Louisiana child with sickle cell gets surprise of a lifetime: Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets

By Margaret DeLaney

Louisiana child with sickle cell gets surprise of a lifetime: Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets

Kelsey Farris, a 12-year-old from Baton Rouge, was diagnosed with sickle cell disease immediately after her birth.

Farris was transferred to Children's Hospital New Orleans shortly after where she continues to receive care for her condition.

With help from an anonymous donor, doctors at Children's Hospital gifted Farris with a special surprise last Thursday: two suite tickets to the Taylor Swift Era's Tour.

SEE MORE: New Orleans, are you ready for Taylor Swift weekend? The Eras Tour has finally arrived.

"For Kelsey, receiving these tickets is a well-deserved moment of joy after such a challenging year, which included receiving a bone marrow transplant," the hospital posted to social media. "Plus, she is one of Taylor Swift's biggest fans!"

Farris has the most common -- and most severe -- form of sickle cell disease, Hemoglobin SS. For much of her life, she was hospitalized for periodic episodes of extreme pain, also called a "pain crisis."

"Over the course of her short life thus far, Kelsey has been hospitalized more than 20 times for symptoms related to her sickle cell disease," her mom, Ebony Farris, said to LCMC. "It reached a point where her quality of life was significantly diminishing because she was living with chronic pain every day, even when she wasn't in the hospital."

After extensive conversations with her doctors, it was decided that Farris' best course of action would be a stem cell transplant. This type of transplant involves replacing cells through donation that has the potential to cure sickle cell disease.

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She underwent her transplant in November 2023, after matching with a donor, undergoing an infusion to suppress her immune system and a week of chemotherapy to prepare for the donor cells.

"Although her journey to remission is not complete," the hospital wrote, "she has already transformed into a stronger, more energetic girl."

The hospital wasn't done celebrating its patients and Taylor Swift's upcoming concerts.

Each Halloween the staff at Children's Hospital New Orleans hand-make costumes for the babies in the NICU.

According to the hospital, "the babies are ready for Taylor Swift" with outfits featuring Travis Kelce's jersey #87, a friendship bracelet that says "in my NICU era," Taylor's iconic gold fearless dress and even an outfit with the concert's new Reputation Era outfit (yes, a gold snake!)

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