Dolly Parton recently hosted a 19-year-old fan named Katelyn fighting Stage 4 cancer in Nashville.
On Monday, Parton met Katelyn Dill, a Cordova, Alabama native who is battling Stage 4 metastasized ovarian cancer, according to local Alabama news outlet, WVTM 13.
The meeting between Dill and the “Jolene” singer took place at Parton’s Nashville office, courtesy of the Alabama-based non-profit Magic Moments, the outlet indicated.
Following her meeting with Parton, Dill told WVTM 13 that the country singer was “so down home” and “so nice.”
“She was so down home,” Dill said. “We shared some stories and sang some songs. Ms. Dolly even called my grandma to say ‘hello.’ She signed my shirt and told me she would stay in touch. She was so nice to my sister Emma, my cousin Hannah and my Aunt Erica,” the teenager said.
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In a post shared to Magic Moments Alabama’s Instagram account, Dill could be seen standing next to Parton wearing a T-shirt with the country singer on it. In a second photo included in the same post, Dill, her sister Emma, and cousin Hannah posed alongside Parton.
“It’s a holly DOLLY Christmas! Thank you to everyone who made Katelyn’s dream come true when she met the iconic Dolly Parton in Nashville today!,” the post’s caption reads.
Fans commented on the photos of Dill and Parton, sharing that their meeting was “so awesome” and “so absolutely heartwarming.”
In another post, shared to Facebook by WVTM 13‘s Rick Karle, Parton could be seen signing the back of Dill’s T-shirt. “America sure does love Dolly Parton. Katelyn Dill loves her more,” he wrote.
Parton’s heartwarming gesture comes as Dill prepares to have surgery on Thursday, Karle noted. Dill will travel to New York City’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to have several teratomas removed.
Dill graduated from high school in June 2022, according to the Daily Mountain Eagle. She learned she had ovarian cancer back in August after waking up in the middle of the night due to excruciating pain. Dill’s mom rushed her to the emergency room, where scans showed the mass on her ovary, another article from the outlet shared to a GoFundMe fundraiser for Dill indicates.
“They did some scans that found a huge mass on my ovary,” Dill said. “It was a 14cmx10cmx8cm twisted cyst.”
Prior to receiving her cancer diagnosis, Dill dealt with cysts as part of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) for seven years. She said the cysts weren’t painful until right before she was diagnosed with cancer.
“After surgery, the mass was sent to pathology and I learned I had ovarian cancer,” Dill recalled.
Despite being diagnosed with cancer so young, Dill says she is doing her best to maintain a positive attitude.
“My mom said she is really scared to lose me, but I am staying positive. I had a dream that my granny visited me and told me I would be fine,” Dill shared, according to the Daily Mountain Eagle article posted to her GoFundMe page.
Besides Parton, Dill is also a fan of old-time country artists, Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings, WVTM 13 noted.
In addition to making Dill’s dream come true, Parton has continued to use her platform to spread kindness. In November, the country singer donated $1 million to pediatric infectious disease research at Vanderbilt University Medical Centre.
She has also used her Imagination Library to provide books for two million children every month.
