Presto-a RUSH fan! Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Let's HELP a fellow RUSH fan & Cancer Survivor HELP others BEAT Cancer! Come on TRF! Samantha Dyar experienced something that most RUSH fans could only dream about. She was 16 yrs old and on July 20, 2008 she got to spend a day behind the scenes at a RUSH concert and got to hang out with Geddy, Alex and Neil. She also got called to the stage and had a song dedicated to her by the band. The only downside, she was there courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation because she had cancer. Rather than trying to tell her story, read the letter that she wrote after that very exciting day and night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h244/gobrownstd54/Samantha-with-RUSH.jpg Wish Granted I looked out to where, soon, 10,000 people would be standing to hear the band that I was about to meet. It was surreal. Ever since I was four, I had dreamed of meeting them. I had wanted to meet them for most of my life. As I grew, they became some of my heroes. Then when I was diagnosed with cancer in August of 2007, my world changed. The one thing that remained consistent was my family and their music. Three months into treatment, Make-a-Wish, a nonprofit organization, came to me and told me that I had a wish. I could do anything but get a car or a swimming pool. The things that I could do were numerous. I thought about it until the day they came to get my wish. Finally making my decision, I told them that I wanted to meet Rush. The morning of July 20th, we went to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Charlotte, North Carolina. We met with the head of security the band liaison, Kevin Ripa, who gave my family and I a tour of the stage, backstage and the dressing rooms. I got to meet the techs for the band: Bucky, the guitar tech, Gump, the drum tech, and Russ, the bass and keyboard tech. I even got to sit at Neil Peart's drum kit and hold Alex Lifeson's 1976 Gibson es355. After that we went to the back to wait for the bands arrival. I sat in on a security meeting and then I went back onto the stage to meet them. I first saw Geddy Lee. I was in awe. He smiled and gave me a hug. We started to talk a little when I saw a man in a white shirt and baseball cap come up. I did not notice who it was at first, thought he was just some guy, then I looked again. It was Neil Peart, one of my heroes. My emotions overcame me and I started to cry. At that point Neil gave me a hug. The last to arrive on stage was Alex Lifeson. He was a good natured person and a fun person to talk to. I told him that I listened to the song "Hope" over and over during my chemo treatments and the song meant a lot to me. That made him smile. After a little talking, the band went to their respective parts of the stage for the sound check. I went off the stage and to the rail at the front row. They played a few songs including Subdivisions, The Trees, and Ghost of a Chance. I then took a moment to take in where I was and what I was doing. I engraved everything on my mind, forgetting all else. It was like being in a perfect world filled with music. I went back on stage and Alex played the song Hope for me, which made me cry because of what it meant to me during my treatment. When the sound check was over, the band signed a few things including my copy of "Roadshow". Neil signed it "To Samantha, You can get back on! Neil Peart" I told him that my illness was like the lyrics in Farcry that go "some days I feel I'm ahead of the wheel and the next it's rolling over me". Neil also gave me the sticks he used for the sound check. Alex and Geddy gave me a bunch of picks. Geddy also gave me a "Henhouse" t-shirt. All generous gifts. I was also able to tell the band what their music has meant to me and my family, and also thank them for it. Then, the meet was over. It was an amazing 2 hours for me and my family. But the night was just beginning. We went to the concert we had 5th row seats. During the first couple of songs, Kevin Ripa called me up on stage. After the song Ghost Of A Chance, Geddy walked up to the mic to talk to the crowd for the first time of the night. After saying hello, he mentioned that they had "a ton of material" for the crowd. He then said "but first, we would like to dedicate this next song to my friend Sam, this is from Hold Your Fire it's called Mission". Mission is one of my very favorite songs and Geddy told me while we were talking that it was his favorite song to play. For the third time that day, I cried. Watching the band play that song from on stage was overwhelming especially since they were playing it for me. The rest concert was phenomenal, and the day was one that I will never forget. My Dad and I also attended the Atlanta show 2 days later (THANKS PHILLIP!). I met many people there that were also at the Charlotte show that asked me about the song dedication. I was nice meeting everyone. I just told them that Make-A-Wish and Rush made it all possible. It was an unreal couple of days! Thank you Rush and thank you Make-A-Wish! Make-a-Wish is an organization that grants once an a lifetime "wishes" to children with diseases like Cancer, Spina Abifida, Sickle Cell Animea, and other illnesses. It is an amazing organization. They made this such a special day for me and did everything in their power to make an awesome experience. The organization runs entirely on donations. If you would like to donate, see inspiring stories, or volunteer go to www.wish.org. At last I would like to give a list of my favorite Rush songs * Resist * Mission * Test for Echo * Summertime Blues * Working Them Angels * Totem * Hope * Far Cry * Malignant Narcissism * Second Nature * Marathon * Force Ten * Everyday Glory My favorite albums are Test for Echo and Snakes and Arrows. Thank you for letting me tell my story. Samantha Dyar ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now, the words of her father, John, who is a member of The RUSH Forum, describing how she is today: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sam is doing good. She celebrated 4 years cancer free in December. She is a sophomore at the University of Georgia this year majoring in International Studies. She is very involved in charities that raise money for cancer research and the hospital that treated her, Children's Health Care of Atlanta. One organization that is very close to her heart is "UGA Miracle" (google it). Having cancer does not define Sam, but it did define her direction in life. She always tells me that making money in her life is not important to her. All she wants to do is help people. I am very proud of the young woman she has become. She first saw Rush when she was 5 (TFE tour). We have seen every tour since multiple times. She loves their music and wishes she could have been around for their whole career like I have. Sam still talks about her wish day and how special the band made her feel that day. Even when we go see them now, many members of the crew remember her as the " Make A Wish Kid". She currently is trying to raise money for UGA Miracle. She has committed to raise $250.00 and still has $200.00 to go and only a couple of weeks to raise it. If you would like to donate to something close to her heart, help her out by going to Sam's UGA Miracle Donation page. She would really appreciate it. Thanks for listening. John ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below is the link to her site where you can donate any amount and it is secure and tax deductible. You can also see Samantha now and read her story in her own words that explains how her bout with cancer started at the age of 10. Her goal is $250.00 and she is at $50.00 right now. TRF, LET'S SUPPORT A FELLOW RUSH FAN IN HER FIGHT TO SAVE OTHER CHILDREN SUFFERING FROM CANCER! WE CAN DO THIS! IF 20 OF US GIVE HER $10 SHE WILL REACH HER GOAL! WOULDN'T IT BE AMAZING IF TRF EVEN HELPED HER DOUBLE OR TRIPLE THAT GOAL! You can leave a message when you donate and choose whether it can be seen by the public. You can also keep your name and email anonymous. For the message I suggest we put Compliments of a fellow RUSH fan from TheRushForum.com! Here is the link: Sam's UGA Miracle Donation page As a forum we've tried to help RUSH win contests like the time we tried to have them play Countdown on the Space Shuttle, and we lost. This is not a contest and it will cost you money, but it's something we can do! And by doing it, we can help Samantha help save other children unlucky enough to be stricken with cancer. Let's do this! If you decide to give, come back and post to this thread and simply say "I donated" that way the thread will bump to the top of the board and more people will see it and hopefully, donate. To read the story when it appeared on RushIsABand.com, click the following link RushIsABand.com on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 To see pictures from that day click the following link: Samantha's Make-A-Wish to meet RUSH I want to point out, Samantha nor her father requested this thread to be made, but did give full consent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowItIs Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 (edited) That was a touching story. It reaffirms my belief that these 3 guys are wonderful, kind and compassionate human beings. I'm so happy for Sam - what a dream come true! I will see what I can afford this payday. Thanks for posting, Presto! Edit: I went ahead and did it now.... plastic is good for some things Edited February 13, 2012 by HowItIs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-a RUSH fan! Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 QUOTE (HowItIs @ Feb 13 2012, 06:08 AM) That was a touching story. It reaffirms my belief that these 3 guys are wonderful, kind and compassionate human beings. I'm so happy for Sam - what a dream come true! I will see what I can afford this payday. Thanks for posting, Presto! I think it would be so cool if TRF was responsible for helping this girl hit her goal and in turn help so many kids. You can give any amount. And for the record, someone already donated, and it wasn't me. I don't get paid for 3 more days and I literally have nothing right now in my acct. So one person has already donated $35, more than I can afford, as I was only planning on giving about $10, but but I'm gonna try to give more. So whoever it was didn't "bump" the thread so they weren't looking for anyone to realize they donated it. That to me is so freaking cool. But still, if you donate, even $5, just do it anonymously (or not) and respond to the thread simply....I donated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowItIs Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I think that $35 was me. If not, then there's 2 of us I also shared on Facebook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-a RUSH fan! Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 QUOTE (HowItIs @ Feb 13 2012, 06:24 AM) I think that $35 was me. If not, then there's 2 of us I also shared on Facebook. So you did bump the thread! You are so sneaky! And awesome sharing on facebook. I want her to get that goal regardless, but I'd love it if every donation message on there said: Compliments of a fellow RUSH fan from The RUSH Forum!!!!!!! Or I guess just fellow RUSH fan would be ok too! Just for her to know that her brother and sister RUSH fans are supporting her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-a RUSH fan! Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 (edited) QUOTE (HowItIs @ Feb 13 2012, 06:24 AM) I think that $35 was me. If not, then there's 2 of us I also shared on Facebook. You weren't kidding were you!!! I thought you were just joking about donating because now there are 2 donations!! and she went from $50 this morning to $120 right now! You are even sneakier than I originally thought! AWESOME! I'm gonna borrow some cash from a friend just so I can get mine in asap! Edited to say: Even if you aren't giving today or not at all, everyone should go to her page because every time you go a little thermometer goes up and shows how much she is at! Plus you can read the comments and 2 of the 3 donations are RUSH Fans!! Edited February 13, 2012 by Presto-a RUSH fan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowItIs Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-a RUSH fan! Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowItIs Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-a RUSH fan! Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowItIs Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 You rock, Presto! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-a RUSH fan! Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 QUOTE (HowItIs @ Feb 13 2012, 08:10 AM) You rock, Presto! Hey you donated before me!!! You rock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good,bad,andrush Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I don't think I have the means of donating do I just use a credit card? I only have my mum's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-a RUSH fan! Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 QUOTE (Good,bad,andrush @ Feb 13 2012, 10:44 AM) I don't think I have the means of donating do I just use a credit card? I only have my mum's. Unfortunately, I think that is the only way to donate, at least for the purpose of her meeting her goal. But I am sure there is a place you can send a check to the Hospital and put her name in the memo portion. But I will look into it and post the answer. But if your Mom is ok with you using it, and you fill it out with her info as far as her name and billing address etc, you could do that. All the donations so far just say anonymous and then you can post a message. Or you can have your name (or your Mom's name) appear if that is what you want. Regardless, I will look into it and let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samm'sTestforEcho Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Hi everyone, This is Samm, the girl to whom you are donating. I decided to investigate when I woke up this morning and saw 4 emails saying someone has donated to my cause. Of course, it was RUSH fans. It was my wonderful, amazing, extremely extensive RUSH family supporting me as you always have. I just wanted to take a moment to let you know what this means to me and the cause which you are donating your money. All donations go to children's healthcare of atlanta. CHOA is a network of hospitals in Atlanta, GA and have impacted millions of children around the world. They saved my life when I was battling cancer almost five years ago now. Without the hospitals, I would not be here. I would not have met RUSH and got to have all the amazing opportunities I have had. UGA Miracle is more than an organization to me, it is my passion. When I saw that my total went from 0 to $210, I sat in out student's center and cried. I was overjoyed and touched by the kindness of strangers. Thank you so much. all donations go straight to the hospital. Our 24 hour Dance Marathon on March 3-4th. If you have anymore questions, please email me at samanthadyar@yahoo.com. I'd love to answer any questions or just chat. Thank you so much. Really. peace, love, and Samm Dyar International Affairs/Political Science School of Public and International Affairs The University of Georgia 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-a RUSH fan! Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Still don't have an answer about using a check to donate. I mean I know you could, just as you could at any charity, but to help Samantha SURPASS her goal, I am still waiting for that answer. BUT....here is the good news to report. When this thread was posted at 5:00 am Eastern this morning, she had $50 donated. As of this post at about 11:34 am she has....$210 and out of the 6 donations, 4 of them are for sure from TRF. One might be, but they didn't leave any comment. Freaking awesome TRF! This thread and opportunity is just a one time thing. It's not like every fundraiser she ever does again, we will have a thread dedicated to it. This is a rare case where a 16 yr old girl whose Make-A-Wish was to meet RUSH!!! So that said, let's really get some more donations. Even if $5, it's not like you have to feel like that is an insignificant amount or feel like you have to give more because other people did. And again, leaving your name is optional. Four out of the six donations are Anonymous. At this point, even if 20 people gave $5, that is $100 and will blow her goal away. And if everyone had a message that said, From a fellow RUSH fan at The Rush Forum, do you know how cool that would be? I mean regardless of whether it says RUSH fan and TRF or not it would be great to help her demolish her goal. But if we did identify the fact that we are from TRF and are supporting a fellow RUSH fan, when she goes up to announce to her group how much money she's raised, you know she will say "well, I am a fan of RUSH and basically, they all rallied behind me and that's why I tripled my goal" that would be just such an awesome reflection on RUSH and of course TRF! That to me would be so cool. It only takes 2 mins to do it and you are helping kids with cancer. So how much better can it be? So I will stop begging now, but as she says on her donation page, it's for the kids! FTK! Here is the thermometer showing where she's at right now as of this post: http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h244/gobrownstd54/210-raised.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullysue Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Your story is incredible, Samm! Your strength and spirit is truly inspiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. JD Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 QUOTE (Samm'sTestforEcho @ Feb 13 2012, 11:17 AM) Hi everyone, This is Samm, the girl to whom you are donating. I decided to investigate when I woke up this morning and saw 4 emails saying someone has donated to my cause. Of course, it was RUSH fans. It was my wonderful, amazing, extremely extensive RUSH family supporting me as you always have. I just wanted to take a moment to let you know what this means to me and the cause which you are donating your money. All donations go to children's healthcare of atlanta. CHOA is a network of hospitals in Atlanta, GA and have impacted millions of children around the world. They saved my life when I was battling cancer almost five years ago now. Without the hospitals, I would not be here. I would not have met RUSH and got to have all the amazing opportunities I have had. UGA Miracle is more than an organization to me, it is my passion. When I saw that my total went from 0 to $210, I sat in out student's center and cried. I was overjoyed and touched by the kindness of strangers. Thank you so much. all donations go straight to the hospital. Our 24 hour Dance Marathon on March 3-4th. If you have anymore questions, please email me at samanthadyar@yahoo.com. I'd love to answer any questions or just chat. Thank you so much. Really. peace, love, and Samm Dyar International Affairs/Political Science School of Public and International Affairs The University of Georgia 2014 Well said Sam. No wonder I am so proud of you! I always told you that RUSH fans are the best. Of course, you already knew that! Thanks to Presto A Rush Fan and everyone who has donated so far. I am humbled once again by the love and generosity shown by the RUSH family. Only $40.00 to go to reach her goal! Any help anyone can give would be great. The hospital the donations go to is completely non-profit. Please help Sam help the hospital that saved my daughters life. With heart felt thanks, John Dyar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-a RUSH fan! Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 QUOTE (Samm'sTestforEcho @ Feb 13 2012, 12:17 PM)Hi everyone, This is Samm, the girl to whom you are donating. I decided to investigate when I woke up this morning and saw 4 emails saying someone has donated to my cause. Of course, it was RUSH fans. It was my wonderful, amazing, extremely extensive RUSH family supporting me as you always have. I just wanted to take a moment to let you know what this means to me and the cause which you are donating your money. All donations go to children's healthcare of atlanta. CHOA is a network of hospitals in Atlanta, GA and have impacted millions of children around the world. They saved my life when I was battling cancer almost five years ago now. Without the hospitals, I would not be here. I would not have met RUSH and got to have all the amazing opportunities I have had. UGA Miracle is more than an organization to me, it is my passion. When I saw that my total went from 0 to $210, I sat in out student's center and cried. I was overjoyed and touched by the kindness of strangers. Thank you so much. all donations go straight to the hospital. Our 24 hour Dance Marathon on March 3-4th. If you have anymore questions, please email me at samanthadyar@yahoo.com. I'd love to answer any questions or just chat. Thank you so much. Really. peace, love, and Samm Dyar International Affairs/Political Science School of Public and International Affairs The University of Georgia 2014 Samm, Figures I stepped all over your post. Anyway, I just want to thank you for allowing us to help. Personally, and this is honest, helping you out does more for us than it does for you. It makes us feel like we can have an impact and help you, help the kids. Thanks for taking the time to come and thank everyone! What you are doing is awesome and inspiring and I wish I had your attitude when it comes to my own personal situation. Instead of just sitting back after being helped, you are helping others. That is alot more than I can say for the people who helped me when I had a tragic event when I was 17 yrs old. All I did was pout and say why me and still fall into that same thing so many years later. So thanks for letting us help you help the kids, and in turn, help us! And thanks to for granting your wish! And what a great wish btw! QUOTE Well said Sam. No wonder I am so proud of you! I always told you that RUSH fans are the best. Of course, you already knew that! Thanks to Presto A Rush Fan and everyone who has donated so far. I am humbled once again by the love and generosity shown by the RUSH family. Only $40.00 to go to reach her goal! Any help anyone can give would be great. The hospital the donations go to is completely non-profit. Please help Sam help the hospital that saved my daughters life. With heart felt thanks, John Dyar And John, don't thank me, all I did was use yours and Samm's words to let the TRF know what was going on. You should be proud, you have raised an amazingly strong and smart daughter! Especially turning her on to ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liddybuck01 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 unfortunately i cannot afford to donate, but i will bump this thread so others can. i see that samm has raised her goal to $500, which makes sense, since she went over her original goal so fast. i know you people have a few dollars to spare. so, hop to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. JD Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I have talked to Sam a couple of times today and she is overwhelmed with the support the TRF has shown her. The UGA Miracle executive committee is also very happy and thankful. They always want their members to work hard raising money so after they seen that she had reached her goal, they raised it to $500.00! She would be thrilled if she met her new goal. If you can help, it would be greatly appreciated. Remember, UGA Miracle supports Children's Health Care of Atlanta, a non profit hospital. The same hospital that helped her win her bout with cancer. Also, all donations are tax deductible. Thanks to everyone that has helped so far. It means so much to Sam. John Dyar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowItIs Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 QUOTE (Samm'sTestforEcho @ Feb 13 2012, 09:17 AM) Hi everyone, This is Samm, the girl to whom you are donating. I decided to investigate when I woke up this morning and saw 4 emails saying someone has donated to my cause. Of course, it was RUSH fans. It was my wonderful, amazing, extremely extensive RUSH family supporting me as you always have. I just wanted to take a moment to let you know what this means to me and the cause which you are donating your money. All donations go to children's healthcare of atlanta. CHOA is a network of hospitals in Atlanta, GA and have impacted millions of children around the world. They saved my life when I was battling cancer almost five years ago now. Without the hospitals, I would not be here. I would not have met RUSH and got to have all the amazing opportunities I have had. UGA Miracle is more than an organization to me, it is my passion. When I saw that my total went from 0 to $210, I sat in out student's center and cried. I was overjoyed and touched by the kindness of strangers. Thank you so much. all donations go straight to the hospital. Our 24 hour Dance Marathon on March 3-4th. If you have anymore questions, please email me at samanthadyar@yahoo.com. I'd love to answer any questions or just chat. Thank you so much. Really. peace, love, and Samm Dyar International Affairs/Political Science School of Public and International Affairs The University of Georgia 2014 Hi Samm! When I read your story I was in tears: because Make-A-Wish does such wonderful things and because you got to hold the ES355! And because it supports my belief that these 3 guys are beautiful, caring and compassionate. I'm going to be in Atlanta the week of April 10th. I would absolutely love to meet you! PM me if you think that's something you might be willing and able to do. I hope you get to that $500 -- I'm sharing with Rush fans on Facebook, which hopefully will help you do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-a RUSH fan! Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capoetc Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Samm - Donation sent, and posted the link on my Facebook page. You are up to $360 now ... keep up the great work! Oh, and ... Go Gators! (Just a little kidding from the UF grad ...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samm'sTestforEcho Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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