Four-year old Jalene Salinas' bucket list isn't long. She wanted to make a snowman, go to school, drive a big wheel car — oh, and dance to her favorite song with Taylor Swift: "Shake It Off."
For the last 10 months, Jalene has battled an aggressive form of brain cancer. And with doctors giving her only a few months to live, the San Antonio girl and her family launched a quest to cross everything off of her final to-do list.
She's met the San Antonio Spurs, she caught the attention of actor Taye Diggs, and she inspired the hashtag #ShakeItOffJalene aimed at getting pop superstar Taylor Swift's attention.
And it worked. Jalene and her family got a big surprise on Monday night: Taylor Swift on FaceTime.
The little girl's health is failing and she can no longer walk, her mother Jennifer Arriaga said told KENS-TV. But that didn't stop her from catching up with her favorite singer like they were old friends.
"I'm so sorry you're having a bad night. I'm so happy to talk to you though and I'm so happy you like 'Shake It Off,'" Swift told her. "You look beautiful tonight, you really do. You're just as pretty as your pictures."
Jalene was weak and in pain and didn't say much, but she seemed eager to chat as much as she could: "We have a baby named Josh," Jalene tells Swift.
The 20-minute call with Taylor was a dream come true for Jalene, and her growing number of fans and supporters all over the country.
"We try to just be positive and happy for her," Arriaga told KENS. "We don't want to waste any time that we do have with her."
The Washington Post
Tue Mar 03 2015
The 20-minute call with Taylor was a dream come true for Jalene, and her growing number of fans and supporters all over the country. - File Photo
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