Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Ambassador Steals the Show

From the Vanderbilt Medical Center Reporter, April 13, 2001 (used with permission)

by Dana Johnson

Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Ambassador Katie Darnell attended the Children's Miracle Network (CMN) Champions Across America celebration, sponsored by the IOF Foresters, in Washington, D.C., and Orlando last week. Darnell and singer/songwriter John Rich performed her song "Rescue Me" for President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush at the White House on April 4.

The song drew a huge response from the audience, including the President and First Lady. "It was a beautiful song, it was wonderful," Bush said.

Darnell, 17, from Princeton, Ky., a three-time brain cancer survivor, met Rich when he performed for children at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in December. Darnell sang "Rescue Me" for Rich in her hospital room while going through chemotherapy, and he was so impressed with the song, he recorded it as a gift to her. The song was passed on to a Nashville radio station, and it began getting heavy play. It has since been played by stations across the country, and Darnell and Rich have appeared in numerous print articles and have appeared on NBC's "Today Show" and on ABC's "The View."

Darnell began to sing a cappella the first verse and chorus of "Rescue Me," followed by Rich singing the second verse and chorus with back up singer Sharon Vaughn.

"It was totally awesome. It was just wonderful!" Darnell said. "We (her family) stood there that whole day saying, 'We're in the back yard of the White House.'

"I was like, 'Whoa, I just sang for the President! I just shook hands with the President.' I was so thrilled I got to do something for my family that has done so much for me. It's one of those things you never think you'll get to see, and all of a sudden you're there."

"As I played "Rescue Me," I couldn't believe I met this girl 100 days ago in a hospital room. And now we're playing for the most powerful man on the planet," Rich said.

After the performance, the President spent more than an hour posing for pictures, signing autographs for all the champion children and their families, shaking hands and talking to each one until he had met everyone.

On their way to interviews with TV and newspapers, Rich asked Darnell, "Did you ever think when we met we'd be here?"

Each year, a child from each of the 50 states is selected to attend the celebration. They represent the 14 million children who are treated each year at the 170 Children's Miracle Network-affiliated children's hospitals, including Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, which was one of the 22 founding hospitals.

Marie Osmond, one of the co-founder's of CMN, introduced Darnell and Rich at the White House, and told the story of how they met and how the song was recorded.

Their second performance occurred during the first annual Miracle Awards at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., which will be televised June 2 and 3 on Nashville's Channel 5 as part of the annual CMN fund-raising campaign. John Schneider, the other co-founder of CMN, introduced Darnell and told about her battle with brain cancer and about "Rescue Me." The lights went down, a spotlight hit her, and she began to sing the first verse and chorus of the song. After she sang, Schneider came back to tell more of her story, then the lights shined again on Rich, Vaughn, and Darnell, where they sang the entire song. The audience was silent and tears filled their eyes during the performance, and as soon as the song ended, they were greeted by a lengthy standing ovation.

"It was so cool to be up there on that stage and to get a standing ovation from that crowd of major people," Darnell said. "When I was singing, it just felt so special. You knew every eye in that crowd was on you at that moment in time. To think God chose me to write that song, and my song was good enough to be here."

"The trip was everything I expected it to be and more," said Darnell.

In Orlando, they were given passes to the Disney parks and time to enjoy the resort, and attended a concert featuring Brian McKnight and Sawyer Brown. Darnell was treated to a visit on Sawyer Brown's bus and met the band members again backstage after the concert. Darnell also posed for pictures with Larry King, Mary Lou Retton, Schneider, Osmond, and many others who attended the awards gala. A CD of the song "Rescue Me" was included in the attendees gift bag. Darnell and Rich became celebrities themselves after their performance, posing for pictures and signing autographs for their new fans.