Zach Bryan’s embrace of Megan Pederson at a recent concert might be the feel-good moment of the year for country music.
If you missed it, be sure to check out her TikTok for the video.
Bryan, 27, can be seen wrapping up a song during a concert in Milwaukee and Pederson, seated in her wheelchair with a big smile, is loving every minute of the performance.
But things were just getting started for her.
Bryan exited the stage and spots her holding a sign, and heads straight over with a guitar case.
“This is for you,” he says handing her a guitar.
He then asks her if she is going to go backstage, and when she says, “yeah we are,” he says, “I’ll give this to you back there, OK.”
He then leans in for a hug and says, “It’s good to meet you.”
This left the young fan in tears.
Pederson, 19, reveals on her TikTok account her condition, which she says is median acruate ligament syndrome. The Mayo Clinic website says that MALS “occurs when the arc-shaped band of tissue in the chest area (median acruate ligament) presses on the artery that sends blood to the upper abdomen.”
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The site says this can cause stomach pain, and Pederson said she has been dealing with pain so bad that it makes it difficult to eat.
Mayo Clinic says treatment involves surgery to release the ligament and restore blood flow through the artery.
Pederson said in a post on her TikTok that she had that surgery several years ago and relieved her symptoms. However, she said it has returned, and doctors tell her that they cannot operate now to relieve the symptoms.
So, it really does seem like she is going through a painful and cruel condition. But it also seems like, at least for a little bit on this night, Bryan made her forget all about that.
You can see the video of her interaction with Bryan here.
It was already a pretty amazing story, but turns out there is a good backstory there, too.
Pederson said that throughout her ordeal she has relied on Zach Bryan’s music.
“His music just isn’t music to me,” she said. ‘It’s my escape. It’s my everything.”
In fact, that one of her best moments while battling the painful situation was being able to go to her first Bryan concert back in 2023. And turns out, while at that concert she was able to meet Bryan’s father, Zach.
They stayed in contact, and when Bryan was slated to play close to Megan, Dwayne followed up with an invite for her to sit right there stage side.
“That countdown was so big,” Pederson told the site. “We didn’t know if I would make it another day, another week. We didn’t’ know if I would make it until Christmas, let alone the concert.”
But Pederson made it to the concert, and now the world has seen that amazing video. More important, she told the site that the moment felt like a “revival” for her physically.
“Mentally, his music has gotten me through a hundred percent of my worst days,” she said. “And I firmly believe that’s the reason why.”