Since our first hit played on the radio, Twilight Records had
been inundated with fan mail for Breaking Midnight. Some of the letters were
addressed to us as a band and some were individual letters addressed to each
member. Edward and I were the most popular members to get letters, fan mail.
Shortly before the release of our sophomore album, we
received a letter from a girl in Portland who had a brain tumor. The doctors
had not given her a promising prognosis and her last wish was for Breaking
Midnight to do an acoustic set in the children’s ward at Doernbecher’s
Children’s Hospital. My heart broke for her and I wanted to do more. So,
working with Kellan, the girl, whose name was Leah, her doctors and her
parents, we made arrangements for a performance at a nearby club, complete with
swag and freebies for all of the kids and their families that were able to
leave the ward, food and specialty beverages.
On top of that, I treated Leah to a day of relaxation and
beauty before the performance, saying that my number one fan needed to look her
best for her big debut. She even sang with Edward and me, her voice as clear as
a bell and her smile as radiant as the spotlight shining on her. What made the
day even more miraculous was that shortly after our visit with Leah and her
family, the doctors discovered that the treatments, which had not been working
previously, had begun to shrink the tumor. With extensive chemo therapy, gamma
radiation and brain surgery, Leah was on the road to recovery. She would have a
minor developmental delay because of the location of the tumor, but her
fighting spirit, her love of music and her memories of our visit were intact.
In fact, it made her fight even harder to overcome her challenges. She was
talking in a month and was taking her first unassisted steps within three
months.
From our last phone call with Leah a couple weeks back, she
was getting ready to go back to school and stressing about what to do with her
still-growing hair. I told her that she was beautiful and that the pixie cut
was in style. I also told her that when we were in Portland, she’d be coming to
our concert, getting the VIP treatment for her and four of her friends.
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