ED MAKES DREAM A REALITY
SUPERSTAR singer Ed Sheeran did more than simply meet a sick little girl from the Gold Coast this week. He handed her mother a sense of inner peace.
“I now know that if she was to die tomorrow that she has met the one person in the world who means so much to her,” Upper Coomera’s Sheryl Weight said of nine-year-old McKenzie, who has endured so many lows on her way to the most magical of highs.
“It’s done. I’m happy. I don’t want anything else in the world … those three minutes he took to meet McKenzie brings peace to my heart.”
The Bulletin this month revealed Sheryl’s desperate campaign to secure her daughter a once-in-alifetime meeting with Sheeran at one of his soldout Brisbane concerts.
On Wednesday night, in a private room at Suncorp Stadium, she handed the Brit a copy of that very article.
“I said to him ‘Read this in your own time but it’s the story of why we needed to meet you’,” Sheryl said of the tale of how his music was the greatest joy in the life of a little girl facing a lifelong battle with involuntary movement, the result of a rare genetic mutation.
“I got to thank him for what he’s done and tell him how much his music means to us and that it will live on with us forever ... he is a part of our daily lives.”
The meet-and-greet came after concert promoter Frontier Touring forwarded Sheryl’s emails to Sheeran’s management – and the world’s most famous redhead took care of the rest.
“When we walked into the room, McKenzie had a look on her face like ‘Oh, my gosh, he’s really in front of me’,” she said.
“It was just Ed and us (Sheryl, McKenzie and eldest daughter Shae-Jah) – no managers, no producers.
“McKenzie was quite anxious about it all but he handled it so well. He was amazing, just so genuine.
“I can’t explain it but for some reason she connects with him and his music like no one else. You can’t deny the love she has for him ... the smile on her face says it all.
“It was the best night and I’ll now have it forever. It’s three minutes of my life I’ll never forget.”