The Miami SOL honored 17-year-old Nathalie Fecteau, who made the valiant choice to donate her bone marrow to her younger brother Francois, in turn saving him from dying of cancer. She was recognized as the 12th SHERO of the season during the season’s second afternoon SOL Kids Camp Day game. Nathalie took the spotlight in a special halftime on-court ceremony during the 12:30 p.m. game vs. the Sacramento Monarchs at the AmericanAirlines Arena on Wednesday, July 17.

At halftime, the AA Arena lights will dimmed as Nathalie’s parents, Helen and Francois, as well as brother Alex, 13, presented her with an official WNBA basketball autographed by the entire SOL team and an official customized SOL jersey with her name on it.

When Nathalie received a call at school one day saying her bone marrow was a perfect match to her 15-year-old brother’s, tears came to her eyes, as she knew she would be able to save her brother’s life. This past May, Nathalie spent six days in the hospital undergoing a series of procedures to extract the bone marrow from her body. After four sessions of about five hours each, Nathalie’s body grew physically exhausted. On June 6, Francois successfully underwent a bone marrow transplant, and he has his big sister to thank.

Nathalie is about to enter her senior year at Dr. Michael M. Krop High School, where she is going on her third year in ROTC and serves as Color Guard Commander. She loves to shop, but spends most of her free time working at a real estate company and with her boyfriend Carlos. Nathalie says this experience has given her a new appreciation for life.

Francois was diagnosed with T-Cell Lymphoma in August 2000, and he has spent the past two years going through major radiation and chemotherapy throughout his body. Unable to handle the treatments any longer, a bone marrow transplant was vital. Nathalie and their younger brother Alex were both tested, but Nathalie came up a perfect match. In addition, it has been Francois’s wish to collect 350,000 “get well” cards with small prayers and words of encouragement. All cards can be sent directly to Miami Children’s Hospital, 3100 S.W. 62nd Ave., Third Floor, Miami, Fla., 33155. Currently, Francois is out of the hospital, but under careful watch by his doctors, so he was unable to attend the game.