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'Darth Vader Girl' is the most heartwarming hospital story you'll see today.

A long 12 years ago, in a Los Angeles far, far away ... Noah Bella Michaelis was born with a congenital heart defect.

She was diagnosed with a combination of heterotaxy syndrome, dextrocardia, and a single-ventricle defect — meaning, among other things, that her heart formed on the opposite side of her body.

She's also a huge fan of "Star Wars," although the verdict's still out on whether that's a congenital condition or something that developed over time.


Noah with her parents, who are totally dressed as Han Solo and Princess Leia.

In her short life so far, Noah has already undergone four open-heart surgeries, and numerous lengthy hospital stays.

In "Star Wars" terms, that's kind of like battling your best friend on the lava planet of Mustafar, but with less dramatic posturing and more endless bouts of hospital-induced boredom interspersed with moments of fear and relief.

Noah passes her recovery time in the hospital with homework, marathons of Minecraft and Settlers of Catan, and working with her parents on her lemonade stand and backyard festival fundraisers that have helped to raise more than $60,000 so far for the Hopeful Hearts Foundation.

GIF from "Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith."

But after too much time spent in hospitals, even a resilient kid like Noah needs an extra-special pick-me-up.

Fortunately, there are organizations like the For the Win Project that offer fantastical surprises and superheroic opportunities for kids like Noah who are stuck in the children's ward for weeks or months at a time.

When a nurse asked Noah who her favorite superhero was — not-so-inconspicuously-inquiring because of an upcoming kind of special visit — Noah offered a rather unconventional answer: Darth Vader.

Yep. Noah's favorite superhero is ... this guy:

GIF from "Star Wars IV: A New Hope."

OK, so maybe the Jedi-turned-Dark-Lord-of-the-Sith isn't exactly the first role model that comes to mind.

For most of us, the iconic image of Darth Vader emerging from the smoke for his first on-screen appearance is, erm, well, not something we usually associate with "happy thoughts."

When you think about it, though, Noah's affinity for Vader makes a lot of sense.

"I always found Darth Vader to be such a strong character," Noah says. "I'm short for my age, and I liked that he was really tall and so it made me feel tall."

Granted, Noah probably doesn't relate to the immaculate-Force-conception or the Tusken Raider attacks or the terrible tinny dialogue about sand, but still.

Like Noah, Vader has lived through plenty of physical hardships. He endured immense physical pain and had to rely on technology to save his failing body, just like she has, and he still managed to become the second-most-powerful person in the galaxy.

And, oh yeah, let's not forget that time he redeemed himself by overthrowing the Emperor and restoring balance to The Force. That was cool too.

"Being Darth Vader kind of helped me step away from being in the hospital," Noah says.

For The Win Project arranged a special "Star Wars"-themed celebration for Noah at her favorite restaurant , complete with stormtroopers and a "Darth Noah" photoshoot. They even surprised her with messages from some special celebrity guests, which made her smile brighter than the twin suns of Vader's home planet of Tatooine. Somehow. It's even more delightful than it sounds.

Sure, the photoshoot and celebrity messages aren't a cure. But for one day, Darth Noah got to revel in the stoic, black-caped confidence of her hero.

And sometimes that's all you need to keep going.

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But let’s be honest: In a traditional domestic setting, dogs have fewer chores they can do as they would on a farm or as part of a rescue unit. A doggy mom in Vancouver Island, Canada had fun with her dog’s purposeful uselessness by sharing the 5 “chores” her pitbull-Lab mix does around the house.

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Let's not curse any more children with bad names, shall we?

Some parents have no trouble giving their children perfectly unique, very meaningful names that won’t go on to ruin their adulthood. But others…well…they get an A for effort, but might want to consider hiring a baby name professional.

Things of course get even more complicated when one parent becomes attached to a name that they’re partner finds completely off-putting. It almost always leads to a squabble, because the more one parent is against the name, the more the other parent will go to bat for it.

This seemed to be the case for one soon-to-be mom on the Reddit AITA forum recently. Apparently, she was second-guessing her vehement reaction to her husband’s, ahem, avant garde baby name for their daughter, which she called “the worst name ever.”

But honestly, when you hear this name, I think you’ll agree she was totally in the right.

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However, according to Dr. Sermed Mezher, an NHS doctor in the UK, peeing clear isn’t always a sign of being healthy.

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Going on a cruise can be an incredible getaway from the stresses of life on the mainland. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t an element of danger when living on a ship 200-plus feet high, traveling up to 35 miles per hour and subject to the whims of the sea.

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Kudos to the heroes who had 90 seconds to save lives in the Key Bridge collapse

The loss of 6 lives is tragic, but the dispatch recording shows it could have been so much worse.

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The workers who responded to the Dali's mayday call saved lives with their quick response.

As more details of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore emerge, it's becoming more apparent how much worse this catastrophe could have been.

Just minutes before 1:30am on March 26, shortly after leaving port in Baltimore Harbor, a cargo ship named Dali lost power and control of its steering, sending it careening into a structural pillar on Key Bridge. The crew of the Dali issued a mayday call at 1:26am to alert authorities of the power failure, giving responders crucial moments to prepare for a potential collision. Just 90 seconds later, the ship hit a pylon, triggering a total collapse of the 1.6-mile bridge into the Patapsco River.

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Yale's pep band had to miss the NCAA tournament. University of Idaho said, 'We got you.'

In an act of true sportsmanship, the Vandal band learned Yale's fight song, wore their gear and cheered them on.

Courtesy of University of Idaho

The Idaho Vandals answered the call when Yale needed a pep band.

Yale University and the University of Idaho could not be more different. Ivy League vs. state school. East Coast vs. Pacific Northwest. City vs. farm town. But in the first two rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament, extenuating circumstances brought them together as one, with the Bulldogs and the Vandals becoming the "Vandogs" for a weekend.

When Yale made it to the March Madness tournament, members of the school's pep band had already committed to other travel plans during spring break. They couldn't gather enough members to make the trek across the country to Spokane, Washington, so the Yale Bulldogs were left without their fight song unless other arrangements could be made.

When University of Idaho athletic band director Spencer Martin got wind of the need less than a week before Yale's game against Auburn, he sent out a message to his band members asking if anyone would be interested in stepping in. The response was a wave of immediate yeses, so Martin got to work arranging instruments and the students dedicated themselves to learning Yale's fight song and other traditional Yale pep songs.

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