Bucket List of Upstate New York Girl Lucky to Be Alive – Meeting Luke Bryan

An upstate New York girl suffering from a life threatening disease, is a huge Luke Bryan fan. On her bucket list is to meet the country star when he comes to Madison Square Gardens.

Anna Kanakos is only 9 years old but she's already been on quite a roller coaster. Her family survived Hurricane Sandy, that destroyed their home in 2012. "It was so devastating and displaced us for about 9 months where we lived in a one bedroom apartment," says Anna's mom Margaret.

Less than a year later they moved to the Tug Hill area. But in 2015, Anna started getting sick. "She was having severe headaches, sometimes waking up in the middle of the night crying and screaming her head hurt," says Margaret.

Doctors said it was likely dehydration and to give Anna more water. But a few weeks later, Anna was urinating so much, Anna was back at the doctor. A urine test came back negative, but Margaret says they "didn’t give any clue on what could be causing  the frequent urination."

A few weeks later Anna went downhill quickly. "Anna lost so much weight in 3 days and was sleeping a lot and still urinating constantly," says Margaret. "We brought Anna to the ER in Syracuse where they told us she had Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. Her BG was over 1100 and her potassium and sodium were off the charts. Doctors couldn’t believe our daughter was still alive with those numbers."

Anna was sent home after 5 days but mom says she wasn't herself yet.  "The doctor informed us Anna arrived to the ER in near death condition and it was going to take a few months before she would be 100%."

Seven months after the diagnosis, Anna is finally acting like herself. "She's still not a 100%, but we’ll take the 80%, because she is still with us," says Margaret. "Sure we have our good days and bad days with type 1 diabetes, but we are all here to deal with it one day at a time."

Luke Bryan is Anna's idol. "If you ask her any question about Luke, she’ll know the answer," says Margaret. "When she listens to his music and sings along, she forgets about the disease she deals with 24 hours a day.  Even if it’s just for a few minute."

Anna's bedtime routine is to pray before going to sleep, a routing Margaret accidentally interrupted. "Anna told me she prayed for 2 things; meeting Luke Bryan in person and finding a cure for Type 1 Diabetes. I might not be able to do anything with #2 yet, but I sure can try and make her 1st wish happen."

Santa brought Anna tickets to see Luke Bryan at Madison Square March 1st. Will her wish to meet him be granted? Share to spread the word and give Anna a night she won't want to end.

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