BEACHWOOD, Ohio—
Rock star Steven Tyler recently reached out to a Beachwood woman with Lou Gehrig's disease.Tyler is a very busy man. He has a new gig as a judge on Fox's American Idol. And of course, his four and a half-decade career fronting Aerosmith. But he made time for a special phone call Wednesday to Menorah Park Campus resident Susan Marshall.
During part of the call, Tyler told Marshall, "I have called, and Susan I love you, and happy Bat Mitzvah and happy everything else. I mean, happiness is all we got," Tyler said.
Marshall is a former fashion model, who now weighs 72 pounds and is confined to a wheelchair. She is paralyzed from the neck down. She uses a computer to speak with. Marshall has two final wishes: to have her Bat Mitzvah -- a Jewish confirmation service, and to hear from Tyler.
"Here we're talking about her Bat Mitzvah on Hanukkah, and this is a dream and a hope, and he calls on the first day of Hanukkah," Rabbi Ephraim Karp with Menorah Park Campus said.
Marshall wanted Tyler to come to her Bat Mitzvah this weekend, but he will be playing in Washington D.C. that day.
Susan's Bat Mitzvah will take place Sunday. She is going to actively claim her Jewish identity and lead the congregation in prayer. In light of her Bat Mitzvah, Tyler said a prayer in Hebrew for her over the phone.
Despite her limitations, Marshall is proving you can still dream on, until your dreams come true.
