‘Hold my milk’: ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ is the anthem of a Charlotte woman born without eyes and nose

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – At Lions Services, there are rows and rows of machines. It is far too easy to overlook the human element.

“I don’t need easy, I just need possible,” said Cassidy Hooper.

Like most employees at Lions Services, she’s blind.

“I enjoy being able to do things with my hands,” Hooper told Queen City News, often working with a smile on her face.

She stitches pieces used to make military gear. As equipment hums around her, Cassidy listens to the voice inside her head.

“We’re not supposed to sing on the floor because we’re all working. But I do sing a lot internally,” she says.

Just for us, she sang externally. Just wow.

“Streetlights, people,” she sings, giving us her rendition of the 80s smash hit “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

“My favorite Journey song,” said Hooper. “Every time it comes on and I’m with my family, they’re all like ‘Cassidy, it’s your song.’ And I’m like, ‘Yep’ and we just all start belting it out ha-ha.”

What a fitting anthem.

“This is Cassidy’s baby album. When she was first born, she was in NICU for 30 days,” says Susan Hooper, Cassidy’s mother.

Back then, she was overwhelmed.

“In shock at the time, having a baby born with no eyes and no nose, not knowing what to expect out of her life,” she said.

“I told my mom I didn’t want any of these pictures taken, but I’m thankful now that she took them,” Susan says.

“Doctors were able to do several surgeries. The nose you see [now] is real,” Cassidy explains.

At ten days old, she needed a tracheotomy. Because of that, Cassidy couldn’t even speak until she was one.

Since then, she’s made a believer out of everyone.

“Do your best to keep it moving because obstacles might come, but you have to pass through,” Cassidy said.

“Why would we ever doubt that God could do something great?” Susan says now, reflecting on the concerns she had for her baby.

On Mother’s Day, she hit all the high notes of the national anthem at a Charlotte Knights game.

“Oh my gosh!” Susan said.

By now, nothing she accomplishes should be surprising.

“Anytime that I thought, ‘Cassidy, you can’t do this,’ she was like ‘Hold my milk,’” says Susan.

Considering what Cassidy was born without, it seems miraculous she was born with perfect pitch.

She sings barbershop harmonies with the Queen Charlotte Chorus, which has been in the city for some 60 years. The group is rehearsing for an international contest held in October in Columbus, Ohio.

“Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah,” Cassidy and the chorus sing, giving us their twist on The Beatles.

“It’s kind of a euphoria, very therapeutic, very much fun,” Cassidy said.

“It’s her passion, her faith, those things drive her in everything she does,” says Debbie Lovelady, director of Queen Charlotte Chorus.

“I think it’s great that she has an outlet where she can express joy through music,” said Ashley Bouchard, the team coordinator of the chorus.

Cassidy hears beauty everywhere. Even in a factory setting at Lions Services.

“Music tells a story. These machines are music to my ears, “ she says.

If her journey could be summed up in a song, it would be “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

“Streetlights, people,” she said, her voice reaching a crescendo. “I love hitting that note, ha-ha.”

It’s unbelievable, really.

“That was pretty legit!” this reporter told her.

“Thank you,” she replies.