While many if us will have to settle for the Era’s tour extended cut on Disney +, 8-year-old Gracie Vandenberg will be one of the lucky spectators heading to the MCG, thanks to Mix102.3.
Gracie was left unable to hear due to the cochlear implant debacle that occurred at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where around 30 children’s cochlear implants were wrongly programmed at the hospital, causing what are expected to be lifelong development problems.
Gracie was diagnosed with mild hearing loss which quickly progressed into profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.
After having no luck with hearing aids, the difficult decision was made for her to undergo cochlear implant surgery. Eight weeks later things weren’t progressing as they should, and it quickly became a five-year, uphill battle.
In April 2023, when Gracie was 7, a life changing discovery was made that her cochlear devices had been programmed so that she did not have the access to sound needed to learn to listen and speak.
After working with Little Allied Health and having significant programming adjustments to her cochlear devices, Gracie finally started to hear.
After hearing of Gracie’s battle with hearing loss, Mix102.3’s Max Burford and Ali Clarke, co-hosts of Max and Ali, were moved and soon made it their mission to get Gracie tickets to Taylor Swift’s Australian ‘Eras Tour’, tickets which are near impossible to come by. Trust me, I’d know.
On Monday morning, as a part of “Max and Ali to the Rescue”, Max and Ali welcomed Gracie and her mum Jenni on the show and revealed that the duo would be travelling to Melbourne to see Taylor Swift live at the end of the week.
Gracie with her brother Aaron. Picture credit: The Vandenbergs
“The first song she ever heard at seven years of age was Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do!, and I’ll never forget her dancing her little heart out with a grin from ear to ear,” Jenni said.
Ali Clarke was also brought to tears, reflecting on her own experiences as a mother, and as a family member of someone with intellectual disabilities.
“It was an absolute pleasure to help this little girl’s dream come true, and we wish her all the very best with her speech and listening progression,” Ali said.
“This should be a pretty epic memory for Gracie and her mum, and we are thrilled to have played a part and to have moved the people of Adelaide with her story,” concluded Max.
Taylor is set to hit the stage at the Melbourne Cricket Ground this Friday, February 16, after cheering on her boyfriend Travis Kelce at Super Bowl 58. After her mammoth shows in Melbourne, Tay Tay will take over Sydney for another four huge shows.
All dates are completely sold out so if you are going, please enjoy it for the rest of us.
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