Social media push may help teen meet Taylor Swift

Kayla Kincannon said she's imagined a million times what it would be like to meet her favorite singer, Taylor Swift.

Now, her friends, classmates and even strangers are using social media to help make that happen.

Kayla, who lives in Madison Heights and attends Lamphere High School, was diagnosed with a second brain tumor last week, just a few days before she turned 17. Doctors found the first tumor a year earlier, on her 16th birthday.

The news stunned her family.

"It was the most horrible, gut-wrenching feeling, to think she's going to have to possibly go through radiation, chemo all over again," said her mother, Naomi Kincannon. "It's not just the fact that the tumor's back, it's the fact that we thought we had beat it."

Word spread quickly. Knowing how much she loves Swift, Kayla's friends started sending out tweets Friday containing "#OperationGetKaylaToMeetTaylorSwift" in the hopes that the singer would take notice. By Saturday, that phrase was listed among the top 10 trending topics on Twitter.

"Our whole school is kind of behind this right now. She's brought all of us together," said Tiffani Haught, a 17-year-old senior at Lamphere.

Tyler Beltz, 16, of Ferndale never met Kayla but heard her story and wanted to help.

He started the Operation Get Kayla To Meet Taylor Swift Facebook page, which had more than 1,200 "likes" Monday afternoon.

Beltz also is encouraging people to add a second hashtag -- "#TeamKayla" -- to their tweets to help get the topic trending again on Twitter.

Kayla and her parents met in September with representatives from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that grants wishes to sick children, about a possible meeting with Swift. Kayla said she would like to tell Swift that she's inspired by her music and her positive message.

So far, there's been no official word from Swift or her management. But Kayla's family is hopeful that a meeting will be arranged.

Meanwhile, a team of doctors is meetin! g Wednesday to discuss Kayla's next course of treatment.

Naomi Kincannon said her daughter, who loves singing, writing poetry and art, has never complained about her illness, even when the chemotherapy and radiation made her horribly sick and she lost her waist-length blond hair.

Kayla said she's focused on staying positive, buoyed by her faith in God and the outpouring of support from her family, friends and the people who have taken up her cause online.

"It makes me feel awesome," she said. "It makes me feel really loved."

Kayla said her motto -- which shares the name of a Swift song and album title -- is "Fearless."

Contact Ann Zaniewski at 313-222-6594 or azaniewski@freepress.com