December 14, 2017

November 4th was a bitter sweet night for Kent and I. On this night we had our First Annual Fundraiser in Remembrance of Matteo. Matteo’s favorite painting was Starry Night. He came home one day from school, and changed the background on the computer to the painting. He was ecstatic when he received a replica for his bedroom. Maybe it’s the blues, the whimsical nature of Van Gogh’s style or simply the beautiful mystery of the stars, but it struck him, and we knew that somehow this night had to be connected to his love for this painting. And so, the “Remembering Matteo: A Starry Night Fundraiser” was born.

One thing that has always struck Kent and I during Matteo’s journey was the kindness and goodness of the people we encountered along the way, many of whom were strangers. It is a big reason why we wanted to "give back", especially to the place where Matteo spent the last few weeks of his life, the Rotary Flames House. We asked them, “what do you need?” and “how can we help you?” Their request: over the last decade, a new generation of highly portable ultrasound technology has led to the widespread use of point of-care ultrasound (POCUS). POCUS is utilized at the bedside to quickly and accurately diagnose what is causing a symptom to be able to offer the best care management possible. For many children and families in palliative care, going to the hospital for an X-ray or Ultrasound is contrary to their hopes to have as much time as they can together in the comfort of their own home or in a hospice. Like the stethoscope, portable ultrasound is a tool that increases the doctor’s diagnostic confidence and could make big differences to treatment decisions, and therefore to symptom control. POCUS would enable Rotary Flames House to provide faster symptom relief. If this could help families and children on their journey, we knew we had to do it.

From the moment, we mentioned doing such an event, goodness and generosity was once again overflowing. Darcy offered the venue instantly, and he and Cinzia donated their time, talents and treasures without batting an eye. Donors for the wine and spirits were found, silent auction item rolled in from everywhere, financial donations started coming in, friends and family gave of their time and people bought tickets to attend the event.

On the night of the event, we were enveloped by people who wanted to support us and this wonderful cause, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t hard. We would do anything to have Matteo physically with us….writing a list to Santa that included an Apple Watch or an iPhone 10 for Christmas… we would do anything to have him physically here. But in a way, I don’t think anyone would have been able to deny his presence among us that evening. It is Matteo who is our star in the darkness of night and we look to him for guidance and inspiration. When he was here or now in heaven amongst the stars, Matteo pulls the strings. Looking around that evening, we witnessed his ability to call people to action. That evening we had evidence of how one little boy can still be acting and inspiring.

And the event was a success. Ticket sales generated $17,443.08 . Silent auction sales made $14,964.77. Donations that came into the Matteo Shafer Legacy Fund were $12,546.62. And the remainder was topped off by past donations. We met our target! On behalf of the children and families that are going to be helped by this piece of equipment: THANK YOU!

For those who helped make this Matteo inspired evening a success and for helping make our star shine a little brighter than the rest, thank you.

In one of the stars

I shall be living

In one of them

I shall be laughing

And so it will be

as if all the stars

were laughing

when you look

at the sky at night

- The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery

PS. Today we went to the Children's to give the "big cheque". We might be the ones in the picture, but you're the ones who made it happen.