I don't know if anybody else knew this story, but I thought I'd share.
Katie Johnson was the daughter of a Star Wars fan, Albin Johnson, founder of the 501st Legion, a group of fans who dress up and do charity work.
Katie had brain cancer and passed away at seven.
But the years leading up to that were filled with a lot of support from around the world. Some of that is chronicled here, including a get-well video from George Lucas and Hayden Christiansen some japanese fans arranged.
The R2-D2 builders club also sent over a specially made, fully functional R2-KT just for her. It was like an R2-D2 only pink instead of blue. She loved it.
The R2-KT has since become a bit of an icon, and even went to the big convention they had in LA this year.
Anyways, I'd never heard this story before. Thought it was sweet and wanted to share.
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
That's a great story. I never even thought of trying to build an R2. I am an engineer and a robot fan.
Ok, I know what my winter project will be now.
Posted by AutumnWind (Member # 9124) on :
Wow this was great! Thank you for sharing it!
Edit* It was great to see people coming together to bring happiness to Katie and trying to help a father/family help in anyway that they can. It is always heartbreaking to see one taken away so early.
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :