Taylor Swift's Eras Tour was 'once in a lifetime experience' for fan, 7, who needs new lungs

Florence Ava Bark, a seven-year-old girl who is in need of a lung transplant, was given tickets to the 100th show of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. Florence, who loves music and dancing, is currently battling graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) of the lungs following a bone marrow transplant she underwent in August 2022.

Unable to enjoy these experiences due to her illness previously, she was gifted a "once in a lifetime" experience by Sean Reddington, the CEO of Thrive. Two days before Taylor Swift's final Liverpool gig, he gave out two VIP tickets specially for "someone who truly deserves them."

A follower of Florence's social media reached out to Sean to nominate her for the tickets. Florence's story touched Sean and his team, leading them to gift her the tickets.

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Stacey Bark, Florence's mum from Corby, Northamptonshire, commented that "there were quite a few tears in the office hearing Florence's story". She further added that efforts were made to accommodate Florence with the initially non-wheelchair accessible tickets sorted out promptly.

Stacey affirmed: "They even made extra special arrangements for Florence as the tickets weren't originally wheelchair accessible but they called the stadium and made sure they were able to look after her.", reports Bristol Live.

She recalled the surprise call from Sean's PA on the school run the Friday afternoon before the show confirming that arrangements had been made. Straightaway, she hurried home to inform Florence of the exciting news.

Together with her husband Andrew and their oldest child Freddie, aged 10, they made the journey to Liverpool for the concert. Despite some initial concerns, Florence absolutely loved the experience at the concert.

Stacey, who is now a full-time carer for her daughter Florence along with her husband, said: "Florence has spent the majority of the last two and half years in hospital. Even before she got sick, the year she was meant to start school the pandemic started so she has never been in a crowd that big before.

"To see her have this experience meant everything and the staff were just so wonderful, kind and attentive. Florence called it a 'once in a lifetime' experience."

According to Stacey, Florence first became unwell at the end of April 2022 and she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in May. She said: "She was diagnosed within 24 hours of her blood test coming back. Florence started chemo the next day because she was diagnosed as a high risk patient."

But unfortunately, it soon became clear that the chemotherapy wasn't having the desired effect, and Florence's parents were informed that she required a bone marrow transplant.

Stacey explained: "Just over a month later, on June 17, we were told she would need a bone marrow transplant. We were told there was a high chance of the transplant not working before the surgery, but we didn't have any other real option at the time."

"She underwent the transplant procedure on August 18, 2022, after which there was still some cancer left. The bigger complication then became her immune system, which had to be suppressed for her body to accept the transplant."

Florence was overjoyed to be declared cancer-free in October 2022, but her battle continued as she was diagnosed with graft-versus-host disorder (GvHD) of the lungs a month later. GvHD is a condition where donor cells from a transplant attack the recipient's tissues.

Stacey said: "Her lungs work at 30% capacity on a good day but she now needs a lung transplant. She gets a lot of infections in her lungs which have to be cleared out ahead of any transplant. Florence was on a ventilator for eight days this past January as a result of complications with the infections in her lungs."

Currently, Florence is undergoing medical evaluations in preparation for a possible lung transplant. In response to their daughter's illness, her parents have established the Bemorefab foundation, named after Florence's initials, to raise funds for her treatment and to support other children suffering from GvHD.

Stacey expressed gratitude, saying: "We wouldn't have gotten this far without the support of our community in Corby and the kindness of strangers willing to donate."