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Teen Surprised with Taylor Swift Tickets After 325 Days in Hospital (Exclusive)
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Teen Surprised with Taylor Swift Tickets After 325 Days in Hospital (Exclusive)

Brilea Southard, who was seriously injured when another car crashed into her family’s minibus, has been hospitalized for 325 days.

He wasn’t supposed to be discharged for another month, but after a surprise announcement, the 15-year-old will take his first steps outside the hospital in a very memorable way: Taylor Swift’The third Eras Tour show, held in Indianapolis on Sunday, Nov. 3, is Swift’s last concert in Indiana’s capital.

Southard isn’t the only one who will enjoy 34-year-old Swift sold out tour. Ganja will be joined by 15 of his fellow patients who are being treated for various health issues at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.

16 pediatric patients learned the news at the hospital this week, where they thought they’d attend a Swift-inspired event where they’d make friendship bracelets and play “Taylor Trivia.”

The final trivia question revealed the big surprise. The hospital worker asked: “Who will be at Taylor’s last show on the last leg of her US tour in Indianapolis?” he asked.

“Hmm… Travis Kelce?” one patient guessed.

That’s the day Brilea Southard got the news that Taylor Swift would be attending her Eras Tour show in Indianapolis on November 3.

Riley Children’s Foundation


“Good guess, but no,” it was said. “You will all leave!”

One of the girls jumped out of her chair with excitement, while the others held their breath and started crying with joy.

News of concert tickets might be the best development some kids have had in a while. The exciting journey for Southard comes next. he and his family were involved in an accident in December In 2023, his aorta ruptured and his legs were crushed so badly that doctors said they had to be amputated.

Brilea Southard the day it was announced that Taylor Swift would be going on the Eras Tour.

Riley Children’s Foundation


“I only had a four percent chance of survival,” Southard told PEOPLE. He has since undergone more than 20 surgeries, but his intestines and other organs remain ruptured, and “he has wound care and dressing changes twice a week under sedation,” his mother, Paula Allen, tells PEOPLE.

Fortunately, doctors managed to save his legs.

Southard, who as a longtime Swiftie dressed up as the superstar for Halloween, says the pop superstar’s music soothed her during painful procedures, so the chance to see her perform live was “so mind-blowing.”

“This is going to mean a lot,” Southard adds. The teenager plans to wear black wide leggings and a jacket with sequined tassels, and will be accompanied by two nurses and a doctor, and then return immediately.

“I feel so blessed,” she tells PEOPLE.

Excited Brilea Southard reacts when told she has tickets to see Taylor Swift.

Riley Children’s Foundation


Another patient who was surprised with free suite tickets during the event was 12-year-old Emma Sully, who received a heart transplant at Riley in December 2022.

Sully said, “I seriously can’t stop crying right now!” he says. “I can’t right now… I can’t. I can’t hold back my emotions anymore.”

7-year-old Ja’isaibella (Izzy) Boyd will also attend the show. He has sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder that causes life-limiting complications.

Boyd’s mother, DeAndria Powell, explains that Swift’s music helped her daughter cope with the difficult diagnosis.

“One of their songs, ‘Shake It Off,’ is one of the songs we use when a pain attack hits,” he said. “We always try to shake it off before we take any medication, see if we can wipe it out.”

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Another concertgoer will be 11-year-old Charly Carty, who was diagnosed with Beals Syndrome, which caused her to develop early-onset severe scoliosis, when she was 2 years old. He has had corrective surgery to have his spine braced and cast, and will need more surgery in the future.

Hearing the concert news was a welcome development for the young girl wearing pink heart-shaped sunglasses. “I felt like I was going to cry because I was so happy,” Carty said. distribute friendship bracelets he says to the other kids in the show.

The tickets were donated by the Riley Children’s Foundation and Denney Excavating, according to a hospital spokesperson.

Swift will continue her Eras Tour on Saturday, November 2nd and Sunday, November 3rd at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.