Roch, NY www.ForKatie.org

Many of you may have noticed that I've had this website in my sig for awhile now. If you haven't visited it already, I encourage you to check it out and sign her guestbook.

This website is devoted to young Katie Johnson who is the daughter of 501st founder Albin Johnson. She was diagnosed with an inoperable form of cancer that is also resisting the chemotherapy and radiation treatments she has undergone.

Through Make A Wish Foundation Katie will be treated to a vacation at Disney next week. I hope she has the best time she possibly can while she's there.

~Doc_Bev

 

Thought I would post this here, per Dion's request (for those of you who don't know Dion, he's the XO of the 501st garrison 'The Northeast Remnant').
***************
Hello everyone,

For those of us in the 501st, most of you already know the news. For
those who are not, please take the time to read this and maybe join
in. Albin is a good friend of mine and very dear to me. Please, if
you can, join in. I am trying to organize a multi fangroup "Card for
Katie" Campaign. It's nothing difficult... just go to your local card
shop.. find a "Thinking of you" card, or something that will bring a
smile to Katie's face, and mail it to her. You can the address of
where to send it in her dad's (Albin) update below. Time is of the
essence here everyone. Fandom has embraced Katie in her long
struggle... we need to let her know that we're still behind her, and
will remain behind her EVERY step of the way.

Thank you. Below is Albin's last post
****************************************************
We met with the doctors on Wednesday to discuss the recent PET scans.
The information confirmed that the gray masses in the MRI scans are
indeed cancerous. The tumor has been growing aggressively and now
threatens Katie's life. The doctors were very direct with us, telling
us that the chemo and radiation could be considered a failure, and that
now medical science had nothing more to offer Katie. We have been told to
prepare for the end. Referrals have been made to Hospice and we are
making arrangements for how we want to treat Katie with 'comfort
medicine' in the final stages of the disease.

We have not been given a concrete timetable. Katie might have weeks,
she might have months. But due to the recent degeneration we've been
seeing in Katie's physical condition, we have to work fast if we want to do
anything special for her. I contacted Make-A-Wish and we have been
granted a Disney trip for the week of June 29th to July 4th and
staying at the village "Give Kids the World". We will be flying Katie's
step-sister down on Monday so she can participate. The cost is
unexpected, but the trip should be much more economical than we'd
normally have to consider, thanks to Make-A-Wish. We will be out of
touch for this week. We have successfully moved into the new house.

Our new address is 300 Braewick Rd Columbia SC 29212. All phone numbers
are the same. Please forgive us as we move in and out of touch.

I want to thank everyone who has prayed and supported us through this
ordeal. I ask that you continue your prayers and think of us as we
are about to enter the roughest part of this experience. Katie will be
treated for pain and discomfort as the cancer spreads, so it is our
hope her suffering will be minimal. The hard job will be for all of us, as
we try to keep a strong face and stay by her side through this.

I am not giving up on God. He is in control. I still believe in
miracles. God will take care of Katie and all of us no matter what
the outcome. By the same token, I am also wise enough to prepare for
whatever contingencies might happen. So preparations are being made.
Again, I would just ask that everyone pray for Katie and our family.

If there is anything you want to do for Katie, I would suggest doing it
sooner rather than later. I promise you we will do whatever it takes
to make her a happy little girl for as long as she is with us.

Thank you and God bless you all.

- Albin Johnson
Katie's dad
***********************************

 

I will bring a card to the meeting tomorrow for folks to sign if they wish.

~Doc_Bev

 

I'll be sending out a card tomorrow to Katie from us (Blums) & The Rebellion. I'm sorry I forgot to get it out of my bag during the meeting so that more people could sign it in person.

EDIT: Here's what I put in the card:

Dear Katie,

We just wanted to let you
know that up here in Rochester, NY
we have been keeping you in our
thoughts for a long time - and
will continue to do so!

We hope you had a super
terrific time visiting Mickey
and all his friends at Disney!

All our love and hopes!

Nicky, Darren & Connor Blum
and all the FanForce, 501st & Rebel Legion
members from Rochester, NY

~Doc_Bev

 

Here's a recent update...

Hello everyone

Just a quick update to let you know that Katie's summer has been a
fantastic one. In the last four weeks, following her Make-A-Wish trip to
Disney World, Katie and her sisters have been very busy. Here are some
highlights:

1 - Toni Sheridan of Make-A-Wish felt moved to help Katie realize some
of the wishes she'd mentioned in her initial interview. One of them was
to be a veterinarian. Toni set it up with a local vet to allow Katie to
be vet for a day! Katie got to treat two dogs and a cat after hours,
including doing bloodwork and full exams. Katie decided to skip the
temperature-taking part, I don't know why She even got a graduation
party and a diploma and a full set of scrubs all done in pink.

2 - Toni pulled an encore by making Katie's love of performing into
another wish! She set it up with the local Workshop Theater here in town
to allow her to make a guest appearance as one of the orphans in Little
Orphan Annie. Allie, Katie, and Emily were all treated like members of
the cast, pampered in the dressing room and adopted as honorary orphans.
Katie got to sit on President Roosevelt's lap in the final production
number - a star was born!

3 - Katie has long wanted a droid from Star Wars to sit by her bed like
one did for Padme in Episode II. Her only suggestion: make R2 pink! Her
sister Allie got the idea of making a pink R2 and dubbing it R2-KT and
before you know it, my friends at the R2 Builders Group were hot on the
project of making Katie her very own droid. Jerry Greene and other
geniuses of robotic design are quickly working on making this dream a
reality. But with time being a big factor in Katie's health, member Andy
Schwartz of Washington, DC was kind enough to mod his R2 with some pink
flair and send it down to keep Katie company until HER droid could be
built. The improvised R2-KT now sits patiently in Katie's room, watching
over her as she sleeps and beeping reassuringly whenever Katie needs
someone to talk to. R2-KT will be here one day, but in the meantime
Katie has a friend.

4 - Jay Lopez, a co-worker of mine, got me in touch with Linda Finnegan
of Kids with a Cause. She was kind enough to get us front-row tickets to
the Hillary Duff concert in Charleston on July 31st! Katie and Allie got
to meet Hillary before the show and hang out with her, then got to watch
her rocking performance. Allie pretty much lived on the edge of the
stage, high-fiving Hillary throughout the show. Thanks so much to Jay
and Linda for making that happen.

This and much more has taken place in July. Kathy and I have worked hard
to make sure that Katie and her sisters have a summer full of fun and
not full of gloom. Thanks to the efforts and kindness of our wonderful
friends, Katie and her sisters have enjoyed some memories that will
comfort us in the days ahead.

If you'd like to see pictures of these and other events from this July,
just go by our imageevent site in the new folder: Katie's Summer:
http://imageevent.com/tk210/family/katiessummer. There's even video
clips of her meeting Hillary Duff!

Katie is a very happy girl right now, in spite of the challenges she
faces. She tells me to tell you all thank you for the cards and presents
- they mean so much. Continue to pray for us and for Katie. God bless
you all for your help.

- Albin and Kathy Johnson