Taylor Swift 12-Year-Old Fan Emily Beazley Dies From Cancer
Emily Beazley, Taylor Swift's 12-year-old superfan, died on May 18 after losing her 4-year battle with cancer.
For years, Emily has been fighting Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, NBC Chicago has learned. The cancer was so aggressive that doctors said they could not do anything anymore to spare Beazley. Treatments were stopped and Emily spent her last few days paralyzed from the waist down.
"My beautiful Emily got to use her angel wings. She fought hard to the end. Her last gift to me was passing peacefully," Emily's mother, Nadia, wrote in a Facebook post.
"It hurts so much to imagine that I will never have another hug or kiss from my girl," she continued. "Or hear her say 'Mommy' the special way that she does. This hurts so damn bad."
Just before her passing, Emily was able to get in contact with her favorite singer, Taylor Swift. The pop icon managed to make a phone call to Beazley.
"When she was on the phone, she was completely star-struck. Emily thanked her for her music and told her what her music meant to her," Emily's mother told Hollywood Life, referring to Taylor Swift's phone call to the 12-year-old.
"The smile on my daughter [is one] I have not seen in a very, very long time," Nadia Beazley said. "I could cry."
In addition to the call, Swift's manager also offered the family tickets to the singer's concert in Detroit on May 30, as well as a backstage passes to meet the singer.
Even when she was battling her condition, Beazley was an advocate of helping others who are also suffering the same fate as hers.
"She was an amazing girl, very unselfish," said Dr. Jason Canner, one of Emily's physicians, to Chicago Tribune. "Even though she knew it was too late for her, she wanted people to continue to raise money for research. She wanted to help find a cure."
Emily's Entourage started a small grass-roots movement that has gained massive support and international following from people online. Emily's surviving family members, along with Dr. Canner, are trying to establish a chapter for little Emily with the Cure It Foundation.
"The timing of all this - how she was able to reach the public's hearts, raise awareness and still live life was just incredible," Dr. Canner said. "None of us have seen anything like this before."
According to US Magazine, Beazley and her family made a YouTube video two years ago with the Advocate Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois to give encouragement to other children who are battling cancer.