Help a young cancer patient meet her idol

It’s been an incredibly tough year for Cassidy Rajala, an Annandale sixth-grader who’s spent months in the hospital since being diagnosed with leukemia in December 2023.

One of the bright spots has been her discovery of pop singer Benson Boone. During her stay at Inova Fairfax Children’s Hospital, the music therapist on staff taught her to play his songs on a keyboard.

For Cassidy, Benson Boone is a “lighthouse in the storm.”

Cassidy created a video of her playing his songs. “Her dream is that Benson Boone will see the video and know how much his music has meant to her,” says her mother, Rachel Rajala, a real estate broker.  

To that end, Cassidy encourages everyone to share the video as widely as possible with the hope that Benson Boone will respond.

“Leukemia treatment is a long, rough process,” Rachel says. “She’s had her ups and downs.” She’s been in and out of the hospital. Due to complications, she was confined to the hospital for 50 days straight.  

Instead of starting at Poe Middle School this fall, she’s been attending school virtually through Fairfax County Public Schools’ homebound program for students with long-term stays at healthcare facilities.

Last April she went to a Benson Boone concert in a wheelchair. “It was really great. It was an exciting outing for her,” Rachel says. “She loves music and really connected with his music.”

She would love to go to another Benson Boone concert and possibly meet him backstage.

Watch the video here and tag #bensonboone.