'Best Day Ever': Girl With Cancer Meets Taylor Swift's Mom At Concert Thanks To LI Charity

Find out what's happening in Hauppaugewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Aubrey got to give one of her “Aubrey Hope” bracelets to Andrea, who battled breast cancer twice and brain cancer.

Aubrey said it was “crazy” to meet Andrea and said she cried the whole time.

“She had cancer, too,” she said. “It makes me feel like we have something in common.”

Belous said Swift concertgoers like to scour the arena for people like Travis Kelce or Blake Lively. She said she saw Andrea Swift from the corner of her eye.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, Aubrey, we have to go over to her.’ Mama Swift actually had cancer and beat cancer. She is a really big inspiration to Aubrey. It was really cool,” Belous said. “We got to tell her mom that her fight was so inspiring to Aubrey, and that Taylor Swift’s music has gotten Aubrey through her first two rounds of cancer … We’re forever indebted to Taylor Swift and her music and how it healed her in ways that no chemo or radiation could.”

Aubrey was “hysterically crying” happy tears, Belous said.

Belous said giving a bracelet to Andrea Swift is a “big deal,” and Aubrey got to take a photo doing heart hands with “Mama Swift.”

“Aubrey was so, so excited,” Belous said. “It was definitely a moving, touching moment for everyone. Everyone was crying. She was really happy.”

Belous said despite Aubrey not getting the 22 hat, meeting Andrea Swift was a win.

“We hope when Mama Swift goes home and looks through her bracelets, she sees Aubrey’s name and it gets somewhere,” Belous said.

Aubrey said meeting Taylor Swift’s mom was “possibly” better than getting the 22 hat.

“I met the person who made Taylor, so it’s up there,” Aubrey said.

A lot had to go right for the magical moments at the concert to manifest — Belous used her Whip Pediatric Cancer funding to purchase tickets for seats in the highest row of Hard Rock Stadium.

Aubrey and her family, residents of Lakeland, Florida, dealt with Hurricane Milton days before the show. Belous, who moved to Tampa Bay, drove with the Hutson family from Tampa Bay to Hollywood, Florida.

Before the concert, Belous reconnected with Nikki Ramirez, a woman whose daughter, Rosie, died of stage four neuroblastoma two years ago. Belous had helped Rosie through Whip Pediatric Cancer. Rosie’s father, a police officer in Florida, connected Belous with Florida Highway Patrol. The agency sent a major and troopers to give Belous and the Hutsons a police escort to Hard Rock Stadium.

“It was the craziest experience,” Belous said. “It felt like we were famous.”

The crew got to their seats in the nosebleeds, where the tickets cost $2,500.

“We got up to our seat and were hanging up there for a little bit, hoping we would get the 22 hat,” Belous said. “Kind of nervous. We were just trying to assess the scene and see what was going on.”

Major Ellery Collado, with the Florida Highway Patrol, texted Belous that he would try to figure out a way to get her and Aubrey, as well as Aubrey’s mother and sisters, better seats.

“About 15 minutes into the concert, he texts me, ‘Come down right now to the 100 floor. Hurry up. Come quick. I’m going to take you to the floor,'” Belous reaclled. “We ran down the stairs as fast as we could.”

Belous said they were treated like VIP guests. She said Collado knew how badly Aubrey wanted the 22 hat.

“As ’22’ went on, he brought us as close to the stage as he possibly could,” Belous said. “There was pretty much no one between Aubrey and Taylor Swift. It was insane. We never thought we would be sitting on the floor of a Taylor Swift concert. It was crazy, crazy.”

When Swift entered the stage, Aubrey recalled thinking, “Oh my gosh, this is it. This is what I’ve been waiting for.”

“I felt like I was about to pass out, because she was right there,” Aubrey said.

While Aubrey did not get the hat, she met Taylor Swift’s mom and got to stay on the floor for the rest of the concert.

Aubrey and her sisters were dancing and singing.

“It was definitely very emotional getting to see Aubrey live out her dream,” Belous said. “This is something she’s been wanting to do for her whole life. It was definitely very, very high on her bucket list, getting to go to the concert, and the fact we were able to see Mama Swift and go on the floor.”

Lyndsi Hutson, Aubrey’s mom, called it “the best day.”

“We want to thank Jordan for making that dream come true for Aubrey and for us being able to see that and watch her live out her dream,” Lyndsi said. “It was almost like watching an Aubrey concert and not a Taylor Swift concert. From a mom’s perspective, being able to witness her do that was; there’s no price you can put on something like that.”

Lyndsi said Aubrey stood up the whole time, wearing an outfit that Belous handmade for her, holding the microphone Belous got her.

“She stood there and danced and sang at the top of her lungs,” Lyndsi said. “She was just carefree for a little while. She belted out every song. All the lights in the building and the acoustics everywhere. It just made it seem like all the shows she put on for us as a family; it was like she was putting it on for the crowd. The whole time, I was watching her instead of watching the concert. It was really magical.”

Belous said her mother asked the girls after the show what their favorite part of the concert was. “Everything,” they all answered, Belous said.

“Aubrey kept saying ‘Thank you so much, thank you for taking me to the Eras Tour. I had the best night of my whole life.’ She wanted to go back,” Belous said. “It’s like Taylor Swift and the Swifthood defines girlhood. Being a girl and having this community, feeling empowered, and everyone seems to have forgotten what they’re going through. So many people resonate with her music and her lyrics. There were even songs that I was like, ‘Wow, this was better than therapy.’ It was so empowering being there. The energy and the vibes were so high. I typically am not a Swiftie but I left a Swiftie just because I had been telling my mom that I want to go again.”

Belous originally did not plan on joining the Hutsons for the concert but changed her mind when Aubrey relapsed for the third time and begged her to go.

Belous said she is “so happy” she listened.

Click Here: Antoine Griezmann jersey sale

“It sounds super cliche, but it was super magical. It felt like a weight was lifted off [Aubrey’s] shoulders. She was at peace for the few hours we were there. She was genuinely enjoying it. She loved it. There were other girls there singing, but she knew every single word. She understood every single word. She felt every single word. She legitimately had the night of her life. You can’t put a dollar sign on that. That’s unbelievable.”

Belous, 25, said years from now, when Taylor Swift has a legend as long as Elvis Presley’s, she’ll say she got to see her when she was young.

“I’ll say, ‘I went to the Taylor Swift concert with Aubrey and had this amazing experience and weekend,'” Belous said. “It was awesome.”

Belous said when the family was riding home, Aubrey told them that this was the “closest she felt to God” during her cancer battle.

“It was better than I thought,” Aubrey said. “I was having dreams about it. You know how when you get excited, you have dreams? I was having dreams of it all going downhill and not being perfect. We just had a blast. I dreamed of us not making it in time and missing half the show.”

They went back to the hotel, had pizza and changed into Taylor Swift pajamas.

“We pretty much have been reliving the concert and watching the videos a million times,” Belous said. “I think I literally looked at the videos 100 times.”

Aubrey called Belous the “best friend ever.”

“We’re basically sisters,” Aubrey said.

Leading up to the concert, Belous handmade outfits for Aubrey, her mother, her siblings, and herself. She said it felt like a “big girly sleepover party.”

“Aubrey had these little star sparkly things she put on her face,” Belous said. “She definitely had a vision. She’s her own makeup guru. They all felt so special, because they got to pick their favorite era out of all of Taylor Swift’s eras. They each helped with their outfits.”

Each member of the party chose a Swift album to base their outfit around.

Aubrey was “Midnights,” her mother, Lyndsi, was “Red,” her sister, Emma, was “Reputation,” her other sister, Olivia, was “Lover,” and Belous was “Fearless.”

“We all completely dressed the part,” Belous said. “They all felt so special. Usually the cancer kid gets all the attention, but I really took my time making sure even [Lyndsi] was outfitted from head to toe. We had stadium bags that said ‘Swiftie.’ Everything was completely thought of. All the girls felt so beautiful.”

Aubrey called it the “best outfit ever.”

“It made me feel pretty and beautiful,” she said.

Whip Pediatric Cancer has two donation options on its website: one for research and another for quality of life purposes. All research proceeds go directly to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and will be used exclusively for pediatric cancer research, according to the website. Belous wanted a second option to help children fighting cancer make memories.

Belous’s initial plan upon founding Whip Pediatric Cancer was to only fundraise for research.

“I got kind of frustrated with the lack of process I was seeing [with research],” Belous said. “It wasn’t super tangible to me. I was like, ‘Where is my money going, and why do these kids continue to die?’ That’s where I started spending more time and energy into the quality of life things. It is tangible. Knowing that my network was able to give Aubrey, her sisters and her mom this night. And even her dad watching his girls be normal for one night. To watch them get ready, sing songs and not think about cancer. It was so moving. Everyone was having fun. They were crying because they were happy. The narrative lately has been they were crying because they were sad and anxious — all negative words. This time, they were crying because they were so happy.”

Belous said she understands why Make-A-Wish’s purpose.

“We don’t know, what we can do, medically, to save [Aubrey],” Belous said. “But [the concert] saved her soul and her heart. We helped her feel good about something and feel sure we were going to this concert no matter what. A year ago when we bought these tickets, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen.”

Belous said the whole night was a “huge win” thanks to everyone who donated to Whip Pediatric Cancer and helped share Aubrey’s story.

“This was definitely one of the biggest things I was able to do,” she said.

She thanked Nicki and Jose Ramirez for helping to arrange the police escort to the concert. The Ramirez’s founded their own charity, Rosie’s Adventures, in memory of their daughter.

“It was cool that we were able to collaborate with another one of my kid’s families,” Belous said. “Other kids’ families who I visited were donating and sending over bracelets. Everyone was pretty much involved. Everyone wanted [Aubrey] to have this night. It was cool how the community came together. Everyone was trying to get her the hat. Everyone was messaging me before the concert. The highlight reels from the show, people were in tears.”

Belous wanted to highlight everyone else who helped, including those who donated toward the Christmas present for the Hutsons — the Swift tickets.

Victoria and Seth Belous, Jordan’s parents, purchased the hotel room in Hollywood, Florida. Seth’s company, Flexible IT in Hauppauge, held a fundraiser to help buy the tickets.

Little Words Project, a fashion accessories company that has bracelet bars throughout the country, did not charge Belous and the Hutsons for the time and resources it took to craft “Aubrey Hope” beaded bracelets. The bracelets were exchanged with fellow concertgoers.

“Usually it’s like $40 for like 30 minutes or something,” Belous said. “We would go for hours on end and bead and bead and bead. They even came to the hospital during [Aubrey’s] chemo so we could keep on beading.”

Jill Zielinski organized an Amazon Wishlist that Belous used to get the hotel room decorated.

“Before the Hutsons got to the hotel, we used everything that was donated and decorated the room and made it Swiftie-fied and colorful with sparkles,” Belous said. “We had Taylor Swift playing and hung up all their outfits to get them hyped for the concert.”

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox.Mon, Nov 4, 2024 at 2:07 pm ET