Nina Poeta
You’ll find hundreds of short messages from young people packed with support, solidarity, hope and love.
The recipient of all those messages is 16-year-old Seymour High School junior Nina Poeta, a gymnast and cheerleader who is starting a journey she rather not take.
Nina was having headaches for awhile. She thought it was a sinus infection, at worst.
She went for an MRI and learned Wednesday that a tumor had developed in her brain. She begins cancer treatment Monday, Nov. 25 at the Smillow Cancer Hospital in New Haven.
It’s a challenge, but at her side are family, friends, and now — thousands of strangers on Facebook and Twitter.
Elizabeth Pisano, a Seymour resident and a close friend of the Poetas, wanted to do something to help her friends after learning the news.
Turns out she was not alone.
Pisano launched the Poeta family fund on GoFundMe, a simple, yet very powerful website, that connects donors with causes.
Pisano hoped to raise $25,000 to help the Poetas as they move forward.
The page launched at 6 p.m. Thursday. The $25,000 goal was blown away by the time the sun came up Friday.
Donations are still being accepted and a new goal of $50,000 was established at 8:30 a.m. Friday.
You can help by clicking this link.
In addition to Nina, the Poeta family includes mom, Dorie, dad, John, an 20-year-old college student Cara.
The family is hanging in there.
“They are being very upbeat and strong,” Pisano said. “I’m very impressed by the way they are handling themselves.”
Pisano said Nina is extremely sweet, polite and is a very talented athlete. It comes across through Nina’s statements on social media.
Nina has taken to Twitter herself a bunch of times to comment on what’s happening. At one point her Twitter stream was a steady stream of “thank yous” directed at well-wishers.
But she clearly couldn’t keep up with the tidal wave of good vibes coming her way.
“So crazy to think that all these people are praying, donating, and Tweeting all for me… I’m the luckiest girl in the world,” she posted.
On Friday morning she was kidding about her newfound fame and wishing happy birthday to a friend.
“Went from 400 followers to almost 1,100 since last night…I think I’m famous,” she joked.
The embedded list below shows just a fraction of the #NinaStrong posts on Twitter.
View “undefined” on StorifyPisano said Friday morning that people have been contacting her to organize other fundraisers to show their solidarity with the Poeta family. Those events are in the earliest stages of being organized. People who want to get involved can e‑mail her.
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