This is the touching moment when a young woman who needs a lung transplant after beating cancer discovers she has been given tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour for her 100th show.
Florence Ava Bark, from Corby, Northamptonshire, is currently battling graft versus host disease (GvHD) of the lungs.
He contracted the disease after receiving a bone marrow transplant in August 2022, following his diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Florence has always loved music and dancing, but due to her illness she was never able to experience them.
Days before Taylor Swift’s final show in Liverpool, Thrive CEO Sean Reddington was giving away two VIP tickets to “someone who really deserves them.”
A social media fan of Florence contacted Sean and nominated her for the tickets and after hearing her story, he decided to gift them to the family.
Florence Ava Bark is pictured with her mother Stacey Bark at Taylor Swift’s 100th Eras concert in Liverpool
The moment the seven-year-old found out she was going to her first concert
Florence has always loved music and dancing, but due to her illness she was never able to experience them.
Sitting in her living room, her mother Stacey Bark said: “Someone very kind was giving away two special tickets to go to a special event and a lovely girl called Olivia nominated you.”
He then asks Florence which superstar they were talking about the other day, to which the young woman says with a big smile on her face: ‘You were talking about Taylor Swift! Are we going to a Taylor Swift concert?
After being told they would be attending the sold-out event, Florence laughed and said: “I love music, I’ve never been to a concert before, thank you.”
Florence then began to cry before the clip showed her enjoying the concert, singing and shaking her stuffed dog to the music.
Stacey, 34, said: ‘They were great. Sean said there were quite a few tears in the office hearing Florence’s story.
“They even made special arrangements for Florence as the entrances weren’t originally wheelchair accessible, but they called the stadium and made sure they could look after her.
‘Sean’s personal assistant called me at 4pm on Friday during the school run, the day before the show, to confirm that everything had been sorted.
“That’s when I ran home to tell Florence.”
Stacey, her husband Andrew, 36, and eldest son Freddie, 10, made the trip to Liverpool.
Florence appears in the photo wearing a Taylor Swift t-shirt along with balloons and a cutout of the famous singer.
Florence hugs her stuffed dog while waiting to see Taylor Swift in Liverpool
Other Taylor Swift fans show Florence their friendship bracelets at the concert
Florence Bark, aged seven, her mother, Stacey Bark, aged 34, her father, Andrew, aged 36, and her brother, Freddie, aged 10.
Stacey attended the concert with Florence and, despite concerns about how it would go, Florence loved it.
Stacey, who now looks after her daughter full-time with her husband, said: “Florence has spent most of the last two and a half years in hospital.
‘Even before he got sick, the year he was due to start school, the pandemic started, so he had never been in such a large crowd before.
‘Seeing her have this experience meant everything and the staff were wonderful, friendly and attentive.
‘Florence called it a “once in a lifetime” experience.
Florence first became ill in late April 2022 and was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in May.
Stacey said: ‘She was diagnosed within 24 hours of her blood test.
“Florence started chemotherapy the next day because she was diagnosed as a high-risk patient.”
It quickly became apparent that the chemotherapy was not working and Florence’s parents were told she needed a bone marrow transplant.
“Just over a month later, on June 17, we were told he would need a bone marrow transplant,” Stacey added.
‘We were told there was a high chance the transplant would not work before surgery, but we had no real other option at the time.
‘He underwent the transplant on August 18, 2022, after which some cancer still remained.
“The biggest problem then was his immune system, which had to be suppressed for the transplant to be accepted into the body.”
Florence was declared cancer-free in October 2022, but a month later she was diagnosed with graft-versus-host disorder (GvHD) of the lungs.
GvHD occurs when transplanted donor cells recognize the recipient’s tissues as foreign and attack them.
Florence Ava Bark, from Corby, Northamptonshire, is currently battling graft versus host disease (GvHD) of the lungs.
A social media fan of Florence contacted Thrive’s CEO and nominated her for the entry
Florence smiles as she watches the concert, sings and waves her stuffed dog in the air.
Stacey said: “His lungs work at 30 per cent capacity on a good day, but he now needs a lung transplant.”
‘He has many infections in his lungs that need to be cleared before any transplant.
“Florence was on a ventilator for eight days last January as a result of complications with infections in her lungs.”
Florence is now undergoing tests to check her health before a possible lung transplant.
Her parents have created the Bemorefab Foundation in honor of her initials to help with donations for both Florence and other children fighting GvHD.
Stacey said: “We wouldn’t have come this far without the support of our community in Corby and the kindness of strangers willing to donate.”
