A peck on the cheek for Bieber

A young Massachusetts girl, whose mother hails from Clare, recently made Justin Bieber’s day.

On February 13, at 8.13pm a new photo was uploaded to the Justin Bieber Facebook page. In it, the global superstar is sitting at a table playing board game Candy Land with a little girl whose face is full of concentration.
“Hangin (sic) out with a special little girl. #MrsBieber”, the tagline reads. Hearts break across the social network. More than 25,000 people leave comments, nearly 102,000 people ‘like’ it. Later another photo is uploaded, this time to Twitter. In it he is seen kissing Avalanna Routh on the cheek as she beams in his arms. “Best part of my day”, he told his 17 million followers on Twitter.
“Avalanna is sweet, funny and touches everyone’s heart that she meets,” her mother, Ennis-woman Aileen Roberts Routh, told The Clare Champion.
Justin flew the family, who are based north of Boston, to New York for the meeting.
“Avalanna loves excitement and adventure and thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip,” Aileen said.
“It started through a social media initiative and within a week, I had a call from Justin’s manager, who was very moved by this story. Avalanna had a wonderful meeting in New York, where they played board games, ate cupcakes and signed autographs for each other. She really enjoyed meeting Justin. Justin was very charming and they connected immediately. He interacted beautifully with Avalanna, [he is] a really sweet guy,” she continued.
Avalanna’s pre-Valentine’s day dream date with the popstar made world headlines, shining a spotlight on the extremely rare form of cancer the youngster is fighting. When she was nine-months-old, Avalanna was diagnosed with Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (AT/RT), a disease that typically affects the brain but it can occur in the spine and central nervous system.
“Avalanna is now a six-year-old, spirited, sweet, funny little girl. She fights this disease with grace and humour and touches the hearts of everyone she meets,” Aileen remarks.
Since the diagnosis, Avalanna’s parents Aileen and Cameron have campaigned and fundraised to find a cure.
“AT/RT does not get a lot of attention as it is a very rare form of brain cancer. It is not on research facilities’ radar or in their medical research budgets,” Aileen said.
“Avalanna had a whirlwind weekend in New York and had a wonderful time meeting Justin. However, as important as the date itself was, the attention it has focused on AT/RT globally. We believe strongly in shining a light on AT/RT and creating awareness of this disease globally,” she continued.
“In addition to creating awareness, we started a Cure AT/RT Now fund in 2008. Since then, we have raised almost $1 million that goes directly into finding a cure for AT/RT. With these funds, researchers and clinicians are improving knowledge and treatment of AT/RT through cutting edge research and consultation with experts from across the globe,” Aileen concluded.
Anyone who would like to find out more about AT/RT or who wish to donate can do so at www.cureatrt.org.