“Strongest cowgirl I know! Tessa keep fighting sister, I love you. ” Wilson wrote on social media, sharing the emotional moment.
Lainey Wilson crowned the “strongest” and bravest little girl, Tessa, who is currently battling a high risk stage 4 cancer, as Cowgirl of The Night during a recent stop on her headlining Whirlwind World Tour in Brisbane, Australia.
In a clip shared by Australian content creator Samuel Weidenhofer and Lainey Wilson’s Wild Horses fan page, Tessa opened up about her love for country music, especially her excitement for Lainey Wilson. With the help of Wilson’s team and Weidenhofer, Tessa’s dream of seeing and meeting the “Somewhere Over Laredo” singer came true ahead of the 33-year-old country superstar Brisbane concert. The emotional moment began when Weidenhofer surprised Tessa with tickets to Wilson’s Brisbane concert when making a visit to the childhood cancer hospital.
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Tessa is a 6-year-old little girl, who was diagnosed with high risk stage 4 neuroblastoma in 2023, and after “years of relentless treatment including chemotherapy, radiation, surgeries and immunotherapy,” the young girl relapsed and her cancer returned.
Tessa’ mother, Renee, explained that they are trying to raise money to goto the United States to get treatment, but the price of travel and the neccessary treatments are astronomical. “We are just scrambling trying to find stuff that’s gonna work [and] we are actually aiming to hopefully go to America now… still about $500,000 at least. We wouldn’t be doing this if we had something here that we could do,” Renee explained. “But it is what it is. We’ve gotta give it a crack or she won’t be here.. mom’s are meant to be able to fix everything. This is not just a scratch on the knee.”
Specialists in Australia told Tessa’s family that “there are no remaining curative options available in Australia,” according to Tessa’s GoFundMe. The young girl is in urgent need to raise funds to be able to fly to America for potentially lifesaving treatment that is not available in the Sunshine Coast of Queensland in Australia. The family needs to raise a minimum of $500,000 to be able to make it happen.
Weidenhofer accompanied Renee and her daughter Tessa to the reigning CMA Entertainer Of The Year’s Brisbane concert, which began with Tessa meeting Wilson backstage.
After learning her story, Lainey Wilson wanted to make the evening even more special, not only by meeting her, but by crowning her “Cowgirl of the Night.” At every show, Wilson brings a young fan onstage, introduces them to the crowd, and gifts them a matching Charlie 1 Horse cowboy hat. She also has them repeat a statement after her to the sold-out crowd, “I am beautiful, I am smart, I am talented, I can do anything, [and] I am Cowgirl of the Night!”
“Oh my goodness, girl, you’ve got it going on. We’re going to have the time of our life tonight. I do this thing called ‘Cowgirl of the Night,’ I bring a cowgirl up onstage, do you want to do that?” Wilson told Tessa as she entered the room.
Later that night during the concert, Lainey Wilson welcomed Tessa to the stage, sharing, “There’s a lot of cowgirls here tonight, but I met a very, very special cowgirl. She is one of the toughest little girls that I have ever met. her name is Tessa.”
The award-winning singer/songwriter also read aloud Tessa’s handmade sign that shared her story and explained that she has been fighting cancer for over 800 days and needs lifesaving treatment in America.
“Tessa, if anybody’s got a heart like a truck, it’s you,” Wilson told Tessa before she recited her mantra of “I am beautiful, I am smart, I am talented, I can do anything, [and] I am Cowgirl of the Night!”
Before Tessa made her way off the stage, Wilson shouted, “y’all give it up for my new best friend Tessa!”
Following the show, Tessa mom Renee took to social media and shared an update, “Seeing Tessa up on stage at the Lainey Wilson concert Samuel Weidenhofer organized was surreal. Today she’s still smiling, still saying to her mum, ‘I did that,’ just needing to hear it was all real.”
Wilson also shared the video to social media, writing, “Strongest cowgirl I know! Tessa keep fighting sister, I love you. ”
To help Tessa get the lifesaving treatment she needs, donate to Tessa’s GoFundMe. The GoFundMe goal is $750,000 and at the time of this article being published, the family has already raised $274,000. Stay up-to-date with Tessa’s story via her Facebook group.