Jorja Hope and her twin sister Chloe are very alike. They are both energetic, they love music and most of all they love songstress Taylor Swift.
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But unlike her sister Chloe, Jorja wakes up every day and hopes she has not lost her ability to hear.
The 12-year-old has a condition that causes progressive, inner-ear hearing loss.
There is no timeframe for when she will become deaf, just the certainty that it will happen.
Her mother Melissa Hope said when Jorja found out she would go deaf the first thing she said was: “I won’t be able to hear Taylor Swift sing.
“Jorja has battled her whole life from being born premmie with growth problems, to surgeries on her ears already and five surgeries for broken bones.
“She is a fighter, no matter what happens she smiles and keeps going.”
It was Jorja’s singing teacher who first noticed her hearing problem, but the diagnosis was a shocking surprise to the whole family.
The Tenambit Public School student already has 45 decibels of hearing loss and has been fitted with a hearing aid. But this has not stopped her from singing and she has started to learn sign language so she can sign the songs.
Jorja’s one wish before she goes deaf is to see Taylor Swift perform live in concert and with a little help, her family managed to deliver the exciting news that her and her twin sister Chloe would both be attending one of the solo artist’s shows in Sydney this month.
“Taylor Swift is a really good singer and a good role model,” Jorja said.
“When she gets knocked down she knows how to get back up again.”
Now Chloe wants to do one better and get Taylor Swift to meet her inspirational sister.
“If Jorja met Taylor I think she’d pass out,” Chloe said. “She loves her.
“I care for my sister a lot and I would like to do this one special thing for her.”
Chloe has started the hashtag #helpjorjameettaylorswiftsydney and hoped with the help of Mercury readers this beautiful story of sisterly love could go viral online and just maybe get noticed by the American super star.
While Jorja knows meeting her role model is a long shot, she said Swift’s music would always be there to help her through, even when she can’t hear.
“I am going to learn to sign to her music,” Jorja said.
Visit the Maitland Mercury Facebook page to find out more and help Jorja meet her idol Taylor Swift. Also join the Facebook page Help Jorja meet Taylor swift in Sydney 2015.