Adele Spreads Joy With Surprise Visit To Terminally Ill 12-Year-Old Fan During Tour
Adele recently made one young fan extremely happy when she took the time to respond to an online appeal from the mother of the terminally ill 12-year-old little girl. The chart topper, who was in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to kick off her world tour, made the visit before she even began any of her sold out performances.
Rebecca Gibney is the name of the young Adele fan who had her wish come true. The 12-year-old suffers from serious health problems, including blindness, that have left her bed bound and terminally ill. Rebecca is unable to walk or talk and has to be tube fed, but according to Billboard, Rebecca’s mother has said that the thing that gives epilepsy and cerebral palsy sufferer joy each day is listening to Adele’s music from the moment she wakes until she goes to sleep at night.
Adele brings joy to terminally-ill Belfast girl with surprise visit to her bedside: Superstar Adele has captured… https://t.co/n8e4ZAbFRG
— Belfast Journal (@belfastjournal) March 2, 2016
The visit to the young girl’s home in Belfast came as a shock to her mother, Tracy, as the social media and online campaign through Change.org, which she launched last year, did not go so far as to actually request a visit from the songstress but was instead asking if she could “FaceTime wee Rebecca or send her a video message.” However, when Adele’s tour dates and locations were announced, the mother saw a chance to have an even greater impact on her daughter’s short life and sought to get a visit from the Belfast-bound singer.
The decline of Rebecca Gibney’s health has been quick; only two years ago she was attending school but is now unable to even make any noise as she spends 24 hours in the hospital bed that has been set up in her home for her. In December, doctors gave the little girl only six months to live, fuelling her mother’s determination to increase the joy her little girl gets from listening to Adele.
In addition to the online petition, Tracy sought to raise awareness through a Facebook page by tweeting the request as well as sending numerous unanswered emails to Adele’s management. When Adele called the mother Tuesday morning to announce that she was on the way to her Short Strand home ahead of her sold-out concerts at Belfast’s SSE Arena, Tracy knew that all her hard work had paid off.
Adele took time out from the early stage of her European tour to pay a surprise visit to a terminally ill youn… https://t.co/11t1CqHAsE
— Tri Daihatsu (@heri_halik) March 2, 2016
By Tuesday afternoon, Adele and superfan Rebecca Gibney were in the midst of some serious quality time that overwhelmed the terminally ill little girl’s mother. Tracy, a mother of three, is also a big Adele fan. The Belfast Telegraph quoted the mother on the experience of seeing her daughter’s wish come true. Adele also gave the family tickets to her concert, which ran for two nights at the arena.
“I can’t believe it, I’m just over the moon. My daughter got to meet the person that she loved and that’s what I’ll always take with me for the rest of my life. Adele played with her hair, and held her hand and asked her all about Frozen. She was really lovely.”
Support and joy for the Gibney’s have poured in since the news of Adele’s visit was announced, and the singer has undoubtedly earned even more love from the public by the simple act of visiting a home and making a little girl’s dream come through.
Adele is set to continue her first live shows in the U.K. and Europe region since 2011 on Friday March 4 at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.
[Image via Tracy Gibney’s Facebook Post]
