Blake Shelton’s Heartbreaking Tribute to Texas Flood Victims Leaves Nation in Tears
Blake Shelton’s Heartbreaking Tribute to Texas Flood Victims Leaves Nation in Tears
Blake Shelton’s Quiet Tribute to 28 Texas Girls Swept Away in Flood Moves a Nation to Tears
In the wake of devastation, one cowboy sang for the angels — and the world listened.
The heart of Texas is still aching after catastrophic flash floods tore through Central Texas, claiming 104 lives, including 28 young girls who vanished when rising waters engulfed their beloved summer camp near the Pedernales River.
But in the aftermath of tragedy, Blake Shelton — country superstar and Oklahoma native — responded not with cameras or press, but with compassion, conviction, and a voice full of grace
$300,000 for Healing, One Song for Hope
Without hesitation, Blake donated $300,000 to the Texas Relief & Youth Recovery Fund — a local initiative focused on rebuilding campgrounds, funding trauma counseling, and directly supporting grieving families.
But that was only the beginning.
Blake announced that 100% of proceeds from his new single, “Texas,” will go to recovery efforts for the next six months.
“This song was written for the soul of Texas,”
The Handwritten Letter That Shattered Hearts
What truly shook the nation wasn’t just the donation.
It was the handwritten letters — one for each of the 27 families — that arrived in the mail days later, wrapped around a keepsake unlike any other.
In his raw, emotional note, Blake wrote:
“No words can bring your babies back. But I hope this reminds you that your daughters mattered — to all of us. Their light will echo far beyond this storm.”
Each letter included a personalized, framed lyric sheet, rewriting a verse from Blake’s emotional hit “Over You” to include the name of each girl:
“If heaven’s got a lone star sky,
Then [her name] is dancing underneath it tonight.”
A Rose from the Ashes
Alongside the letters, each family received a handcrafted white rose pendant, made from reclaimed wood salvaged from the camp’s original chapel. On its underside were four simple words, engraved in silver:
“Still dancing in Texas.”
For many families, the pendant and letter became sacred.
One grieving mother, clutching the frame through tears, said:
“Blake didn’t just write a song. He gave us a place to imagine our daughters still smiling. Still with us. Still dancing.”
“Blake Shelton Just Turned Country Music into Therapy”
The internet exploded with praise:
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“I’ve never seen a more genuine act of country soul.”
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“That lyric frame? That pendant? That’s what it means to show up as a human being.”
Even Texas Governor Annette Warren issued a public statement:
“Blake Shelton’s quiet grace is a reminder that Texas never grieves alone."
More Than Music — It Was a Prayer
Blake never asked for headlines. He didn’t cry on camera. He didn’t go on talk shows.
He just listened. And loved. Deeply. Quietly. Like a father. Like a neighbor. Like a Texan.
And in doing so, he showed the world what real country music
It doesn’t just tell stories—
It helps heal them.
A Cowboy’s Promise to 28 Angels
In the middle of the worst natural disaster Texas has seen in years, one man picked up his guitar — and
And because of that, the world will never forget their names.
Dad with deadly brain cancer that kills in a year is cancer free after taking new drug
A breakthrough drug is fighting brain cancer head-on.
Glioblastoma is widely considered the deadliest form of brain cancer, killing over 10,000 Americans each year. There is no cure for the highly aggressive disease — many patients survive just nine months after diagnosis.
Ben Trotman was diagnosed with glioblastoma in October 2022 at 40.
Treatment focuses on managing symptoms and extending life via surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible and radiation therapy and chemotherapy to destroy cancer cells.
Now, researchers from University College London Hospitals are recruiting glioblastoma patients for a trial of the immunotherapy drug ipilimumab. Sold under the brand name Yervoy, the monoclonal antibody stimulates the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.
Oncologists are optimistic since a UK father shows no signs of having a tumor after he took ipilimumab before his glioblastoma treatment.
Ben Trotman was diagnosed with glioblastoma in October 2022 at 40.
“The crucial element of this trial is that patients will have their immune system boosted by the drug before they have any other treatment, when they are fit and well enough to tolerate the immunotherapy,” said Dr. Paul Mulholland, the consultant medical oncologist leading the trial.
“We saw with Ben, the one patient recruited to the immunotherapy study, NeAT-GLIO, that he has had clear scans since having the treatment and the tumor hasn’t returned more than two and a half years later.”
Glioblastoma is widely considered the deadliest form of brain cancer, killing over 10,000 Americans each year.
Trotman met with Mulholland, who enrolled him in a clinical trial for ipilimumab. He was the first patient in the world — and the only person in the trial — to take the drug before glioblastoma treatment.
“Getting this diagnosis was the most traumatic experience,” said Trotman’s wife, Emily.
“We were grappling with the fact that Ben had gone from being apparently perfectly healthy to having months to live.”
After taking the drug, Ben underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Two years and eight months later, his scans are clear.
“It is very unusual to have a clear scan with glioblastoma, especially when he didn’t have the follow-up surgery that had been planned to remove all of the tumor that was initially visible on scans,” Mulholland said.
Ben and Emily Trotman wed in 2023, after he began his immunotherapy treatment.
“We hope that the immunotherapy and follow-up treatment Ben has had will hold his tumor at bay,” he added, “and it has so far, which we are delighted to see.”
In January 2023, months after his diagnosis, Ben married Emily. The couple welcomed a daughter, Mabel, earlier this year.
They enjoy taking her for walks along with their rescue dog, Jerry.
“We are trying to live as normal a life as possible,” Emily said.
“We are in a unique position of which there is no precedent and which comes with a great deal of uncertainty,” she continued. “We want to live each day as if it were our last, but we also want to plan for the future, which we hope to have.”
Researchers plan to recruit 16 glioblastoma patients like Ben over 18 months.
After taking ipilimumab, the trial participants will undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy and perhaps surgery depending on the extent of their disease.
Dr. Paul Mulholland and Dame Siobhain McDonagh, who raised funds for the new clinical trial of ipilimumab.
The trial is being funded by Dame Siobhain McDonagh, a member of the British Parliament, whose sister died of glioblastoma in 2023.
“My beloved sister Margaret was appalled to discover that there had been no advances in brain cancer treatment for decades when she was diagnosed with glioblastoma,” McDonagh said. “Changing this was Margaret’s final campaign and one that I have continued in her memory.”
Treatment will take place at the NIHR UCLH’s Clinical Research Facility at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.
“I am delighted that this new trial, with the same immunotherapy drug I received, is going ahead and others will have the opportunity to take part,” Ben said. “It will give people newly diagnosed with glioblastoma some hope.”
