After more than a decade of hustling and grinding in Nashville, Lainey Wilson is finally seeing results. In the last five years, the small-town Louisiana native has picked up nine Country Music Association Awards, 16 Academy of Country Music Awards, and a Grammy for Best Country Album. Never forgetting her roots, Wilson, 33, always seeks opportunities to pay it forward, particularly when it comes to uplifting women and girls. One of the ways she does so is by plucking one lucky young girl from the crowd at her concerts and declaring her “Cowgirl of the Night.” During a recent stop along the Whirlwind World Tour in Brisbane, Australia, Wilson brought the entire venue to tears when she honored one particularly strong, brave little girl named Tessa.
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Lainey Wilson Just Helped This Little Girl’s Dream Come True
In November 2023, Tessa was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma, a type of cancer that develops in the sympathetic nervous system of babies and young children. Following years of intense treatment, including radiation and chemotherapy, the now 6-year-old’s family learned last year that the cancer had returned and was spreading.
“We are just scrambling trying to find stuff that’s going to work,” said Renee Perry, Tessa’s mom.
Learning of the little girl’s love for music, and especially Lainey Wilson, social media personality Samuel Weidenhofer surprised Tessa with tickets to the “Somewhere Over Laredo” singer’s concert in Brisbane. After meeting her favorite star backstage, Wilson later invited Tessa onstage, where she gifted her young fan a matching Charlie 1 Horse cowboy hat and crowned her “Cowgirl of the Night.”
“There’s a lot of cowgirls here tonight, but I met a very, very special cowgirl,” the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year told the crowd. “She is one of the toughest little girls that I have ever met.”
Wilson then read Tessa’s homemade sign, which explained that she has fought cancer for more than 800 days and needs life-saving treatment in the United States. “Tessa, if anybody’s got a heart like a truck, it’s you,” said the Grammy winner.
She then helped the little girl recite the special mantra: “I am beautiful, I am smart, I am talented, I can do anything, [and] I am Cowgirl of the Night!”
Tessa Hopes To Seek Cancer Treatment in the U.S.
According to a GoFundMe account established on behalf of Tessa’s mother, the little girl has no remaining curative options in her home country. Consequently, her family is seeking to raise $750,000 so that she can receive critical treatment in America.
“Time is critical,” the GoFundMe reads. “This is not something one family can fund alone. But it becomes possible if enough of us come together!”
Featured image by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
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