Keith Urban took some time out before his concert earlier this week in Toledo, Ohio, to make a surprise visit to a very ill fan in hospice care.
Prior to his Thursday night (Oct. 18) show at Toledo’s Huntington Center, the country star stopped by Mercy Health St. Vincent Hospital to lift the spirits of 25-year-old megafan Marissa English, who has a host of health issues including an inoperable cyst on her brain and cerebral palsy.
English reportedly had tickets to Urban’s concert that evening, but couldn’t make it due to her illness. So her nurses started a social media campaign to urge the country singer to visit.
“We knew how important it was to Marissa to be at that concert,” nurse Jan Cassity told local TV station WTOL-11. “Since she wasn’t able to we were hoping to try and find some way to have Keith make a connection with her.”
During his visit, which was captured on video (watch below), Urban sat beside English’s bed and sang his 2016 song “Blue Ain’t Your Color” over a musical track on the iPhone.
“I’d be playing this song right now if I had my guitar with me right now,” he told her.
Later that night during his show, Urban dedicated the performance to English and told the crowd he believes she is truly “my biggest fan.”
@KeithUrban @mercy_health Keith will be in Toledo for a concert tomorrow (10/18). His “number 1 fan” is a patient here at St. Vs in Toledo! She had tix for the concert but is now facing hospice. Trying to reach out to see if Keith can possibly give this young girl her dying wish
— Laura Biel (@LauraBiel71) October 17, 2018