Without realising it, country singer Willie Nelson and his songs helped save the life of a four-year-old girl named Ava Adams from Amarillo, Texas, who was born more than two months premature.
Amy endured 12 surgeries in the first 15 months of her life. Because of this series of surgeries, her parents Brittany and Jamison had little time to interact with their daughter, save for playing some music for her.
"That left her with a feeding tube, colostomy bags," Brittany shared with Channel News 10 in Amarillo, Texas. "We went back and fourth with that for a while. Finally able to stabilise her and we put a feeding tube in, which she uses 24-7."
It was heartbreaking for them to see their daughter suffer while they could only wait for her recovery. Brittany and Jamison tried cheering little Ava up the only way they know how—by playing some country music.
"Any time she was having a bad day, you could play Willie Nelson or Johnny Cash or Ray Price and her stats would come up, she would start doing better just almost immediately," her father said.
Now that she has grown up, Ava remains fascinated with Nelson's songs. In fact, she has developed a deeper appreciation for the singer and his music, and she even carries her Willie Nelson doll wherever she goes.
Last Christmas, her parents surprised her with tickets to Nelson's concert in New Mexico. Unfortunately, the concert was cancelled due to heavy snow. This greatly distressed Ava as she ran around the house yelling, "We need to go see Willie Nelson!"
Her parents hope that the country singer would have another concert so that their daughter could see him in person. Given the chance, Brittany wants Nelson to know: "You have no clue how many times you've actually saved our daughter's life. There were times where her heart rate was incredibly low. She was ... cardiac, she was not doing well. She spent so long in there and it was such a long road, but actually just playing that music for her really, really did change and save her life."
