Eatonton Girl Battling Cancer Meets Country Music Star Sam Hunt
MORGAN COUNTY, Ga. - A little girl from Eatonton, Georgia, who is battling cancer, got to meet one of her favorite celebrities on Wednesday.
In May, doctors discovered a mass on 9-year-old Cadence Fox's pituitary gland and her parents rushed her to Egleston Hospital. Tara Fox, her mother, told us Cadence had two germinoma cancer tumors on her brain, which had already started damaging the gland and had caused other damage including peripheral vision loss.
"The treatment would consist of 4 rounds of chemotherapy followed by 6 weeks of radiation," said Fox back in August.
Her mother said Cadence tolerated the chemo remarkably with very little nausea. They recently arrived back home to Georgia from Houston, Texas, where Cadence underwent six weeks of radiation.
We learned about Cadence through Georgia based photographer Brandy Angel, who featured Cadence on Facebook and her website called "Be The Change." The Brandy Angel Foundation works to help anyone in need by sharing their images and stories through social media. Angel said in the featured post that one of the most impressive things she's heard in a long time came from Cadence.
"Cadence's mom Tara told me how Cadence has never once complained about her treatments and the first time they hooked up her chemo treatment Tara began to cry at the thought of poison going into her daughter's tiny body," said Angel. "Cadence looked at her mom and said 'mom it's ok, it's JUST CHEMO.' These little warriors never cease to amaze me with their strength and heart."
On Wednesday, the Morgan County Cultural Center put on a Sam Hunt show and thanks to Angel three tickets were donated to Cadence, her mother and sister. Angel said she didn't realize when she put in the request for the tickets that Cadence had actually missed Hunt's Atlanta concert before her radiation started in Texas. She was forced to miss the show because they moved up her radiation.
Cadence received the red-carpet treatment for the big night. Zapien Salon donated make over services for the Fox family beforehand.
"She smiled so much all day and felt so pretty and special," Angel said. "To be able to bring so many loving, compassionate people together to make a little girl's dreams come true is one of the most beautiful experiences of my life."
Cadence didn't just get to attend the concert... she also got to spend some quality time with Hunt, who happens to be a Georgia native himself! Angel was there to snap pictures of the meet-and-greet.
"Sam was absolutely amazing with Cadence and gave her memories she will never forget. He told her she was beautiful and she won best dressed for the night," said Angel. "He signed her hat and made her feel so special and he probably has no idea how much good he did through that small act."
"At the end of the evening she told me her face hurt. I told her it was from all the smiling she had done during the day," said Tara Fox. "The concert truly made her feel like the most important girl in the world."
Angel said the concert was perfect timing because this is an extremely difficult time for Cadence's family. They recently had to move to an apartment and have an extensive amount of medical bills. If you would like to donate to Cadence's GoFundMe account, click here. For updates on Cadence, follow her Facebook page here.
Cadence is scheduled for an MRI on December 15. Thoughts and prayers to this sweet girl!