In the midst of a world that seems to crumble, you possess the extraordinary ability to guide me towards a realm of boundless possibilities. Through the enchantment of your healing lyrics and the power of your music, you effortlessly transform the landscape, creating a haven of hope and renewal. With your presence in my life, I am continuously inspired to evolve and become a more fulfilled and elevated version of myself. @taylorswift @taylornation
Hello Taylor Swift @taylorswift @taylornation my name is Kelley Sagiv. I just wanted to express my deep admiration for Taylor Swift. She has been a source of inspiration and has played a significant role in helping me through difficult times.
When I was ten years old, my family and I decided to take a road trip to Florida to celebrate Passover with my extended family members. On Saturday, April 12, 2003, we embarked on a road trip from Brooklyn, NY, to Florida. When we arrived in South Carolina on Sunday, I asked my mother, "What time is it?" She said, "It's 1:30 p.m., Kelly, and my whole world changed in an instant.
The front right tire has blown out. Our automobile rolled over four times and whirled around four times because of my mother losing control of it. Tires were screeching and horns were blowing, but I did not hear anything. I was ejected along with my father, sister Lily, twin sister Ashley, and two dogs from the SUV.
Fortunately, there happened to be an off-duty nurse driving behind our vehicle at that moment. She called the police, first responders, firefighters, and ambulances to help us despite everything. The police and firefighters successfully located my father, Lily, Ashley, and our two dogs. However, they were unable to find me. My mother was still stuck in the car, so she started screaming, "Where is Kelley?"
Having heard my mother's shrieking, my twin sister Ashley immediately crawled out of the grass and began searching for me. Even though she was bleeding profusely, she crawled as fast as possible to look for me. It felt as though an internal force compelled her to venture into the forest. It had not even occurred to Ashley that the firefighter was following her. As she ventured further into the woods, she stumbled upon my glasses resting on the ground. Ashley began walking further into the forest, and then suddenly, Ashley saw my body lying in the woods.
After checking for a heartbeat, Ashley did hear one. However, she immediately screamed, "Why isn't Kelley breathing?" I was unconscious when Ashley smacked me in the face. A firefighter shouted on his walkie-talkie, "OH MY GOD, she has found her sister!” Taylor Swift mentioned this in one of the tracks on her 1989 album, Out of the Woods, for instance. Are we out of the woods yet? Are we out of the woods yet? Are we out of the woods yet? Are we out of the woods? Are we in the clear yet? Are we in the clear yet? Are we in the clear yet? In the clear yet, good!"
The firefighter lifted Ashley onto his shoulder and carefully carried her away from the scene. Twin intuition is a genuine phenomenon! My mother and an off-duty nurse rushed to where my body lay, and the nurse immediately began performing CPR in an effort to revive me. After a few minutes, she resuscitated me; however, I was still unconscious. "Light! Give me light!" Helen Keller -
Years later, my sister Maggie revealed to me that the doctor had gathered my mother and siblings in a room. There, the doctor presented them with my brain scan, illustrating what a typical brain scan should look like. In a solemn tone, the doctor delivered the distressing news, saying, "Prepare yourselves for a funeral within forty-eight hours." The doctor did not give my family any hope.
In the early days, everyone stepped in to take shifts while sitting by my bedside. My cousin Marlene sent my mom home for a much-needed break. Many years later, my cousin Marlene shared this story with me. It had been years since she had prayed. In her heart, she said, "God, give me this chance to pray and get Kelley back!" She picked up the books of Psalms and immediately began reading.
She reached a particular section in the Psalms and continuously repeated the phrase, "Vatitpalel Chana." The machines were beeping, beeping, and beeping, so she called the nurse, and when the nurse came into my room, the beeping stopped. The nurse asked her, "Why did you call me over?" Marlene explained that the machine was beeping, and the nurse responded, "It's a busy night, so unless you're certain that you need me, I'll come back during the next rounds!" As soon as the nurse left my room, the machine began beeping and beeping again.
Marlene glanced up at me and asked, "Kelley, what is it that you want?" What is the message you are trying to convey to me? Marlene tightly grasped my hand and pleaded, "Oh God, please bring Kelley back to me." Then the machine was beeping, beeping, and beeping again. I opened my eyes!
She was unsure if she should leave my side, and she was afraid to yell to call the nurse. The doctors and nurses warned my family about the potential dangers of excessive stimulation for me. Marlene informed me that she was standing at the edge of the bed, vigorously waving her hands and jumping up and down in an effort to capture the attention of the nurses and beckon them to return. She whispered in my ear, "Kelley, please keep your eyes open so we can alert the nurse and get the doctor!" She sprinted to find the nurse and swiftly returned. Upon reentering the room, my eyes remained open. Marlene tightly grasped my hand once more and whispered, "Kelley, the nurse has arrived, and the doctors will be here soon." I will not leave again until they have figured this out!
One day in South Carolina, the doctors and nurses did not have any idea what was wrong with me, but they decided to put me on my mother's lap.
After arriving at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC, I underwent a series of tests, including computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a few days later. After so many tests, I was diagnosed with a tare of the brainstem, which resulted in quadriplegic paralysis and vocal ford paralysis. Additionally, the doctor discovered that a vertebra in my neck was dislocated and not properly connected to my body. My mother asked the doctors, "Why would nurses and doctors put Kelley on my lap in a South Carolina hospital?" They stared at her with a mix of shock and anger and admonished her, "Consider yourself fortunate that she didn't lose her life."
Over time, I began to receive speech therapy, and gradually I noticed improvement in the movement of my lips. During this long and painful process, I had to relearn my words' articulation and facial movements. I learned how to pronounce two and three-syllable words, which took many hours, days, weeks, months, and years to relearn.
Regrettably, I have not been able to regain my voice, but there has been an improvement in my speech. Communication remains a challenge for me, as some individuals are unable to comprehend my speech due to their inability to read my lips. There may not be a way for me to fly freely like a bird again, but I have faith that technology will improve to the point where I can once again fly free.
I never imagined that experiencing a brainstem injury, vocal cord paralysis, or quadriplegia could be so brutal, complicated, challenging, and painful at times. I experience double vision constantly, without any breaks. Whenever I attempt to read a book or any other written material, I find myself repeatedly going back to the same sentences. I feel the need to cry, but I am unable to shed tears from my brown eyes. I have no intention of lying to you. I continue to face ongoing challenges, and at times, I experience thoughts of wanting to end my life. I feel like my life is constantly being tested, and I'm uncertain about when it will come to an end.
My sister, Lily, and I share a special bond as we both experience a form of paralysis. Furthermore, in various domains like sports and music, particularly our adoration for Taylor Swift, we even modify certain lyrics to suit our personal experiences. On her album Fearless, You Belong With Me, she sings, "But she wears short skirts; I wear T-shirts. She's cheer captain, and I'm on the bleachers. Instead of I am on the bleachers, we sing 'I'm in a wheelchair. It is our unique quirk. Taylor is also known as the queen of the "bridge." We frequently create videos where we recite the bridge sections of her songs. Lily and I both find her music to have a therapeutic effect. There is something powerful, talented, brilliant, brave, fearless, meaningful, and smooth about Taylor's music. Many people enjoy criticizing Taylor Swift for primarily writing songs about her past relationships. I disagree with that perspective; in fact, I find Taylor's music to be inspirational. She possesses exceptional talent as a lyricist. Like in her song Clean off her 1989 album, she sings, "The water filled my lungs; I screamed so loud, but no one heard a thing." Every day, I don't have a voice, but I feel these words within me consistently. Whenever I experienced feelings of sadness, whether they were connected to my paralysis or the state of the world, I would listen to the song "Shake It Off." I take a deep breath as the song blasts through the speakers, feeling the music pulsate through my body. I can't help but shake my head back and forth, completely immersed in the moment. With a burst of energy, I can't help but scream, "Yes! Shake it off!"
I have a deep appreciation for all of Taylor Swift's songs, but I find that I personally connect with the song "Clean" from her 1989 album on a more profound level. I know "clean is about someone getting clean and recovering from drugs, which doesn’t apply to me, but I relate to the lyrics in a different way. Every day, I feel like I'm struggling with myself. Being quadriplegic and having vocal cord paralysis, I constantly feel like, "The water filled my lungs; I screamed so loud, but no one heard a thing."
I find myself getting lost in Taylor's lyrics. She possesses an exceptional talent for crafting lyrics, and I am consistently amazed by how her words resonate with my own experiences and emotions, regardless of the subject matter of her songs.
As Taylor Swift sings in All Too Well," Time won't fly; it's like I'm paralyzed by it I'd like to be my old self again, but I'm still trying to find it." Honestly, that is exactly how I feel. I am still trying to love myself again. I used to be a person who loved life before I had my accident. That person is inside me, waiting to explode and discover the world again.
In 2016, on a Friday night, I began experiencing symptoms such as coughing up green phlegm and difficulty breathing. After undergoing X-rays and a CAT scan, Hatzalah and I went to the hospital. The doctors informed me that I had developed pneumonia because of my previous two-week stay in the hospital. Regrettably, my sole desire was to have some solitude in the hospital room and enjoy listening to Taylor Swift's music. After listening to her music by herself, my sister Lily made the decision to enter my room. At this point, all I wanted to do was make a modification to another lyric in Taylor's song. We agreed to change the lyrics to "Clean." The water filled my lungs. I screamed so loud, but no one heard a thing, and I added medicine drips; now I could finally breathe. A week later, I was discharged from the hospital and allowed to go back home.
When such moments come, I discover that I am using my thoughts to wage war against the monsters that are inside me. My continuous battle with depression is something that I am aware of, and I am doing my best to cope with it. Because I don't always feel driven to accomplish anything, it is challenging for me to get anything done at all. My efforts to cultivate a more optimistic outlook in my life have also been a topic of conversation, as have my efforts to achieve greater levels of success in my life. My objective is to transform myself into a person who is more approachable and gregarious than I have been in the past. To get out with my power chair on a nice day, I must force myself to have time for it and make myself go outside.
My mood seems quite low a lot of the time. I don't feel like doing anything at all, and I want everyone to give me as much space as they can. Please just leave me alone. Having a mental illness such as depression, I know that I cannot stay home and refuse to leave my house for a long period of time. Staying inside my home twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, is not a choice that is beneficial to either my overall health or my general welfare, and I am aware of this fact. Because I don't always feel driven to accomplish anything, it may be quite challenging for me to get anything done at all. There are times when I just don't feel like it. Doing nothing is terrifying for me because then I become like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.
There are instances when I get the sensation that I am conversing with a ghost who is there in the room while I am talking to myself. My mood swings fluctuate like a scale that fluctuates up and down. It's never consistent. My critical internal monologue tells me that I am ugly, fat, hopeless, and worthless, and have a big, unsightly nose. It also tells me that I am obese. In my opinion, there will never be anyone who wants to be with me. In my mind, I think that my friends only spend time with me because they feel sorry for me and want to make me feel better about myself. I feel like this is the only reason they hang out with me. I know it’s not true. I know that they really love me and want to hang out me. It’s only my brain making up these thoughts, but I can’t help but feeling like this. Sometimes I get the impression that no one appreciates my personality or the kind of person I am. I get the feeling that I am "always" the problem, much like how Taylor Swift referred to herself in the song "Anti Hero" from her album "Midnights," saying "It's me, Hi!" I'm the problem; it's me, it's me, hi! I'm the problem; it's me. Everybody agrees. I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror. It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero."
Most of my life, I've been embarrassed about my appearance, and sometimes I feel like everyone around me is "gorgeous on the inside and outside." While I'm like the ugly duckling of the wicked west, who has no regard for her own appearance because she believes she is worthless, unattractive, useless, and fat to everyone around her, according to her, she does not believe she is worthy as a person and will never find true love. The more I look around, the more I find myself feeling jealous of what other people are doing in my environment that I am not able to do. When I see people doing everything, they want without depending on anyone, I become emotional, teary-eyed, and depressed. I believe in my heart that they live a better life than I do. They do not need to rely on anyone for assistance, as I do. When I am among other people, sometimes I feel like saying, "Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby." "And I'm a monster on the hill." Mentioned in the song, “Anti- Hero” by Taylor Swift from her “Midnights” album.
I've always been self-conscious about my looks, and now I often feel that everyone else is "gorgeous on the inside and out" as well. I feel like the overweight, ugly, worthless, and unappealing ugly duckling in the wild west. Who claims she is not deserving of happiness and genuine love because of the way she looks? The more I look around, the more I find myself feeling jealous of what other people are doing in my environment that I am not able to do. I find that it makes me extremely emotional, gives me wet eyes, and makes me feel unhappy when I witness other people achieving all they want without relying on anybody else. I have no doubt in my mind that they enjoy a higher standard of living than I do. They are not in the same position as I am in which they need aid from anybody else. When I am among other people, sometimes I feel like saying, "Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby." "And I'm a monster on the hill."You don't realize how important you are to me and how much you contribute to my life. I'm emotionally writing this to you. You mean so much to me. Your lyrics are inspiring and powerful to me. Your songs help me get through life every day. You make me want to fight and never give up. You inspire me to remain optimistic about life. Your songs shine brightly and brighten my day. I want to attend The Eras Tour, not only because I love your music but also because I want to be there. I want to be there because your music keeps me optimistic about life and calms my mental health. "I best believe I'm still bejeweled. When I walk in the room, I can still make the whole place shimmer.”
After learning that you had added a show at MetLife on Sunday, May 28, 2023, on The Eras Tour, I waited for wheelchair accessible tickets to go on sale via Ticketmaster.
Unfortunately, scalpers purchased most of the tickets, and each ticket is triple the price! Wheelchair-accessible tickets cost more than regular tickets. I find it disgusting and unpleasant. The scalpers purchased most of the Taylor Swift's tickets and changed the price by quadrupling the price for each wheelchair accessible ticket. I found wheelchair accessible tickets on the floor in section 8, row 1, for $2700. This is too much for me to pay for each ticket. However, I found myself with no other option but to purchase tickets for the Eras Tour. Regrettably, I developed sepsis because of a urinary tract infection (UTI), and subsequently contracted pneumonia. I was required to use a ventilator for a duration of one week, and in total, my hospital stay lasted for 22 days. I was discharged from the hospital on May 6, 2023. It was a hard recovery, so I was not able to fly down to NYC with my sister Lily.
I am extremely delighted to learn that you have included additional Eras Tours in Miami on Sunday, October 20, 2024. I successfully obtained a pre-sale code and received it. However, when I attempted to enter the queue waiting room half an hour before the ticket sale began, I encountered an issue and was unable to access the room. For an hour, it wasn’t working for me. At 3:45 p.m., I was finally able to enter the queue waiting room, but I found myself 8,000 spots behind everyone else. When it was my turn, every ticket that I was about to buy said that someone had already beat you with those tickets. Each time I attempted, it consistently provided me with the same response.
I understand that being a verified fan does not guarantee the purchase of tickets. Unfortunately, Ticketmaster did not offer any tickets that were accessible for individuals with disabilities. I am deeply disappointed by Ticketmaster's decision to not offer any ADA-accessible tickets. It is truly disheartening and unacceptable.
I am quadriplegic and have vocal cord paralysis, but I still know how to shake it off! And dance like a disco ball who is always shining bright like a shimmery diamond.
My transformation into a Swiftie fan began when I heard Love Story, a song from the Fearless album. Being a Swiftie fan has always been dear to my heart, and it only gets stronger with every passing day or years. I respectfully await your reply. As this is extremely important to me. @taylorswift @taylornation
