Ashley MacLean Kearse, shooting victim, gets visit from Classified

A teenagerwho was left paralyzed after a shooting and home invasion in Cole Harbourgot a surprise visit from her favourite rapper last weekend.

Ashley MacLean Kearse and Luke Boyd better known as Classified met on Saturday at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, where MacLean Kearse has been in rehabilitation since she was shot during a home invasion on Arklow Drive.

A bullet went through her spinal cord and she was initially paralyzed from the chest down.

Boyd first heard about MacLean Kearse's story in December, when local musician Chad Hatcher came to him for signed items that would be auctioned off to raise money for the teenager.

"He was asking if he could come out and get some CDs and for me to sign a couple things," Boyd told CBC News.

"That was kind of the first interaction I had with her and kind of knowing the story and getting more personal with it."

Last week, local radio station 101.3 The Bounce reached out to Boyd and told him MacLean Kearse was a big fan of his music. Together they set up a meeting between the two of them and Mike Boyd Luke's brother, who is also a rapper.

Saturday's meeting happened in the the recovery unit of the hospital, where MacLean Kearse had just been transferred. The teen was surrounded by her family and close friends. The meeting lasted just under an hour and Luke Boyd said their time together was very relaxed.

'It really puts life in perspective'

"We kind of went in and said, 'What's up?' and talked about what she has been doing," he said.

"We were talking about the hospital and the good treatment at the hospital they've been giving her."

When MacLean Kearse was first hospitalized in November, she was in the intensive care unit and couldn't breathe on her own or talk. Since beginning physiotherapy, she has regained some movement in her arms.

"The guys from the Bounce were there a couple months ago and then she couldn't move her arms. She had a neck brace on and she couldn't really move at all," said Boyd.

"They were surprised. She had the neck brace off. She could move her arms up and down.

"What she was saying is that she's making progress every day, getting better and better."

Boyd said the one thing he took away from his experience with MacLean Kearse is the importance of appreciating the small things in life.

"Whenever I do something like this and go meet somebody that's in a tough situation in life and going through some bad stuff they need to get through, it really puts life in perspective," he said.

"We all complain about the smallest problems in life. But when you see something like this it really puts it in perspective and make you say, 'OK, it's not that big of a deal.'"

Boyd plans on seeing MacLean Kearse again. One of her goals is to be recovered enough by May so she can get chicken wings and Classified plans on joining her for dinner.