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Felipe Conrado has been a dedicated Taylor Swift fan for more than 13 years
Only a few weeks before the communications manager attended the third and final Eras Tour show in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, his cousin Angela, 37, was diagnosed with cancer
During the concert, Conrado caught a part of Swift’s shoe that had fallen off, which he decided to sell to help pay for his cousin’s treatment
Now, months later, he tells PEOPLE that his cousin completed her treatment in September, and thanks to a donation by Christian Louboutin, he got to keep the shoe.
Felipe Conrado has been a dedicated Taylor Swift fan for more than 13 years. So, when the singer-songwriter announced she would be bringing the Eras Tour to his home country, Brazil, he jumped at the opportunity to attend. However, Conrado, 33, had no idea just how life-changing the experience would be — not just for him, but for his entire family.
Only a few weeks before Conrado, a communications manager, attended the third and final show in Rio de Janeiro, his cousin Angela, 37, was diagnosed with cancer. Initially, her health insurance promised to cover the treatment. But after the first month of chemotherapy, Angela received an unexpectedly high bill — one that the family simply couldn’t afford.
“She appealed to the government, but our healthcare system only covers costs for more advanced cases,” he tells PEOPLE exclusively. “In this situation, she took legal action to seek a solution, and meanwhile, the family came together with the goal of raising enough money to cover at least the first few months [of treatment], which took weeks of hard work.”
But now, months later, Conrado says that his cousin completed her treatment in September — thanks, in part, to a stroke of Swiftie luck.
While sitting in the front row at the Eras Tour, Conrado noticed Taylor Swift crouch down on stage. Though he could tell something was off, he couldn’t immediately figure out what it was.
At first, he thought she had tripped or that something had gone wrong on stage. Then, he saw her turn toward where he was sitting, right in front of him, and throw something in his direction.
“I had no idea what it was, but my instinct was: RAISE YOUR HAND AND CATCH IT!” he recalls. “That’s when I noticed the right Louboutin boot heel from her Lover era [look] land perfectly in my hands mid-air. It took me a few seconds to realize what I had caught, and the people around me were also in shock.”
