Blake Shelton Invites Eight-Year-Old Cancer Survivor to Upcoming Concert
"Hey Sammy!!! I can’t wait to meet you buddy!!" tweeted Shelton.
An 8-year-old boy who’s been through more than anyone could imagine will soon have a night to put his worries aside thanks to Blake Shelton. Sammy Hodgett, who overcame a battle with T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia, was personally invited by the country superstar to attend his upcoming show at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, IL.
“It’s crazy, I just can’t even believe it and you know, he’s this big star and you feel like they don’t always have time to look at that kind of thing,” Becky Hodgett, Sammy’s mom, told their local news station News Eight.
According to the news station, Sammy was diagnosed with Leukemia three years ago and fell into a nearly six-week long coma from a reaction to his chemotherapy treatment. While in his coma, his family would play Shelton’s music at his bedside for comfort. After awakening, the little boy had to relearn fine motor skills, like walking, talking and eating again. But it was Shelton’s song, “Boys Round Here,” that Sammy recognized first as he recovered.
“When he would actually be like, I recognize that song, it just is overwhelming,” said Becky previously.
After catching wind of the tenacious little boy’s story, Shelton immediately felt inclined to invite him to his show.
While the family looks forward to the Feb. 23 concert, Sammy’s mom admits that she has much to be thankful for.
“We’re all here, we’re all together, he’s not in the hospital, it’s amazing,” she said.
Blake Shelton will stop in Moline during his 2018 Country Music Freaks Tour, with special guests Brett Eldredge, Carly Pearce and Trace Adkins. The tour will kick off in Shelton’s home state of Oklahoma on Feb. 15 and crisscross the nation, hitting cities in Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan. His latest album, Texoma Shore, is available everywhere now.
