UPDATE: Idol star joins little girl's cancer fight
Posted : Dec 16, 2009 6:21 PM
Updated: Dec 17, 2009 11:09 AM
Disappointment was replaced with a very big smile when Jason Castro of American Idol fame made an in-person visit to a local little girl fighting leukemia.
The musician showed up at nine year old Megan Phalen's home for a personal visit because her immunity is so low right now she can't go the benefit concert he is headlining to raise money for her bone marrow transplant.
The artist not only showed up for a visit, he brought his guitar and gave her a personal acoustic concert. Megan couldn't control her joy spontaneously joining in on a few songs. Between songs Castro said, "It's really an honor to be here, and it's really nice to meet Megan. It's cool to get to sit down sometimes and hangout with people I don't get to do that too much so this is a special time for me." To that Megan smiled even bigger. Through it all observers in the wings were fighting back tears.
Megan has been fighting leukemia since she was three. She has gone through years of chemo and two relapses and now at nine needs a bone marrow transplant. Castro quickly stepped up for the fundraising concert when local radio station 98.9 Magic FM told him Megan's story.
The radio station says about 800 people showed up for Wednesday night's concert. They also held other fundraisers at the event and say they raised several thousand dollars for Megan's bone marrow transplant. The exact numbers are expected to be released soon by the radio station.
tonybolgny at Dec 16th 2009 8:55 PM
its awesome of mr castro to do this what a touching moment for everyone im sure as i was touched to see it .. my prayer goes out to all the kids in the world who need it god bless
jillybean at Dec 16th 2009 9:20 PM
I want to donate money since we cannot attend the concert. 5 and 30 can you set that up?
Heartbroken at Dec 16th 2009 9:32 PM
As a person registered with the National Marrow Donor Registry, I encourage everyone to register. It's completely painless to register. You send for the packet and it contains swaps for your cheeks for DNA testing. That's it. And once a year they send the packets out for free! (It's normally $50.) Just keep checking the website at http://www.marrow.org/.
I wish I was the one getting the call for the transplant for this little girl. I hope she finds her match, has a good transplant, and makes a full recovery.
Kaos at Dec 16th 2009 11:22 PM
I always liked Jason on American Idol, NOW I LOVE HIM! What a wonderful caring individual he is. What a special treat for a sick little girl!
rr12 at Dec 17th 2009 12:12 AM
Kudos to Jason Castro!.With a world full of strife and depressing news, i commend him. I teared up at your story. My brother died of leukemia. I am on the national register if I can help!
Robert