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Cancer Kept Her From Seeing the Backstreet Boys, So Nurses Brought the Concert to Her

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After one of their patients missed a Backstreet Boys concert because of her cancer treatment, a group of nurses brought the concert to her.

Amanda Coley and her sister, Maggie Mayes Kingston, were looking forward to attending the concert on Aug. 21 since they got tickets from their husbands for Christmas. But earlier this month Coley was diagnosed with leukemia, meaning the two wouldn’t be able to attend the concert while Coley got started with treatment, Good Morning America reported Tuesday.

So, Kingston decided to plan a “Backstreet Boys party” in Coley’s room at Atlanta’s Northside Hospital. In a post she shared on Facebook, Kingston said her friend Celena Townsend designed T-shirts (which featured Backstreet Boys lyrics, “#ByeByeByeCancer” and an orange ribbon) while Coley’s son Mason Mayes made invitations. About a dozen nurses came to the party, and sang “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” to Coley.

“The nurses here are awesome if you can’t tell! Help these nurses go viral!” Kingston wrote on Facebook.

When you get BackStreet Boy’s tickets for Christmas and some unfortunate situations happen… bring a surprise BSB…

Posted by Maggie Mayes Kingston on Wednesday, August 21, 2019

You can also watch the video Townsend uploaded to YouTube:

“It really lifted my spirits,” Coley told Good Morning America. “I can honestly say the nurses at Northside Hospital are the best.”

After Kingston’s post started to go viral (the original video is now up to almost 30,000 views), Backstreet Boy Nick Carter shared a tweet saying the group is “thinking of you and sending you love” and asked Kingston to keep in touch so the group can make sure she and her sister can attend a show when Coley is feeling better.

When you are going through cancer treatment, your nurses are the ones who are with you in the trenches, administering treatment and pain relief, keeping you comfortable and helping lift your spirits. Mighty contributor Jeff Neurman put the gratitude many feel toward their nurses after cancer into words in an essay on The Mighty:

There probably are few things in modern life as fear-inducing as being forced to undergo months of infusions of highly toxic chemicals, pumped directly into one’s bloodstream for extra potency. And yet, I felt so amazingly secure in your daily care that I quickly forgot about my fears and looked forward to seeing each and every one of you each time (even if I could have probably done without the chemo-induced nausea).

Originally published: August 27, 2019
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