Dolly Parton surprises cancer-stricken fan LeGrand Gold with call, fullfils his bucket list goal

UTAH: Dolly Parton, the 77-year-old music legend, made a surprise call to a fan battling terminal stage four colorectal cancer, assisting him in achieving a bucket list goal.

She even serenaded him with her hit song 'I Will Always Love You', adding a special touch to the heartfelt gesture.

The 'country music legend', known for her remarkable career that has spanned over half a century, has been honored with 11 Grammy Awards from an impressive 50 nominations, including the esteemed Lifetime Achievement Award.

Earlier, Parton has candidly shared about her modest upbringing, characterizing her family as 'dirt poor', as reported by CNN.

Her recent compassionate act towards her fan LeGrand Gold, a Utah resident has earned her the endearing title of a 'living angel'.

Who is LeGrand Gold?

LeGrand Gold, a resident of Utah, has admired the country music icon for his entire life.

Upon receiving a diagnosis of stage four colorectal cancer in 2021, he created a bucket list to maintain his positivity, which naturally included a wish to meet Parton.

On Friday, December 22, the 77-year-old singer made Gold's wish come true.

She gave him an unexpected phone call, just in time for Christmas, helping him check off that special item from his bucket list.

"She sang a song, put my name in the song. I feel like I'm immortal now," he shared with local NBC affiliate KSL of the surprise chat with his favourite star. "That was really cool. It made me feel good."

Not long after his diagnosis, he chose to create 'LG's List of Living', a list of 10 experiences he wanted to have before his time came. This included attending a March Madness game and embarking on an RV trip.

However, during a medical appointment three weeks ago, he received the disheartening news that multiple treatments were no longer effective.

"He was going through a really kind of down phase of just over everything," his wife Alice told KSL. "So [I] just got out the napkin and started saying, 'What do you want to do? What do you want to do before you die?'"

"The scans showed the cancer spreading and getting outside of my liver, and so they said the chemo is not working anymore, the radiation is not working anymore," Gold stated. "They just sent me home and said be with your family."

Dolly Parton's surprise call

Meeting the country singer was one of the wishes on his list, which was jotted down on a napkin.

Alice, his wife, reached out to Dolly Parton via social media, requesting her to help fulfill one of her husband's last wishes - to meet one of his favorite artists. "I thought, 'Well, it's never going to happen,'" he shared with KSL.

Unexpectedly, he decided to pick up a phone call from a number with a Tennessee area code.

To his surprise, it was Parton on the other end of the line. "Well, I'm just happy to know I have a fan that devoted," she expressed to him over the call.

"Hey LG, it's Dolly P. I've heard you've been a fan of mine for many years, and I just wanted to thank you for that."

She went on, "I'm just happy to know that I've got a fan that devoted and that I've had a chance to watch that journey all these years. I'm just happy that we got to kind of have our journey together in this lifetime."

"I always want to make people happy with my music and with the things I do and the things I say and I’m just happy to know that I've touched your life in some way. So thank you for honouring me with that."

In the meantime, Gold expressed to the star that she has been "a huge help" during his fight against cancer.

Alice, on the other hand, lauded not only her music and personality but also her book donation initiative, the Imagination Library, which she acknowledged has been beneficial to their children.

"Just know that I will always love you," she continued, addressing Gold before spontaneously bursting into song. "I should've sung that, shouldn't I?" Afterwards, she does just that, swapping her famous lyric with, "I will always love LG."

Fans hail Dolly Parton for the kind act

"God bless him .. Dolly is living angel.. That’s why she has been blessed.." said a fan on Facebook. 

"God bless you. I'm so happy for you. Your going to be a wonderful angel Your so blessed," added another. 

"Dolly is the kindess human !," stated another. 

One person wrote, "Aw, She’s awesome! That absolutely made his day!"

Another user wrote a postive comment, "There's a message in this wonderful story.. Be kind to others, the good you do in this world will come back to you, because you'll never know when your times up!" as cited by Independent.  

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