If you’re reading this, then the odds are you got the news within hours – and I guess like most of us, you’re telling your own Michael Jackson stories.
So, Michael Jackson came to Singapore in 1996 as part of the HIStory Tour. I know because that was the year Daniel had a bone marrow transplant which was the only possible cure for a terminal type of leukaemia. It was eight months all told of being in hospital literally fighting to stay alive and amid all that dreary and desperate mortality, can you even begin to imagine the excitement of a phone call from the Michael Jackson team. They’d seen Daniel’s story in the paper – the first BMT at the University Hospital and a brave sort of chap who’d even been raising money for a cure while he was undergoing treatment.
Anyway, we had several conversations and they wanted to know if it was possible for Michael Jackson to visit Daniel – if they could arrange it..? POSSIBLE..? Michael Jackson actually come and visit US…! You bet, it’s possible and it was certainly more tasteful food for thought than survival rates…
I re-read my diary from that very day; 25th October 2006 – the day Michael Jackson performed in Singapore and the day a total stranger’s bone marrow was carried from Australia to save the life of my son. He didn’t actually get to visit – was it just a PR opportunity – possibly, but guess what, it’s my Michael Jackson story and places me closer to him than most people in the world.
Farewell, Michael Jackson!