A Cape Breton teenager who underwent a 20-hour brain surgery in October got the moment of a lifetime on Saturday, meeting Panic! at the Disco lead singer Brendon Urie.

Alyssa Rose had the surgery to remove a brain tumour. 

She said that one of the ways she coped with her condition was by listening to the band. 

Panic! at the Disco was in Montreal performing at Place Bell. 

Rose’s family bought tickets to the show, and she penned Urie a letter that went viral. 

“Since I’m such a big fan of your band, when I was recovering I *begged* my father to go to your concert in Laval on January 12,” she wrote.

Her father Shawn posted the letter on Facebook and Twitter. 

It soon was retweeted and shared over 100,000 times. 

After driving 13 hours (including through a blizzard), on Saturday, Alyssa, her best friend, and her mom met Urie for a ten-minute encounter she’ll never forget. 

“He asked how I was feeling and gave us big hugs and autographs and photos,” she said afterwards. “He even said that he was proud of us for coming so far. It was great just to see him. He just acted like any other person.”

She said that Urie, who co-created the band in 2004, was very down to Earth and humble.

“He was really laid back,” she said. “I didn’t expect that.”

Weeks later, Shawn is still surprised by the attention that his daughter's letter got. 

“I had people from Europe and South Africa, Philippines, Hong Kong messaging me,” he said. “It was everywhere.”

“For what she went through with her 20-hour operation, I’d do anything for that little girl.”