Sueann Street, 8, gets a hug from Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts during the party at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
photo by Dana Johnson
Country group drops in at VCH prior to benefit show
Country group Rascal Flatts performed for a packed house at a special party last week for the children and families of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus had planned to perform acoustically, but lead singer LeVox is on voice rest after straining a muscle in his neck, so Rooney and DeMarcus read Disney stories to a room filled with young hospital patients and their family members.
"It makes you realize how all of us are so blessed with health and we don't even think about it, we don't even consider it, and kids are brought into this world and they don't ask to be put in that position but they are here,” said DeMarcus.
The trio was joined by characters fresh from Walt Disney World in Florida.
Cinderella told her fairy-tale story, then introduced her friends — Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Dopey the dwarf and Snow White. The characters and the Rascal Flatts members then met with each child and family.
“This was so much fun,” said Brooks Rawson, father of 4-year-old Ella Grace, who had surgery to repair a rare stomach defect just a day earlier. “Ella Grace hadn't smiled in days, but when Cinderella came by her bed, she broke into a big grin.”
Rascal Flatts is donating proceeds from tomorrow night's sold-out concert at the Gaylord Entertainment Center to Children's Hospital. The group has also donated concert packages and several “personal items” to be auctioned on eBay. For more information, go to the Rascal Flatts link on www.vanderbiltchildrens.com.