#Bieber4Potter: An 8-Year-Old Girl Fighting Cancer Wants To Meet Her Hero

#Bieber4Potter -- it's not just a hashtag you see on Twitter.

It's not just a wish for Erin Potter to meet her favorite singer.

It's a rallying cry and a prayer for an 8-year-old girl who is fighting cancer for the third time.

The Winning One

Erin has already been through more in her eight years than most will ever experience. 

She was first diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on Feb. 27, 2007. Twice she has fought and beat cancer -- the second time after a bone marrow transplant using cord blood from her baby sister Mary -- and twice it has returned.

Erin, who lives in Kirtland, will return to the hospital Wednesday for chemotherapy in preparation for another bone marrow transplant on July 18.

Jeni Potter, Erin's mother, calls this upcoming transplant "the winning one" on Erin's Caring Bridge site.

Erin's hospital stay will likely be a 6-week stint. During her transplant, she will receive peripheral blood stem cells from a non-related adult donor. (The complicated procedure is best explained by Jeni Potter on Erin's Caring Bridge site.)

Neither this latest complication nor the totality of her tribulations have spoiled Erin's sweet disposition, said Jennifer Cook -- a family friend who launched the Bieber 4 Potter Facebook page.

When asked to describe Erin, Cook replied, "Erin is a ball of energy. A light in the room. Positive. She is a happy little girl."

The rest of the Potter family is staying positive, as well.

"She will beat it again," Jeni Potter wrote in an email. "She can do it. We have the best doctors and nurses taking care of her at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital."

Don't Stop Beliebering

Erin, like many a young girl, loves Justin Bieber.

Cook thought it might be a nice idea to use social media to coax the pop star into meeting Erin.

Cook started a Facebook page and the idea became a movement. It has attracted almost 24,000 subscribers on Facebook and spawned a pair of Twitter streams with a combined 2,000 followers.

They use the hashtags #bieber4potter‬ and ‪#BiebsMeetErin as shorthand for their mission.

Though Justin Bieber has not made any public acknowledgement of the movement, athletes Josh Cribbs and Terrell Owens, comedians Chelsea Handler and Aziz Ansari and castmembers of The Jersey Shore have all tweeted their support for Erin.

Even if Justin Bieber never calls or visits Erin, this love has not been wasted, Erin's friends and family say.

"I feel this event has shown Erin so much support," Cook said. "She has changed the lives of so many people around her. More than 23,000 people are praying for her."

Meeting Bieber would be amazing for Erin, Jeni Potter said. But the love and support the community has shown for her has been just as amazing.

"It is incredible to see how people care for Erin and how they are inspired by her," Potter said. "It is beautiful how they are coming together - friend, family, or stranger - to help her meet JB. No matter if this wish comes true or not, it is great knowing that there are so many people out there thinking of and praying for our little hero."

Here are some ways you can show your support for Erin Potter:

• Visit her Caring Bridge site
• Join her Facebook page and follow either or both of the two Bieber-Potter Twitter feeds
• Keep her in your thoughts and prayers