Taylor Swift Meets Child Hit By a Car Outside Her Show

Taylor Swift recently spent time with one of her most loyal fans, turning a tragic event in the little girl's life into one of her greatest memories.

Seven-year-old Grace Markel was on her way to Swift's concert in Chicago on Aug. 10, when she was hit by a speeding SUV, driven by an uninsured driver on a suspended license, as she was exiting a taxi at the concert venue with her father, Will Markel. As a result of the accident, she suffered skull fractures, a left orbital fracture, numerous head lacerations, a severe concussion, and road rash over her face and body.

The Columbia, Mo. native spent two days recovering at Children's Mercy Hospital, before continuing her recuperation at home. The precocious little girl, who remained strong and in great spirits in spite of her injuries, was rewarded for her remarkable attitude by getting tickets to Swift's Sept. 21 concert in Nashville, Tenn.

The generous singer, known for her many good deeds for her fans, heard about Markel's story, and invited her, along with her parents, backstage before her show. "Taylor greeted Grace by her name and immediately knelt down and hugged her," Grace's mom, Amy Markel, tells People magazine. "She told Grace she had a cold and asked Grace to sing extra loud to help her out."

Swift signed the the child's Taylor Swift t-shirt, and gave her several hugs before beginning her sold-out show. "[The meeting] was just a warm and genuine exchange that made it feel like time has stopped, and it was just the two of them," Amy Markel says.

According to Grace, who only recently returned to school after the harrowing accident, Swift was even more "nice and tall and pretty" than she expected.

For the parents, it was a happy ending to one of the most difficult chapters of their lives. "It's so hard to reconcile what we witnessed at the time of the accident with her amazing recovery," the proud mother adds. "We feel so very lucky and blessed."