Brown senior surprises her mom on The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Julia Cabrales, a senior at Brown, and her sister, surprised their mother, Mindy, who is a 14-year breast cancer survivor and Ellen’s number one fan, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Mindy, who was just excited to finally have won tickets to the show, attended it unaware that she would be called onto the stage or that her daughters, who she had not seen together in almost a year, would be there as well.

Julia is pictured in the green shirt, her sister, Alexa, on the far left, and her mother, Mindy, next to Ellen

That day, Mindy’s dreams came true. Not only did she meet Ellen, but she even received her dream Halloween costume, a customized suit of Ellen underwear.

Julia shared  more information with the Tab about how the surprise unfolded and about the joy of the experience.

How long have you and your mom been fans of Ellen?

My mom has been her biggest fan for over a decade. My sister and I grew up watching her show with my parents.

How did you and your sister come up with the idea to surprise your mom on the show?

Alexa and I have been writing letters to Ellen on her website about my mom for a couple of years now. One night a few weeks ago my mom called me while I was on my way to the library, and she said, “I got tickets!” She was crying and I remember that on that night I wrote to the show again for the fifth or sixth time explaining my mom’s story and how she is Ellen’s biggest fan. The original plan was not even for her to be on the show. I just wanted Ellen to at least say “hi” to my mom, because that alone would make her entire life. The producers also just happened to see my letter at the right time. They gave me a call, then we Skyped, and, before I knew it, they told my sister and I that they were flying us out to L.A. for the show.

What was it like being on stage?

It was surreal. The lights, the music, the audience. And Ellen was there! We were shaking right before going on stage. I remember walking up the two steps onto the stage and telling myself, “Do not fall. You cannot fall.” It was also really cool to see how the show was actually set up. I watch it every day, so actually being there was incredible.

On the show, it was mentioned that your mom had an incredible perspective on her breast cancer diagnosis. Tell us more about the role that her positivity has had on your life.

My mother was diagnosed in 2001 with stage two breast cancer. Her first day of intensive chemotherapy was on September 11^th, 2001. She was so scared, but everybody’s eyes were on the TV, and understandably so. She quickly used the experience to change her outlook on her diagnosis. I remember her telling me once, “I have a chance to survive, but the people in those towers and on that plane don’t. I need to change my attitude and do what I can to stay on this planet.”

From that point on she was very positive about her diagnosis, even though everyone around her was very sad and scared. We thought she was going to die, but she was the strongest one out of all of us. Her attitude for us was to roll up our sleeves and fight it. We rallied around her positive and determined energy then, and still rally around it today.

What was it like seeing your mom’s heartfelt reaction to seeing you and your sister walk on the stage?

It was incredible. When we finally got up there, my mom was shaking and crying, which made me cry right away. Whenever my mom cries, I cry. We hadn’t been together as a family for almost a year, so for her being on Ellen’s show was one thing, but seeing us all together was another. I knew she was in disbelief about it, because during the interview kept poking us to see if it was all real.

Just getting to see my mom and sister at once, even for just one day, made it the best day ever. I will never ever forget it.

Click here to watch the tear-jerking excerpt of the episode.