Little Girl Who Got Blake Shelton’s Attention With Song Declared Brain Dead
Blake Shelton sent prayers to a young girl headed into surgery a day after performing his song, "Savior's Shadow."
"Brooke you are an angel!! I'm honored you sang my song.. We are all keeping you in our prayers," he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday night (March 15).
After her operation, Brooke Haire was declared legally brain dead. Her last wish was for Shelton to see her performance video, filmed earlier that week, according to the Facebook page Prayers for the Haire Family and Updates.
"On the morning of the surgery, she asked Cristen, 'Did you remember to send that video to Blake Shelton?' Well, Brooke's video was shared by Blake..." a post on the page explains.
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Seated in a wheelchair, Brooke performed the song at Revolution Dance Company's first showcase. As Shelton's recording was played in the background, the 6-year-old girl sang along word for word. While Shelton did get word of the video, unfortunately Brooke was not conscious to learn it had made its way to the country singer.
"Today shortly after 2:30PM, after extensive testing, Brooke was declared legally brain dead," the Facebook group shared on March 15. "While our hearts are broken, in our minds there was only one choice to make and we have chosen to donate Brooke’s organs. It is our hope that we can spare another family the pain and heartache that we are facing today. Brooke will not only continue to live on in our hearts but will be able to give someone a second chance in life."
Brooke's journey to recovery lasted nearly three years. In October of 2014, the Haire family was involved in a car accident. The family's 8-month old daughter, Aubrey, suffered severe brain damage and died a day later. Brooke, then four, also suffered a traumatic brain injury. She remained in ICU until the remainder of the month before being transferred to a children's hospital.
"Brooke came home from the hospital on January 6th 2015 and has continued her journey and progression every day since. Although Brooke is vent dependent, she is able to talk over her vent without the use of a voice box or valve of any kind," the page stated previously. "She is breathing more independently as her body strengthens, we even had an overnight hospital stay in May to adjust her vent settings and lower the breaths that the machine provides Brooke with. Brooke will be starting kindergarten in the fall and is in occupational and physical therapy once a week right now. Because of Brooke's level of care, Cristen is now a stay at home mom full time."
There is a GoFundMe page to help with Brooke's funeral expenses.
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