Friendship bracelet tree bringing Taylor Swift 'buzz' to SickKids patients
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Keira Gayowsky will indeed see “stars” rather than “scars” when she goes to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour show on Nov. 22 at Rogers Centre — one of six concerts at the Toronto stadium.
A SickKids patient ambassador and current patient, the 17-year-old from Brantford — who’s been in and out of the hospital since she was nine for intestinal failure (basically she can’t absorb anything including nutrients, carbohydrates and proteins) — got a tattoo over her surgical scars that was inspired by a Swift lyric in the song August.
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“While I was listening, I decided, ‘That’s a tattoo that I need to get,’” said Gayowsky, who is a first-year criminal justice and public policy student at Guelph University.
“I think a lot of (Swift’s) songs are not only about moving forward, but about being yourself and having personal strength and resilience. And everyone’s able to relate to them in your own way and to apply it to yourself. And that’s why she was sort of a hero to me as I moved forward in my journey.”
Gayowsky, accompanied by her dad, went and got a tattoo saying, “You drew stars around my scars,” with a “ton of little stars around the tattoo. Basically to represent the resiliency and the strength that (the song) was about.”
Gayowsky’s malady means she has to be hooked up to fluids 18 hours daily, something she deals with via a remote pump that fits in a bag so she can easily walk around campus.
“My health now is stable,” said Gayowsky, who bought Swift tickets for her and her mom, 50, when she got a pre-sale code.
“I do live with a chronic medical condition so I’ll always be like sick, but I manage well. I’m at the hospital about every two weeks. I like to joke that I could basically drive to Toronto on my own. I can’t drive, but I could if I needed to.”
On Wednesday morning, Gayowsky was back in Toronto as part of an unveiling of a special Friendship Bracelet Tree on the front lawn of SickKids that will be in operation until Saturday with a banner signed by some of the patients.
SickKids is inviting everyone to swap a friendship bracelet — a big trend at Swift’s shows — for one of 3,000 custom “SickKids ♥ Taylor” bracelets.
Kate Torrance, a vice-president and head of brand content and communications with the SickKids Foundation, said the idea was to involve patients in all of the Swift excitement in Toronto while she’s here.
“Our patients miss out so much on childhood, this was kind of a way of bringing that Taylor community and the buzz in the city that happens when she arrives, even if you’re not going to the concerts,” said Torrance.
“It was like, ‘How can we create an experience that will allow our patients that can’t leave the hospital the chance to engage?’”
SickKids Foundation has also launched a fundraising campaign where one lucky Swiftie will win two 100-level Eras Tour tickets to Swift’s Nov. 23 show at Rogers Centre plus $10,000 cash. Entries can be bought (for $40, $75, $100) at www.sickkidsfoundation.com/taylorswiftsweeps.
“I think it’s incredible that we get the chance to have her here,” said Gayowsky, who will be seeing Swift in concert for the first time.
“She was a lot of my inspiration to keep going while I was in the hospital. There’s photos of me sitting in my hospital bed probably watching Taylor Swift. It’s just such a pleasure to have her in Toronto and see the hope she’s going to bring.”
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