KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Any Taylor Swift sighting tends to gain national attention.
Fresh off her record-breaking, highest-grossing tour of all time, and on the eve of her 35th birthday, Taylor Swift made more headlines when she surprised patients at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.
Liz Jouppi said Swift visiting her two-year-old daughter Millie felt like a dream.
“I turned around, and she was just right there in the doorway, and it was just like, ‘Wow, this is this is happening,'” Jouppi said.
Millie and her whole family have been at Children’s Mercy Hospital since August. Millie is on the wait list for a heart transplant. Jouppi said it’s been months of challenge after challenge.
“Millie got a really bad viral infection back in August, and we had to get life-flighted here from Wichita,” Jouppi said. “She was in multi-organ failure; she was very, very sick, and it mainly affected her heart, but she was in kidney failure, liver failure. Her left lung collapsed, and she had multiple brain bleeds.”
It’s why meeting Taylor Swift was a moment right out of their wildest dreams. Swift took a photo with them and gave them a signed copy of her “The Eras Tour Book.”
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Jouppi and Millie were able to show Swift a surprise too: Millie’s hospital room has a friendship-bracelet banner on it with her own name!
“She just got down low and was chatting with Millie,” Jouppi said. “She was just really sweet and really kind.”
Swift’s visit was the best day for 11-year-old Baylee Nuzum and her mom Melissa too.
“She definitely is down to Earth, she cares, she’s compassionate,” Melissa said. “I mean, we were able to have real conversations with her.”
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Baylee has an autoimmune disease, and has been undergoing testing at Children’s Mercy Hospital for chronic stomach pain.
She said meeting Swift helped provide some relief.
“I was just in so much pain and then when I saw her, everything just stopped and froze,” Baylee said. “Then all I was thinking about was getting to meet one of my top idols.”
Through all the difficulties they face, both families are grateful for this superstar moment.
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KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers the cities of Shawnee and Mission. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.
