11/27/2025
We are honored to share some truly meaningful news.
Paddle Out has been invited for a private screening at Stanford University Medical Center on Friday, December 5th — a full-circle moment that brings Melissa’s story back to the community that cared for her so deeply.
This special event is being hosted by the Division of Medical Psychiatry, the Stanford Lung & Heart–Lung Transplant Team, and the Adult Cystic Fibrosis Team. Our thanks to Dr. José Maldonado and the Stanford Hospital administration, whose support made this screening possible.
Melissa received pivotal care at Stanford throughout her journey, and returning with this film to the very people who walked beside her — surgeons, pulmonologists, psychiatrists, nurses, coordinators, and transplant teams — is incredibly moving. Their compassion and dedication shaped so much of her story.
A special tribute goes to Dr. Yelizaveta Sher, whose extraordinary compassion and strength guided Melissa through some of her most difficult and courageous chapters. Sharing Paddle Out at Stanford honors the humanity and care that helped carry her through. Dr. Sher wrote in her invitation to the Stanford teams: “This movie provides an intimate view into the life of an incredible young woman living her passions while coping with her medical illness… This movie is especially close to our Stanford community. I already saw it, and it was magnificent!”
We are deeply grateful for this moment — bringing Melissa’s light, love, and courage back to where so much of her journey unfolded.
Thank you for continuing to walk this journey with us.
