‘Heart like a truck.’ Clovis girl who’s endured heart surgery shares stage with country star

More than a week after she was brought on stage to meet country musician Lainey Wilson, Clovis’ Davey Jean Prickett still smiles wide.

Davey’s mom, Brittney Stanley, also can’t help but become emotional about her daughter meeting her favorite country singer.

From the moment Davey was born, she’s dealt with major health issues, including open-heart surgery when she was an infant.

Stanley said Davey meeting Wilson in person — then receiving a shout-out on social media from the singer for the musician’s millions of followers to see — has caused her 9-year-old daughter to become so happy, it makes Mama cry.

“She’s my little girl — my only child — and she’s just gone through so much,” Stanley said. “By the age of 7, Davey had five major surgeries.

“Her life has not been easy. But (by) meeting Lainey Wilson, Davey got to have a wonderful, special moment and that’s an incredible thing.”

Heart like a truck

Before attending Wilson’s concert on Jan. 14 in Visalia’s Fox Theatre, Stanley and her daughter made signs to try to get the country singer’s attention.

They made sure to use bright colors, block lettering, glitter, and drew a bit on the sign.

But it was their message that played off one of Wilson’s top songs “Heart Like a Truck” that might’ve caught the singer’s eye most.

Davey and Stanley crafted a sign that read: “Your biggest, littlest fan has had open heart surgery and has a heart like a truck.”

Except a heart and a truck were drawn in place of the words.

And sure enough, Wilson took notice of the sign in the crowd and called for her to come on stage.

“Wow, y’all, she had open heart surgery,” Wilson said to the crowd with Davey on stage just before hugging the little girl. “If anyone has a heart like a truck, it’s her.

“This is the star of the show right here y’all.”

The heart-warming moment was shared later on social media with Wilson writing a message to her young fan: “You’re one tough cookie Davey. Thanks for being brave and comin up on stage with me.”

Dealing with other health issues

Stanley was 30 weeks pregnant when doctors informed her that they’d noticed a heart defect in her baby and that the child would need surgery immediately after delivery.

“I didn’t even know the sex of the baby at the time, and didn’t have a name picked out yet when I got hit with this life-changing information,” Stanley said. “It’s terrifying. I’d never heard of kids needing open-heart surgery. I thought that was only for older people.”

Because Davey was born fairly healthy, Stanley said, doctors were able to push back surgery a few weeks.

The delay didn’t last long.

Davey was just 11 weeks old when she underwent open-heart surgery, and she spent 28 days in the hospital immediately after while recovering.

The road to recovery has been ongoing with Davey also dealing with a genetic condition/chromosome disorder called DiGeorge syndrome, or more commonly known as 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

The deletion causes poor development of several body systems, according to the Mayo Clinic.

For the third-grader at Garfield Elementary in Clovis it has meant problems with her hearing, speech, swallowing and palate, among other things.

Davey couldn’t hear until she was 3 years old and that required two corrective surgeries.

She’s since developed a love for music, especially for country music and Lainey Wilson.

But it’s been a process.

“Most people think deaf kids don’t mind loud noises, but in actuality, they usually don’t like loud noises,” said Stanley, who has become an advocate for 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and often shares her daughter’s experiences on social media in hopes of helping and educating others who are going through similar circumstances.

“Davey has had work through some hearing issues,” Stanley added. “Last year, we went to our first concert and she didn’t like it. So we had to leave early.”

Giving live music another try

For this past Christmas, though, Davey asked her mom if they could go to another concert.

Specifically to see Lainey Wilson.

“I don’t know, Davey,” Stanley recalled saying. “Last time we went to a concert, you wanted to leave.

“We’ll have to talk to Santa to see if he can make it happen.”

To which Davey responded: “I promise I’ll do so good this time.”

But when Davey also asked if she could join Wilson on stage, Stanley knew Santa had his work cut out for him.

“So Santa and I decided that we would try going to another concert,” Stanley said. “We got her really good tickets — 11th row, center stage.

“And I’m thinking, if we were going to have an opportunity to get Davey on stage, it’s when she’s playing on a smaller stage. And we had to make some signs.”

Davey replied: “I hope Lainey sees it.”

It all worked out as Stanley had planned and prayed.

Just requiring a little glitter, a lot of hope and a little girl with a heart like a truck.

This story was originally published January 26, 2023 at 10:21 AM.