Mom's heartfelt Facebook post helps daughter score tickets to see Taylor Swift
MIAMI -- A Facebook post plus a mother's love has turned a nightmare into a dream come true for a teenager in Wellington.
Three years ago, when she was 13, Valerie Chandler severed her spine in a car accident.
She has been confined to a wheelchair ever since, enduring a dozen surgeries and constant physical therapy.
Through it all, she said the one thing that has helped her persevere has been the music of Taylor Swift.
"Through doctor's appointments and different surgeries, that's what I put on to block everything else out," Valerie said.
Like so many other fans, Valerie was online Tuesday morning trying to buy tickets to the Taylor Swift concert in Tampa.
Five long hours later, it was finally Valerie's turn.
But while there were tickets available, they were only for people not in wheelchairs.
All the wheelchair-accessible seats were gone.
"This was just another reminder to her that I'm in a wheelchair, and because of that, I don't have equal access to a ticket in this case," said Valerie's mother, Katie Chandler.
"I was thinking it wasn't going to happen," Valerie said with a sigh. "I really wasn't thinking it was going to happen."
But Katie wouldn't accept that.
She went to social media and posted a letter to Taylor Swift.
"Dear Taylor Swift," Katie wrote. "This message may never reach you, but I'm going to put it out there anyway."
In the letter, Katie described Valerie's situation and the struggles she's been through.
"I just want to put a smile on her face and give her a good memory that she'll never forget, because there's a lot of bad ones," the letter said. "I want to sit beside my daughter at your concert and watch her smile."
Almost immediately, the post went viral.
As of Thursday evening, the post had been shared more than two thousand times.
"Strangers, I had random people from out of state, out of the country, reaching and saying we're pulling for you, we're saying prayers for you," Katie said.
And it was one of those strangers who reached out Thursday night and offered the Chandlers tickets to the show.
In April, Valerie will be in Tampa when Taylor Swift takes the stage.
"I haven't had the time to cry yet about it, so there's that," Valerie said. "It's insane."
"It shows the power of sharing," Katie said. "It shows the power of people that care, that want to help."