Selena Campione, a 36-year-old mother, isn't your average Taylor Swift fan -- she's dedicated enough to have brought her love for the pop star all the way into the operating room.
A few months ago, Campione underwent a craniotomy in order to remove a brain tumor at Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute, a neuroscience and neurology center in New Jersey.
Her surgeon, Dr. Nitesh Patel, used Quicktome Connectomics, which offers powerful technology that helps surgeons to monitor their patient's neural network during surgeries. Per its website, Quicktime is "is intended for brain health physicians who demand more knowledge of their patient's brain to drive better care."
Throughout her operation, Campione's speech -- or, rather, singing -- was monitored for any abnormalities.
While some doctors simply have their patients speak during the operation, Patel opts for a more fun form of communication: singing.
He explained that singing allows him to "continuously monitor a patient's speech, cadence, and rhythm without interruptions and pauses that happen during a conversation." It's not only more enjoyable for the patient, but more effective for his medical work.
During the surgery, Campione sang along to hits like "Shake It Off," maintaining a strong speech pattern throughout the process. She wasn't the only fan in the operating room, saying that she believes she's even "turned the doctors into Swifties." She remarked that in one video, you can see the physicians "tapping along to the beat with their tools."
Campione's daughters are massive fans of the "Cruel Summer" singer, which helped her feel closer to her family throughout the surgery.
"It helped me, I felt like my daughters were with me," she said.
She elaborated on the comforting familiarity of Swift's tunes: "I hear her music 24 hours a day, in my car, in my house."
In the wake of her surgery, Campione's recovery has gone "extremely well," and she is surrounded by friends and family.
Swift, meanwhile, was recently seen with her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, while on vacation in the Bahamas. The two have now returned to California, where they were spotted on a date in Malibu. Kelce recently wrapped up a very successful season with the Kansas City Chiefs, with whom he won the 2024 Super Bowl last month.
Swift is currently enjoying a break from her long-running Eras tour, which will pick back up again in May. She begins the international leg of her tour in Paris, where she will perform for four nights in a row. The Eras Tour is set to take her through Europe and Canada for nearly seven months, ending in December. Swift is set to release her next album, The Tortured Poets Department, Apr. 19.
Given the pop star's massive impact on pop culture, one is left to wonder: Was this Taylor Swift's first time appearing in the operating room?
