Operation: Force of Hope Part II

If you have been following the story so far, you know that back in August I began a crusade to save a young woman's life. Nadine Sfeir had been battling brain cancer and her could not afford the medical costs of her last resort, an experimental treatment only offered abroad and not covered by her health insurance. Nadine's battle ended on Thanksgiving this year. She passed at home in the arms of her family.

I knew when I took this mission on that it was a long shot. "Never tell me the odds" isn't just a cool thing Han Solo says- it's a promise I made that no matter how bleak things may look, or how impossible someones plight may seem, to support them, encourage them, and help them fight back. Everyone deserves a chance to fight, win or lose. Nadine needed our help, and we answered her call.

When Nadine died, it hurt. It hurt knowing I had failed. It hurt knowing that such a bright and promising person could be taken from us. But most of all, it hurt knowing that Nadine's family would spend this Christmas in mourning. Many times this holiday, my mind drifted from what I was doing to the thoughts of Nadine's family, and especially to her Fiance. I am engaged to be married this coming January, and the thought of losing my wife-to-be during the holidays was too horrible to imagine.

 I never met Nadine. All I know about her I learned through a few fundraising websites, her twitter account, and her obituary. I never heard her voice or saw her face, but there is one thing I have taken away from the words of her loved ones:

Nadine believed in helping people.

I saw it only fit to use the left over money from Nadine's fundraiser to help someone sharing her battle. That person was a little boy named Dom. Dom has spent the last 2 years of his life battling brain cancer, and has decided to take his experience and turn it around by helping other people in need and making other children's days brighter. Dom and his family organised a toy drive for the kids he meets at his monthly treatments and sponsored 14 families this past holiday with  gifts he collected. Dom is an amazing kid with a great family who understands something that I have always believed, that giving back is part of the healing process.

Many of my amazing friends and fellow members of the Makaze Squad put together a care package for Dom and his siblings, including toys, video games, and Subway gift cards (where Dom likes to eat after chemo). Along with this package Dom's family received a giant check from Darth Vader in the amount of $1,000 to help with Dom's treatment and projects. The members of the Black Ice Squad in the Wisconsin Garrison of the 501st made the day extra special by adding their own gifts and suiting up for a very special visit to Dom's family to deliver the package. I think these photos say it all. A huge thanks to all the troopers involved, especially Briana Petersen, and to Maci Lynn Bates who set me up with Dom through her amazing 'Little Warriors' program. It was a mad flurry of emails, shipping, and snowstorms, but in the end it turned out great.

In the end, I am still sad about losing Nadine's battle. I hope that in some way it may comfort her family to know that we fought for her, and that we paid tribute to her in a beautiful way.
 I will never forget her fight.
 But the war goes on.
 I may not win this war in my lifetime, but with kids like Dom are out there, I know someone will.

-TK-66613
"Never Tell Me the Odds"

Check out Dom's page:
https://www.facebook.com/PayingItForwardJediStyle

And Little Warriors:
https://www.facebook.com/littlewarriors.acs

Operation: Force of Hope- Mission Complete

Four months ago I began a crusade to raise funds to help save a young woman's life.

On the evening of November 26th that mission ended, as Nadine Sfeir died in the embrace of her loved ones. She was home for the Holidays. My deepest condolences go out to her friends and family, for their great loss.

I didn't know, right away. I work in retail and the holidays are a busy time for me, and though some people close to me were aware of Nadine's passing it was kept from me, for fear that it would compromise my mental state on what was to be a twenty hour work day, and the busiest day of the year (Thanksgiving into black Friday). It was a well-meaning decision, that unfortunately made it impossible for me to attend the funeral the following Saturday to pay my respects to the girl who I never met, but fought hard to save.

It wasn't until earlier today that I happened across her fundraising page and discovered she had passed.

I knew, of course, when I started this that it was a long shot. That Nadine was in very dire straits, that the costs of her treatment were very very high, that the procedures were experimental. But to be human is to dream, and my dream was that through the kindness of many Nadine could be saved. That her family could rejoice in her recovery, that science and ingenuity would succeed in time to save her life.

I dared to hope that Nadine would live. Knowing what I know now, I would have done it all over again.
Because no one is in this fight alone.

I would like to take the time to thank Everyone who donated to the cause and purchased patches to help Nadine finish the fight. Altogether nearly $2,000 were raised in our fundraiser alone, $1,000 of which had already been posted to Nadine's fundraiser page (I learned of her passing bacause we were nearing the $2,000 mark and I was preparing to post the next $1,000 deposit). Nadine's total fundraiser raised over $55,000 which I have been told will be put toward outstanding medical bills and then the remainder donated to to the Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research in memory of Nadine.

Thank you to all the troopers and civilians who donated to help Nadine. I salute you.

Ashley Sandland
Whitney Hayes
Savoie Troy
Joel Ruprecht
Leighton Tomkins
Yutaka Tanaka
Takefumi Tenshima
Inao Yoshida
Valter Santos
Oliver Diez
Milt nation
Linda Crispien
Edwin Palmero
Dan Kohnke
Wade Gadsby
Gaby Navarro
Dennis Evander,
Maxim Fris
Hideki Shima
Andy Wolf
Gary Collins Sr.
James Cembrook
Kristy Anderson
Roberto Vilchis Portillo
Jeroen Joosten
Steven Garcia
Jason Neurath
Patric Bebie
Yutaka Tanaka
Paul Barnett
M. Ozeroglu
Bernhard Sihler
Tim Cubis
Eric Hartman
Stacey Kiefer
Michael Knowles
Diana Yareli Guerrero cruz
Ted Rivera
Julian Kong
Brenda Shields
Jake Baker
Toni Ali 
Steve Page
Charles Judd
Keven Marion
Adam Goetz
Stephan Petry
Christian Lorkowski
Göverim Osman
Harrison Faigen
Sam Parkin
Ross Moneypenny
Brian Ganninger
Sebastian Koch
John Ferarra
Colin Wells
Sean Mazurek

My Holiday will be a little darker this Christmas, knowing that Nadine's family will be mourning their immense loss. I will take the time at some point, to visit her grave and pay my respects to the girl that fought so hard and bravely.

If you know me, you know I already have a plan for the remaining $1,000. The fundraiser will continue, as previously stated, through the 21st of December, and the remaining funds will be diverted to an as yet unannounced project of a similar nature.

The battle is lost, but the war goes on.

Never tell me the odds.

-TK-66613