News

Actions

TX teen gets surprise visit from Florence Welch

Posted

Florence Welch stopped by a Texas hospital recently to visit a fan who wasn’t able to attend her concert.

Karinya Chen, 15, is currently battling paraganglioma, which is a type of cancer that forms tumors deep in the nervous system cells, according to the Today Show’s website.

Because of this battle, Chen was placed at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House. The Florence fan was nervous her prognosis would halt her plans to see Florence + The Machine concert in Austin.

The Today Show spoke with Chen’s nurses who described how difficult it was to break the news to her.

"All week, through setback after setback, she asked if she would be able to go. We tried to entertain the idea and it felt so scary and overwhelming for the medical staff and her mother that finally I said no, and my heart broke again," the nurse, Christie Kremer, wrote.

After missing the concert on Thursday, Chen was shocked when Florence Welch herself stopped by the hospital to give a private concert.

"I was very grateful that they could be so generous and kind to take time out and spend it with my daughter," Karinya's mother, Cat Shiang Chen, told TODAY. "I was floored, thankful and very impressed by their act of benevolence."

Chen was overjoyed at the chance to meet her musical idol. According to the Today Show, she had not been able to see the band play since 2011.