Taylor Swift has made a generous donation to a young fan battling brain cancer.
The Life of a Showgirl singer, 35, gifted $100,000 to a young 2-year-old girl named Lilah on Friday, October 17, who was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer at just 18 months old.
Swift was alerted to Lilah’s plight after the toddler’s mother, Katelynn Smoot, shared her daughter’s health journey via social media over the past several months. Katelynn also shared the story of Lilah’s brain cancer battle as she attempted to fundraise for treatment costs via a GoFundMe that has been active since March.
According to the GoFundMe, Lilah’s form of cancer is rare and aggressive, with only around 58 known cases in the U.S. last year. As she fights the aggressive disease, Lilah has been forced to be in and out of hospitals for much of her young life.
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Katelynn posted a video, titled “Stand with Lilah” via her TikTok on October 8, which showed Lilah describing Swift as her “friend” while watching the singer on her iPad.
“This might be my fault,” Katelynn captioned the clip, as she joked that she’d caused Lilah to become a Swiftie.
“Lilah’s name was originally going to be Willow,” Katelynn added, referencing Swift’s 2020 song. “We were set on that name my whole pregnancy but ultimately ended on Lilah.”
She continued, “I listened to Taylor my whole pregnancy and then birthed a mini Swiftie. Lilah loves Taylor’s music and during her cancer treatment she always found joy in it. I hope Lilah gets through this diagnosis and gets to one day go to a Taylor Swift concert in person. I know she would love it.”
@standwithlilah I cannot say thank you enough. I’m truly in shock. This means we don’t have to worry about anything other than Lilah. Truly such a blessing. Thank you @Taylor Swift
A week later, Swift made a donation via the GoFundMe on Friday, October 17.
“Sending the biggest hug to my friend, Lilah!” Swift wrote via the GoFundMe page. “Love, Taylor.”
The hefty donation helped the family exceed their initial target by nearly $60,000.
Lilah, who has recently had a mass removed from her brain and been in recovery from surgery, still has more treatment to face.
During her health journey, she will need three months of chemotherapy, three months of stem cell treatment and proton radiation.
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Katelynn was elated by Swift’s donation and posted her gratitude via the Stand With Lilah Instagram page.
She shared a video of herself dancing with Lilah set to Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” and shared that the money meant the family could now “focus on being here with our girl.”
“Is this real life? Thank you so so much @taylorswift,” the post’s caption read. “I am in shock. This means so much to us. I can’t express in words how incredibly grateful we are. Tyler and I can just focus on our baby girl and being together as a family. I can’t stop crying. You have given us such a beautiful gift. Thank you ❤️❤️❤️❤️.”
The “Wood” singer has been known for her generous acts in the past and has often donated to her fans and other people who are going through tough times.