Teen Girl Surprised with Tickets to Taylor Swift's Indianapolis Show After 325 Days in Hospital (Exclusive)

Brilea Southard spent 325 days in the hospital recovering from serious injuries after another car crashed head-on into her family’s minivan.

She was only supposed to be released for a month, but after a surprise announcement, the 15-year-old will take her first steps out of the hospital in a very memorable way: she’ll be attending Taylor Swift’s third Eras Tour in Indianapolis on Sunday, Nov. 3, Swift’s final concert in the capital of Indiana.

Southard isn’t the only one who will be able to enjoy 34-year-old Swift’s sold-out tour. The teenager will be joined by 15 other patients at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis who are all undergoing treatment for a range of health issues.

16 pediatric patients got the news this week at the hospital, where they thought they were just attending a Swift-inspired event to make friendship bracelets and play “Taylor Trivia.”

The last trivia question revealed a big surprise. “Who will be at Taylor’s final show on the last leg of her US tour in Indianapolis?” hospital staff asked.

“Um…Travis Kelce?” hit by the patient.

Brilea Southard on the day she received the news that she would be attending Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour show on Nov. 3 in Indianapolis.

Riley Foundation for Children

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“Good shot, but no,” they were told. “You will all leave!”

One little girl jumped from her chair with excitement, and the others gasped and started crying with joy.

The news of their concert tickets might be the best news some kids have gotten in a while. For Southard, the exciting journey comes after she and her family were involved in an accident in December 2023, where she suffered a torn aorta and damaged her legs so badly that doctors said they would need to be amputated.

Brilea Southard on the day she was told she was going on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

Riley Foundation for Children

“I only had a four percent chance of survival,” Southard tells PEOPLE. Since then, she has undergone more than 20 surgeries, but her intestines and other organs remain shredded, and “twice a week she’s sedated to tend to the wound and change the dressings,” her mother, Paula Allen, explains to PEOPLE.

Fortunately, the doctors managed to save her legs.

A longtime Swiftie who dressed up like the superstar for Halloween, Southard says the pop superstar’s music relaxes her during painful procedures, so the chance to see her perform live is “amazing.”

“It will mean a lot,” adds Southard. The teenager plans to wear black flowing leggings and a sequined fringed jacket and will be accompanied by two nurses and a doctor and will return shortly afterwards.

“I feel very blessed,” she tells PEOPLE.

An excited Brilea Southard reacts to being told she has tickets to see Taylor Swift.

Riley Foundation for Children

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Another patient who was surprised with free suite tickets during the event was Emma Sully, 12, who received a heart transplant at Riley in December 2022.

“I literally can’t stop crying right now!” Sully says. “I can’t now… I just can’t. I can’t hold back my emotions anymore.”

Ja’isaibella (Izzy) Boyd, 7, will also be going to the performance. She has sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder that leads to life-limiting complications.

Boyd’s mother, DeAndria Powell, explains that Swift’s music has helped her daughter cope with the difficult diagnosis.

“One of her songs, ‘Shake It Off,’ is one of the songs we use when a pain crisis starts,” she said. “We always try to shake it off before we take any meds, see if we can shake it off.”

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Another concertgoer will be Charily Carty, 11, who was diagnosed with Beals syndrome at the age of 2, which caused her to develop severe scoliosis at an early age. She has undergone a spinal brace and cast, corrective surgery and will need more surgeries in the future.

News of the concert was a welcome bright spot for the young girl, who wore pink heart-shaped sunglasses. “I felt like I was going to cry because of how happy I was,” says Carty, who plans to hand out friendship bracelets to other children on the show.

The tickets were donated by the Riley Children’s Foundation and Denney Excavating, according to a hospital spokesperson.

Swift will continue her Eras Tour at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday, November 2nd and Sunday, November 3rd.

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Source: HIS Education