“How perfect you meet her when you’re 13 and it’s her favorite number,” Jane Hogan said.
It all started last summer when Luke Hogan Laurenson made a music video with the Ashland fire department.
“The Ashland firefighters agreed to do this fundraising video for Luke to ‘Shake It Off’ because that’s his favorite song in the world,” said his mother.
Luke was born with cerebral palsy, his mother says Swift’s songs lift his spirits and even help him to get out of his wheelchair.
“It just became his song like when he was having a hard day he would put that song on,” she said.
The video caught the attention of the Oregon Dream Factory Chapter. The nonprofit grants wishes to critically and chronically ill children.
“The board had voted unanimously to make Luke’s wish come true, they would get us to the concert and get us amazing seats,” said Hogan.
The organization provided the family with front row tickets to Swift’s concert in Santa Clara, California.
During the show, Luke caught the eye of Swift’s parents who let him watch the rest of the concert in their VIP box. Once the show was over, Swift’s parents offered Luke backstage passes to meet his idol.
While the family says they were happy just to see Taylor sing, they say meeting her felt like fate.
“It’s always going to be more than a song for us,” Hogan said. “It’s what got Luke to walk. He’s had this connection with her that is of a higher realm I would say and as soon as they met each other it was like old friends.”
Hogan says none of this would have been possible if it hadn’t been for the support of the community.
Click here to watch the “Shake It Off’ videos of Ashland firefighters and OSF volunteers.
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