With help of 'beliebers,' young girl's dream comes true

Leave it to Bieber — Justin, that is — to have fans who support each other.

And no one knows more about the power of that support than Kaden Anders.

If not for the singer’s loyal army of followers, her family says, the young girl’s dream might not have come true.

Monday night, Kaden will be attending Bieber’s concert at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., with a front-row seat.

Kaden learned Sunday evening that she was invited to attend a meet and greet with Bieber prior to the concert.

During the show, she’ll be able to take close-up photos, wave and, hopefully, get his attention.

It seems unbelievable to the 8-year-old, who surrounds herself with everything Bieber, including clothes, videos, dolls and posters.

“I’m too excited. Like this,” Kaden said, opening her arms wide. “I’m going to scream ‘Justin’ until he sees me.”

It’s a big mood swing from just a few weeks ago, when it appeared the young girl from Inwood might be sitting at home on concert night.

But beliebers, as Justin’s fans are called, came to the rescue.

They put their energy into helping Kaden get tickets.

Kaden, the daughter of Bryan and Sarah Anders, is a big Bieber fan and was excited to learn his worldwide tour would be taking him to the nation’s capital.

But attending wasn’t going to be easy.

Kaden has cerebral palsy and is unable to navigate the stairs that lead to the general-admission sections of the Verizon Center. Vision problems also would have prevented a good view of the stage.

When her mother inquired about handicapped seating, she learned everything was sold out.

So, Sarah Anders did what any mother would do.

She refused to give up.

Instead, she went to Kaden’s Facebook page and launched a campaign to find tickets in a section of the arena that would be manageable for her daughter. She also placed a video on YouTube.

In a story that ran in The Herald-Mail in September, Anders noted that Kaden has had challenges since the day she was born.

She came into the world 12 weeks early, suffered a grade III and IV bilateral brain bleed and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Throughout the years, Kaden has had seven surgeries, five of them on her brain.

She didn’t talk until she was 3 and walked a month before her sixth birthday — long after some had given up hope that it would ever happen.

However, the one thing that made Kaden a typical young girl, her mother said, was her love of Bieber. And her one wish was to see him in person, especially when she learned he would be performing in D.C.

But the fact that there were no tickets to meet Kaden’s needs meant her wish might not come true.

As the story made its way across the Internet, Anders said Bieber fans from around the world began sharing the news with each other and posting words of encouragement on Kaden’s Facebook page.

They also began contacting the Verizon Center, urging the front office to find tickets for Kaden.

“It’s really astounding how the fans banded together,” Sarah Anders said. “They have taken Kaden in as a fellow belieber. Her YouTube video got over a 1,000 clicks from 30 different countries.”

“Honestly,” she added, “in these few short months, I have caught my own case of Bieber Fever. Our Internet campaign has made me realize that Justin has a huge heart and is led by his fans. They really work hard to get each and every special-needs story seen by Justin and company.”

Anders said she spoke with Verizon personnel on several occasions and “they were very aware of Kaden’s story. But after talking to them, I believe they really just go above and beyond to meet everyone’s requests.”

The family received word that someone canceled seats for the concert and the tickets would meet Kaden’s needs.

“The exciting part is that they just happen to be front row, which is amazing,” Anders said. “I don’t think I could have imagined such good luck. I’m calling it my miracle. Kaden will be able to see everything, and I can only hope that Kaden will feel like Justin knows she is there.”

Anders waited for the tickets to arrive before announcing that Kaden would be attending the concert.

“I think it was a little surreal for all of us and tickets in hand meant, as Kaden says, all of her dreams are coming true.”

When Kaden received the good news, “she screamed and wanted to leave right now,” her mother shared. “It’s all she has talked about. She wants to know all the details.”

Anders said she was able to purchase three tickets to the concert, one of which is for Kaden’s big sister.

“Kaden’s love for Justin originates with her 17-year-old sister, Amber,” her mother said. “They will be sharing this memorable moment together.”

In addition to attending the concert, Kaden has been invited to a charity event this morning in Washington, D.C., sponsored by Moms4Bieber. 

“Some of the proceeds will be donated to the Cerebral Palsy Foundation in Kaden’s name,” Anders noted.

Anders said Kaden received a new outfit for her birthday, which was Oct. 13, “and has been refusing to wear it until the concert. The skirt is full of sparkles and stars that match a shirt that is purple — Kaden’s and Justin’s favorite color. The shirt says ‘Chase Your Dreams.’”

Throughout the efforts to secure tickets, Kaden has been aware of the likes she has received on her Facebook page and has looked at each and every profile picture, her mother noted.

“This attention and everyone’s help was not lost on her,” she said. “Kaden is very grateful and would like to thank everyone for believing.”