country music star Brad Paisley explained her situation and desire to make new friends in a videotaped message. Paisley asked the students this year to find time to greet MichaelAnn, say their name and share one thing about themselves. 
 
 Paisley started it off by introducing himself as "Brad," sharing that he likes superheroes and referring to himself as a "dork." 
 
 McCormick said she and her friend Paige introduced themselves to MichaelAnn, complimented her on her Pandora bracelet and shared that they liked Alex and Ani bangle bracelets. 
 
 "We wanted to help make her wish come true," McCormick said. "So when the kids were asking around, about who we should nominate, we said, "Let's vote for MichaelAnn.' We thought it would be awesome to put her on the court." 
 
 Byrne's mother is documenting her daughter's new friendships on a blog, which includes photos of the new friends. 
 
 Byrne's condition involves excess iron on the brain, which causes developmental delays and progresses into symptoms similar to Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease. She uses a wheelchair and communicates through facial expressions and motions. 
 
 Her condition could worsen now that she is in her late teens, her mom said, but her prognosis is unclear because the disorder is so rare. 
 
 The BPAN classification was identified just three years ago, Sherry Byrne said, as one of several Brain Iron Accumulation Disorders. 
 
 MichaelAnn didn't have any friends until last year, her mom said, when she joined some social media sites and a new school aide started promoting her in the classroom. 
 
 On Saturday, MichaelAnn was excited to be invited to another girl's house to get ready for the big Homecoming Dance. 
 
 "She has significant needs," Byrne said. "It's not easy to get to know her, so for the kids to rally around her really says a lot about them. It's amazing." ||||| Copyright by WHTM - All rights reserved 
 
 MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) - Cumberland Valley High School's homecoming court made their way to the football stadium Friday afternoon to practice for the crowning ceremony. 
 
 "I'm really excited," said Melanie McCormick, one of the girls on court, "but honestly, it doesn't really matter if I get queen or not because I love all the girls on the court and we're all pretty good friends." 
 
 One of the girls holds a special place in everyone's heart. 
 
 "Oh, we love MichaelAnn. A lot of the girls in our grade were like, 'put MichaelAnn on homecoming court' and we were all for it." McCormick said. 
 
 When the court takes the field, MichaelAnn will be in a wheelchair. She can't walk because of a condition called beta-propeller protein-associated neurodegeneration (BPAN). 
 
 "It's excessive iron on the brain and there's around 50 people worldwide who have it," MichaelAnn's mother Sherry Byrne said. "It'll progress where she gets Parkinson's characteristics and Alzheimer's characteristics." 
 
 MichaelAnn can't talk, which makes it hard to make friends. 
 
 "You know friendship's a really big thing in anybody's life, and MichaelAnn did not have friends until last year," Byrne said. 
 
 "MichaelAnn had Make A Wish Foundation come to our school. And her wish this year was to have 100 new friends," McCormick said. "So, we're trying to help MichaelAnn in that endeavor and to get her wish this year." 
 
 That wish is coming true. 
 
 "It's amazing that she's made so many new friends that so many people voted for her," Byrne said. "When she got home and we were talking about it, she got all excited, all smiley, and she does a little kick sometimes when she's excited." 
 
 Her dad is excited to escort her onto the field. 
 
 "It's nothing you would ever expect when you're the father of a child with this type of disability; that this kind of thing would ever happen," Greg Byrne said. "To see people accept her and welcome her into the community is more than we could ever hope for." 
 
 "It doesn't matter if she wins or not. I mean she's already won. She's been so blessed," Sherry Byrne said.
– A girl who can only communicate with motions and facial expressions said that all she wanted was to have 100 new friends. Now she's been named Homecoming Queen at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, Pa., at the very point in life where her condition may well worsen, PennLive reports. MichaelAnn Byrne, who has an unusual brain disorder called beta-propeller protein-associated neurodegeneration (BPAN), was invited out onto the field in her wheelchair at halftime of a football game on Friday night. "We were all standing on the field," says a girl who was also nominated. "It was the moment we were all waiting for. I was so happy that she got homecoming queen. One of the other girls on the court was crying, she was so happy for MichaelAnn." The story began when MichaelAnn's fellow seniors saw a video by country music star Brad Paisley. He explained that her wish with the Make a Wish Foundation was to have 100 new friends, and asked them to introduce themselves to MichaelAnn and say something about themselves. Then the students figured they would nominate her for Homecoming Queen. "It's 1 in the morning and MichaelAnn is still up giggling," her mom, Sherry Byrne, wrote on Facebook after Friday night's event. Byrne tells ABC 27 that MichaelAnn is among 50 people worldwide with BPAN, which adds extra iron to the brain and leads to characteristics found in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. "It's not easy to get to know her, so for the kids to rally around her really says a lot about them," she says. "It's amazing."