Jillian Franko decided to create paintings for a famous couple whose story inspired her.

And it turns out that her gifts — and her story — inspired them, and tens of thousands of others.

While Franko was hoping to present Derek Hough of “Dancing with the Stars” with the paintings, she didn’t think a video of their meeting would become viral on social media — with close to 40,000 “likes” and more than 1,500 comments on Facebook.

“I really never expected anything like this to happen,” said Franko, of the Tamaqua area.

Franko has Larsen’s syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that impacts the development of bones. She was born with club feet; dislocations of her knees, hips and elbows; and severe cervical kyphosis, and has to use a wheelchair.

Her right hand — the one she uses to paint — is fixed in place, but despite her limited mobility and range of motion, she finds ways to adapt, work and create.

“I’ve always known about Derek Hough but I have been following him and his wife (professional dancer Hayley Erbert) for some time,” Franko said of their social media posts. “A few years ago, she went through a traumatic experience while she was performing on stage.”

Hayley suffered a life-threatening hematoma from a burst blood vessel and needed emergency brain surgery, Franko said.

“The doctors told her and Derek that she is probably not going to be who she was before the accident,” Franko said. “They didn’t think she was going to be able to walk, or dance again — and even if she did, it wouldn’t be at the level she was previously at.”

Franko said Hayley was determined to heal.

“She really made this miraculous recovery. She is back on stage. She is dancing again. She is on the tour again with him,” Franko said.

Franko said she was impacted by Hayley’s journey.

“It’s always inspiring to see somebody overcome something, whatever the obstacles are — to get back to doing what they love I think that’s really inspiring,” she said.

The couple would face another setback when they lost a baby to a miscarriage. But they recently welcomed a healthy baby girl.

Finding focus

Franko decided to focus on the couple for what she called her “winter project.”

“When the weather is bad, I get trapped in the house, so I really try to find something more to occupy my time,” she said. “I try to do something more in-depth.”

She recalled the video announcement the Houghs made to announce their pregnancy.

“It was of them facing each other, and the sun was coming in just at what looked like the perfect spot. Visually, and from what it represented, I liked that scene,” Franko said. “So that was my winter project.”

After putting in shifts at her full-time job in accounting, Franko would hit the canvas. Pleased with how the painting was turning out, she made a video of the work in progress, posted it to her Instagram — and tagged Hough.

Hough speaks out

Hough commented with a “Wow!” and shared it to his Instagram stories. And once it was finished, she filmed a “reveal” for the painting and added a text noting that she would like to present it to Hough at his July 31 dance tour, “Derek Hough Symphony of Dance Encore,” at the Hershey Theater.

“He commented on it, saying ‘Wow! So beautiful. You are so talented. All the time dedicated to this painting is so appreciated. You are so wonderful. I can’t wait to meet you and see this piece in person and give you a hug,’ ” Franko said.

She also painted a landscape with a rainbow taken from a social media post after the couple’s baby was born, and added another painting of “Dancing with the Stars” winner Robert Irwin.

Presenting her masterpiece

While Franko had tickets to the show, she couldn’t “add” the meet-and-greet because seats attached to it weren’t accessible for her wheelchair.

Despite that, she and her mother, Celeste Franko, headed to the show and hoped for the best. At the security gate, the two told the guard about the gifts for Hough.

The guard — who worked for the venue — tried her best. And after some time, someone from Hough’s team met the Frankos and invited them backstage.

“That’s when we got to meet him,” Franko said.

Celeste presented Hough with the first painting.

“He said, ‘Oh wait, I remember this!’ ” Franko recalled. “It clicked. I think he remembered seeing me in the (Instagram) video.”

While those who attended the meet-and-greet were able to exchange a few quick words with Hough before having their photos snapped, Franko got his undivided attention.

Hough asked about the artwork.

“I said, I don’t know if you noticed, but the painting is actually done in individual panels. I told him that due to my limited range of motion, I can’t paint big pictures,” she said. “I do smaller panels and then put them together at the end to make the whole picture.

“He was so amazed and so grateful that I created everything for him,” she said.

Celeste believed she spotted a tear forming in Hough’s eye when he saw the rainbow landscape.

“It was a sentimental piece representing everything they’ve been through in losing the baby and then finally having a child of their own,” Franko said.

Going viral

After the two spoke for a bit, Hough handed his phone to a photographer, then asked Franko to repeat her story as the photographer filmed.

And from there, Hough posted the footage — along with clips from Franko’s own social media — onto his Facebook.

In the Aug. 2 post, he wrote, “Wow, so beautiful. Jillian Franko | Artist art reminds me what’s possibly when you focus on what you CAN do. Even with the challenges she faces she has created a method to not just overcome but to create beauty and share her gifts, talent and passion with the world. Thank you for this Gift, and the Gift of your example.”

Since then, it’s received almost 40,000 “likes” and “loves” and more than 1,500 comments.

“I just got off a long shift at the hospital and am literally about to cry tears of joy,” one commenter posted.

Another wrote to Jillian, “Thank you for giving us all an upper today of what you’re capable of.”

Additional comments are similar, and commend Franko on her art and kindness.

Following their meeting, the Frankos were invited to a question-and-answer session with Hough.

As Hough was walking down the aisle to meet the crowd, Jillian said he said, “’Look at this beautiful painting that I just got from my friend Jillian’ — and everyone was clapping. I thought they were just clapping for him. But they were clapping for me,” Franko said.

Franko features her portraits, still life works and landscapes on Instagram at “@jillianm_art.”