Harper Shamus, 8, of Arnold recently had a small portion of a “once-in-a-lifetime” trip broadcasted on the long-running singing contest “American Idol.”
Harper, mother Diana Shamus, father Tony Shamus and 19-year-old sister Kaitlyn Grace were flown in January to the Disney-run Aulani resort in Hawaii to watch the filming of an episode of the reality TV show.
About 15 minutes into the eighth episode of the ninth season of ABC’s version of “American Idol,” which aired March 16, host Ryan Seacrest interviewed Harper as she was surrounded by her family members. The show is in its 24th season overall with the first 15 seasons airing on Fox.
“It was amazing,” said Harper, who is a third-grade student at Lone Dell Elementary School.
Seacrest told the television audience about Harper, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation before asking the show’s audience to say “Aloha” to Harper.
“You are a star,” Seacrest told Harper.
The family’s trip was the fulfillment of Harper’s wish to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Harper was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in August 2022.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip,” Diana said. “(Seacrest) was so nice. He asked a lot of questions about her treatment. He was very personable.”
Diana said a highlight of the trip, which the family took in the final week of January, was meeting the show’s judges, Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan, and this season’s guest judge Keke Palmer.
Diana said the brief meet-and-greet the family had with the judges was special because her daughter met Richie.
“(Harper) is such a fan of the show,” Diana said. “She really just wanted to be there, but meeting the judges on top of that was a next-level type of thing. She felt like a celebrity.
“Lionel Richie was so nice. Harper just loved him. He was like a grandpa.”
Diana said Harper has watched “American Idol” since she was 2 years old. Harper said her favorite Richie song is “All Night Long.”
“I listen to his music a lot,” Harper said.
Diana said after Harper started the targeted treatment for the tumor, representatives from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Missouri and Kansas contacted the family about fulfilling a wish for her daughter.
Harper was specific about her wish.
“When her wish granters talked to her, she specifically said, ‘I want to go to ‘American Idol’ at Disney Aulani,’” Diana said. “They were like, ‘Wow, that is quite the wish.’”
Diana said the regional and national Make-A-Wish Foundations chapters arranged the trip to Hawaii.
She said Harper learned about the trip at the MAC (Movement Arts Center) dance studio, and the Local House restaurant held a celebration party after the reveal.
“Her dance team did the reveal (on Jan. 15),” Diana said. “Local House did a celebration with the Make-A-Wish Missouri and Kansas representatives.”
Diana said one of Harper’s sisters, Hailey Grace, 21, was not able to go on the trip because Make-A-Wish only allows one adult sibling to be part of the wish. She said the family didn’t have much time to prepare.
Diana said they were flown to Hawaii on Jan. 26, and the “American Idol” taping was on Jan. 29.
She said the family found out they would be part of the show about a week before they left for the trip.
“We found out ABC was going to send a film crew,” she said. “We didn’t know the details until the day of the show. They got us an hour before it started. We had a private tent with snacks. They asked if we wanted to meet the judges, and that was really neat. The whole thing was super cool. It was quite the wish.”
Harper said along with watching “American Idol,” she got a makeover, attended a luau, learned how to do hula dancing and made a unique memento of the trip.
“We got to make Mickey ears that light up,” she said. “It was amazing.”
Harper’s battle began four years ago.
Diana said the owner and employees at Kizer Academy, a child care and preschool business in Arnold, alerted her that Harper may be having a development issue.
She said the staff noticed Harper struggling to maintain her balance and her hands shaking.
That led to Harper having an MRI taken at St. Louis Children’s Specialty Care Center – South County in August 2022.
Before Diana and Harper left the care center, they were told to go to St. Louis Children’s Hospital, where the next day, Harper underwent emergency surgery to have a shunt implanted to relieve the pressure on her brain.
Harper continues to go to Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital so Washington University physicians may monitor the tumor.
Diana said Harper began undergoing targeted treatment for her brain tumor about a year ago.
“Her tumor has not shrunk, but it is stable,” Diana said. “She gets scans every three months and has a lot of doctor appointments.”
Diana said Harper is not held back by the tumor.
“She still does her competitive dance,” Diana said. “She is doing great.”
Diana said Harper also plans to participate in the National Brain Tumor Society’s Gray May event, which is held every May to raise funds to make lasting change for the brain tumor community, according to braintumor.org.
Diana said this will be the third year her daughter will participate in the annual fundraising event. She said Harper plans to collect fidget toys to donate to Siteman Kids.
“There is a bench that has things for the kids to take for free,” Diana said. “She wants to fill it up.”
Diana said she and Harper are still making plans on how to collect the fidget toys. She said she will share information on her Facebook page about when the collection starts and where fidget toys may be donated.