The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

Here's a nice one, of humans helping a fellow primate!

Surgery allows blind Orangutan to see her babies!

Awww. Humans made a difference in the quality of her life. I had no idea that Orangutans could get cataracts.
I wonder if all animals (if they have an injury or live long enough) can develop cataracts?

[Taz_Zoee]

I have a couple of stories. One I believe I posted pictures here somewhere. But a mother duck and her 11 babies were in our court when the babies fell down into the (dry) drainage grate. The mother duck was so upset. I called AC and while waiting my neighbor came down to see what was going on. There were a couple of people with him. The woman said she had long arms and could probably reach them. She got more than half of them out and then used a pool net to get the rest.

This morning on the local radio station I listen to on my way to work, one of the guys told the story of how his mom was walking into a store and saw a little girl walking with a man and the little girl was very upset. For some reason the woman stopped and asked the little girl if she was okay and asked where her mom was. Apparently this man has just grabbed this girls hand and was planning on walking out the door with her. I guess while the woman was talking to the child the man just left. So she helped the girl find her mom. End of story. She just saved that little girl from being kidnapped!!!

[Karen]

Awww. Humans made a difference in the quality of her life. I had no idea that Orangutans could get cataracts.
I wonder if all animals (if they have an injury or live long enough) can develop cataracts?

I believe any animal can, as I know humans and other primates can, dogs can, cats can, sea lions can, snakes can ... all very different animals, but that have eyes.

[pomtzu]

I wonder if all animals (if they have an injury or live long enough) can develop cataracts?

I imagine most animals can if they live long enough. Myndi has one that is very visible in one of her eyes, and the other eye isn't quite as bad. One of my RB Lhasas also had cataracts and eventually went blind.

[kuhio98]

THE NURSERY COORDINATORS

My husband and I were just 4 months into the waiting period for a domestic adoption when we got the call that changed our lives. We had been matched with a birth mother 800 miles away, and we had only 2 days to get on the road and get our baby! (We couldn't fly because she was a preemie.) We were totally unprepared. But when we finally came home with our newborn after 11 days out of state and a 14-hour car ride, we couldn't believe what we saw: Our extended family had decorated the nursery, loaded the closet with baby clothes and even installed a changing table with diapers, wipes and supplies. I was already in tears, but then I noticed a sign hanging on the nursery wall that read, "However motherhood comes, it's a miracle." We called every member of our family to thank them, and we all cried together.

Andrea Fox, Boston

[kuhio98]

THE FLOOD FIXERS

After my husband, Sean, deployed with his National Guard troop in August, I immediately took my kids on vacation to Chicago so we wouldn't come home to a sad, empty house. While we were gone, our town flooded, leaving my basement under seven inches of water. I was expecting to return to a nightmare, but when we got home, some neighbors had pulled out all our sodden carpet and another neighbor left a note on my cupboard that said, "Welcome home! Supper is in the fridge." It was so nice, it still makes me cry.

Shannon Taylor, Ames, Iowa

[kuhio98]

THE HOTEL BENEFACTOR

My daughter has a severe form of epilepsy. When she was 8 we had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take her to see a European specialist who would be in Chicago for a conference. Getting there from Utah was a huge financial strain so we threw a yard sale to help pay for the trip. A man stopped by and asked why we were raising money. After we told him, he left, borrowed a neighbor's computer and then came back with a printout. It was a reservation for a Chicago hotel, paid in full for our entire trip! Seeing the specialist made a huge difference for my daughter, and though we never even learned the man's last name, his kindness truly changed our lives.

Kris Hansen, West Jordan, Utah

[kuhio98]

THE LAWN AIDES

My dad, who's in his mid-80's and wheelchair-bound, still insists on doing his own yard work. One day last summer, he was outside cutting up a fallen tree limb when a woman driving past pulled over. She told my dad that she was amazed to see a man in a wheelchair using a chainsaw. The two of them spent a few minutes chatting before she left. Twenty minutes later she returned with her husband and teenage son in tow, all wearing work clothes. The family, whom my dad had never met, spent the next three hours helping him in the yard.

Andrea, New York City

[kuhio98]

Pam Washek knows what it's like to need a little help.

In 2002, she was sidelined by the chemo and radiation she needed after being diagnosed with sarcoma (a type of soft tissue cancer). But the Wayland, Mass., married mom of three soon discovered "angels were fluttering into my house” to handle chores.

Without hesitation, family friends and neighbors had jumped in, raising their hands to cook, clean and shuttle kids to soccer practice.

"I was touched by how the community embraced us," says Washek, 47.

To pay their kindness forward, Washek teamed up with her friend Jean Seiden (who later died of cancer in 2006) to found what became the Neighbor Brigade, a volunteer network that started as a 40-person email chain.

Now 3,300 members strong in communities around the state, the group helps families in crisis, including Nick Panzeri, 39, of Billerica, Mass.

While recovering from brain tumor surgery, Panzeri accepted rides from dozens of strangers to his cognitive therapy sessions.

"I feel so much less alone," says his wife, Sara.

So does Brianna Anthony, whose family had meals delivered to them after losing their Natick, Mass., home in a fire. "These people," she says, "really care."

Washek recently worked through a brief course of treatment for a cancer recurrence, and the Neighbor Brigade helped her, providing her family with meals. And she's still working on her cause, fielding queries from people from Massachusetts, New England and beyond who want to launch their own Neighbor Brigades.

Says Washek, "People really want to get involved."

By Moira Bailey and Alexandra Zaslow

[cassiesmom]

There's been a lot of violence in Chicago this year. Fr. Pfleger from Saint Sabina parish does a lot of work to help improve things. If anybody could work out a one-day truce, it's him. This is from NBC Chicago.

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Four rival gangs, community and church leaders, and NBA superstars all joined together Saturday afternoon in a gym for a basketball tournament geared towards ending violence in Chicago.

“You walk in that gym and you see the passion, the excitement, you see the smiles on the kids’ faces, you see kids who used to shoot each other playing ball with each other, You see D-Rose and Joakim Noah,” said St. Sabina’s Father Michael Pfleger, who organized the event “Balling for Peace” and asked the NBA stars to get involved. “You tell me anything is wrong with this? I’m in heaven right now.”

Pfleger organized the monumental, one day gang truce in the city, which included 28 kids playing from different gangs in neighborhoods hit hard by violence and crime.

The event gained some NBA star power assists from Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson on the Chicago Bulls along with other Chicago NBA stars Antoine Walker, Quentin Richardson and the legendary Isaiah Thomas. All of the NBA players who showed up on Saturday coached the teams, spoke at the event and encouraged the young people playing in the Peace Basketball Tournament.

“I have been begging athletes to get involved and when they say yes, I’m grateful,” said Pfleger, who lost his adopted son Jarvis Franklin to gang violence in 1998.

No matter who wins the tournament, every player will get a job. St. Sabina has partnered with businesses in the community to make sure that players are rewarded with employment for their peace pledge.

Some community leaders who watched gang members trade their guns for basketballs on Saturday hope it sends a message to other gangs in the city.

“There’s life after basketball, but there is no life after discharging a weapon and taking someone else’s life,” said community activist Andrew Holmes, who was at the tournament to support the players.

Pfleger said he also working with players on the Chicago Bears to get them involved and host more events in the community.

[kuhio98]

Rose Astorina was 35 years old and had a 2-year old son when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, in 2007. She had to undergo 6 rounds of chemotherapy, 18 rounds of radiation and many side effects -- but today she's cancer-free. Astorina is so thankful that she's made finding a cure her personal mission and has raised more than $17,000 for the American Cancer Society. She also joined Imerman Angels, a group of volunteers who provide support to others who are undergoing treatment.

[Taz_Zoee]

This is actually a story about myself (I usually don't toot my own horn, but who will?)
I started going to the gym this week and my trainer kicked my butt on legs Tuesday night. So last night my legs were screaming!! On my way to the gym, just as I was coming out of my court, I saw a dog running around in front yards dragging a leash. I stopped and looked for a person. Around the corner came an older gentleman with another dog on a leash. I rolled down my window and asked if the dog was his. I don't think he heard me, but I heard him calling to the dog.
I jumped out of my car, leaving the engine running and my door open, and started calling to the dog as she ran my direction. She was a young Pointer pup and FULL of energy! I chased her through bushes while the owner rested in one of the driveway's with the other dog. Finally I went to the man and he told me to start petting the dog he had control of (because the loose dog gets jealous). I did that and Stella (the Pointer pup) came up behind me. I quickly grabbed her leash.
I was so glad I was able to help this man. We live very close to a very busy street and she ran that direction a couple of times. I was so scared!
He was beside himself with this puppy. He said "I don't know what I'm going to do with this dog." But she is still a puppy. Oh, and as a side note, the other dog was a beautiful Aussie mix!
Anyway, I didn't even notice my sore legs while I was trying to save this dog. But when I got to the gym I had already got my heart rate elevated for the night.
And of course, after the fact, I thought of all the things I could have told the man. Like to get one of those leash splitters so he'd only have to hang on to one leash, or to take them to a dog park so Stella could run freely to release some of that energy. Maybe if I see him again I will do that.

[kuhio98]

This is actually a story about myself (I usually don't toot my own horn, but who will?)

Great job ~ Toot away!

[Taz_Zoee]

This was posted on Facebook by someone I went to highschool with.

So, last Sunday in church Pastor Peder talked about how Christ is the homeless, hungry, imprisoned, etc. Well, my husband took a second job at a gas station and has had a homeless guy coming in to get coffee and sometimes food if he was able to find enough money. When my husband works he buys him his coffee and food like hotdogs. He does it because he realizes we don't have everything but the least he can do is buy him a couple of dollars worth of food and drink. We have more than we need. Well, the homeless guy was not coming in for the last couple of weeks and my husband was worried that something happened to him. He showed up last night at the gas station cleaned up and told my husband, he got a job and just got his first pay check and he wanted to buy my husband supper. My husband thanked him and told him he was very happy for him but he had already had supper. As my husband told me this today we both had tears running down our faces. I have never been so proud of my husband. Thank you God for taking away his overtime so he could meet this man by trying to support his family. I am seeing a path that God is laying for us.

[kuhio98]

Randy's Kindness

Randy and his wife Beth are very kind people who GAVE us a car! We are not family. My husband worked with Randy. They just saw that our car was very, very old (1980), and they gave us a safer, much, much newer, beautiful red car. I will never forget their kindness. They also gave us a large container of gumballs for our little girl. The car and gumballs were given as a surprise! One of the best days of my life! Thank you!