‘Wildest Dreams’: Teen Awaiting Lifesaving Transplant Gifted Taylor Swift Tickets

Nevaeh has a medical condition that limits her in many ways. Seeing the ‘Bejeweled’ singer in concert wasn’t one of them, thanks to a generous donor and help from friends at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health.

Nevaeh Quinn of Winnemucca, Nevada, got the thrill of a lifetime when she received the news that a generous, anonymous donor was gifting her tickets to see Taylor Swift at the Eras Tour concert. A social worker at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, Gianna Nasrah, LCSW, wanted to do something special for her.

Nevaeh is an amazing 14-year-old girl that has spent a lot of her life in medical settings,” Nasrah said. “She has recently been in and out of the hospital often, and I think my hope is that this gives her a sense of normalcy and rejuvenates her hope for the future.”

Nevaeh is undergoing medical treatment in the Pediatric Transplant Center at Packard Children’s that first began with a nephronophthisis diagnosis, a genetic disorder of the kidneys that affects children. More than eight years ago, she received a kidney transplant. Today she’s waiting to be well enough for a liver transplant and is staying with her mom and family at the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford, which offers families free housing, meals and comprehensive support programs.

“I privately spoke to Nevaeh’s mom, because we didn’t want to get Nevaeh’s hopes up before we knew we could make it happen,” Nasrah said. “Mom was agreeable to Nevaeh going, if the medical team would allow her to go.”

With the help of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, Nasrah arranged for Nevaeh and her mother, April Moses, to attend the concert Saturday, July 29. They were armed with stacks of colorful, beaded friendship bracelets, which reference Taylor Swift songs and lyrics. The bracelets were handed out by staff at Ronald McDonald House at Stanford.

“We were super-excited to go, and nervous because Nevaeh is kind of fragile, Moses said. “She’s never been to a concert before, and she knows Taylor Swift, so it was even a bigger plus.”

On the day of the concert, Nevaeh and her mother drove to Levi’s Stadium in “Swiftie Clara.” They along with 58,000 fellow Swifties sang along to their favorite songs, the 1989 Era on the evening’s setlist being most recognizable to Nevaeh: Shake It Off, Blank Space, Bad Blood, Wildest Dreams and Style.

“Being able to get out of the hospital and Ronald McDonald House and go and do something fun and exciting that she’s never done before was pretty cool,” Moses said. The evening was a magical experience and one that Nevaeh and her mom will likely never forget.

Catch an extra glimpse of Nevaeh’s night at the Taylor Swift Eras concert on our Stanford Medicine Children’s Health Instagram page!