The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

Man with muscular dystrophy finishes marathon after nearly 17 hours

Maickel Melamed, a 38-year-old man with muscular dystrophy, finished the Chicago Marathon in 16 hours, 46 minutes, early Monday (10/14/13) morning.

Melamed, who traveled to Chicago from Caracas, Venezuela, to take part in the marathon, was the last person to finish the race, according to NBC Chicago. Surrounding him were 100 or so supporters who cheered him on as he crossed the finish line at 1:30 in the morning.

"If you dream it, make it happen," Melamed said after completing the race, according to WLS-TV Chicago. "Your life is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you. So make the best of it."

Melamed began running marathons two years ago, WLS reported. He previously competed in races in New York and Berlin. According to an Indiegogo page for Melamed, doctors believed he would live only seven days after being born.

[kuhio98]

Mysterious Ways: Woman's Best Friend
She had no interest in adopting a dog. But one pooch took an interest in her.
By Doris Richardson, High Springs, Florida

Admittedly, the house had been quiet since my husband died, but I didn’t want a dog. I had enough responsibilities as an elementary school principal. Besides, no dog could ever replace Kash, my childhood best friend.

I only went with my friend Dee to the animal shelter for pet adoption day because when she gets an idea she’s like, well, a dog with a bone. I figured she’d drop it once she saw I had no interest.

But one dog took an interest in me. He came right up and looked at me plaintively, imploringly. Some sort of cattle-dog mix, with reddish-brown fur and a white stripe that ran from the back of his head down to his salt-and-pepper muzzle. I gave him a pat and shooed him away.

He didn’t go. When I tried to walk away, he followed, as if he was herding me. “I guess your dog found you,” Dee laughed.

“Not hardly,” I said. “He’s not for me.”

No dog ever would be after Kash. He was a mixed breed, the kind we called a Heinz 57 variety back in Opp, Alabama. Those were lean times and my parents worked long hours.

I would have been lonely without Kash. He watched me jump rope, listened as I read from my schoolbooks and sat with me by the dirt road, waiting for my folks to come home. He was smart, affectionate and made me laugh. It devastated me when he died. I vowed never to get another dog.

This mutt, though...no amount of coaxing could pry him from my side. He even barked at other dogs, keeping them away. “Come on, Doris, you can’t say no,” Dee begged.

“Try him for the weekend,” the shelter worker said. “Bring him back Monday if things don’t work out.”

“Okay,” I said to the persistent dog. “You get a weekend. No more.”

The dog kept me company as I did my chores. I laughed, watching him surge through the piles of autumn leaves on a walk around the neighborhood. That first night he curled up by my side. And all at once I felt like we were a pair, like the house wasn’t so empty anymore.

On Monday, I returned to the shelter—to finalize the adoption.

“Have you named him yet?” the worker asked. I admitted I hadn’t.

Well, if you’re interested,” she said, “his last owner called him Kash.”

[Taz_Zoee]

Oh my gosh!! I was not expecting that ending to the story ^^. It brought tears to my eyes, big time!!!

[kuhio98]

Comfort Kits

A hospital stay can be quite frightening for anyone – but imagine how a child feels, being away from home and family, in a strange bed, not feeling well.

Hospitalized children need to be loved and touched by comfort. That’s why Guideposts Outreach has created the Comfort Kit - a small box with a huge impact. Distributed to children by the hospital chaplains, nurses, child life, or volunteers, the Comfort Kit is filled with special items to turn a child’s hospital experience into a meaningful time; and to fill it, to whatever extent possible, with joy.

Inside, the child finds a cuddly stuffed star named Sparkle, an “I’m Special” bracelet, stickers, a stress ball, crayons, a parent feedback card, a stand up prayer card and a personalized name tag to mount on the wall (so that doctors and nurses can call the child by their first name)—and best of all, a special journal that kids use to help them process their feelings and help them find the strength that lies within.

This much-beloved program has distributed over 100,000 Comfort Kits over the last six years. Medical staff members and parents especially are grateful for the way Comfort Kits really do provide a source of comfort and joy to the young patients. One parent shared:

“Logan is 2 years old and having the plush star from the Comfort Kit was a great comfort. He slept with it every night and it went into surgery with him. He also liked the stress ball. Thank you so much for the Comfort Kit! Logan’s father was just deployed to Afghanistan and Logan was facing emergency surgery all in the same week! The Comfort Kit helped us both and was much appreciated!”

For more information on Guideposts for Kids Comfort Kits, please visit us at comfortkits.org.

[cassiesmom]

A waiter at a Boston-area restaurant witnessed an act of kindness on Tuesday night that's warmed hearts across the internet.

"While waiting tables tonight, a mother and daughter started crying mid-meal. I had no idea what happened until a single guy at the table next to them handed me this note [**] with his bill," wrote the waiter in a Reddit post. "Faith in humanity, restored."

HuffPost reached out to the waiter, who clarified that he couldn't confirm the relationship between the two women, but he was fairly certain they were mother and daughter. After they'd ordered, the woman whom the waiter believes was the daughter took a phone call. Both women then started crying.

What happened next was truly heartwarming:

The single guy who had been sitting next to them had been friendly to me all evening, making jokes and such. When he was finished I gave him his check, and inside the billfold was his credit card and the note that I took a picture of. I combined the 2 checks, and he paid for both. I waited until after he had left to tell them their check had been taken care of. The mother was overwhelmed with gratitude, as was I. It was a great evening.

We're glad people like this man exist in the world.


** Elyse here: I can't copy the picture, but the note says, "Do me a favor and bring me their check too. Someone just got diagnosed."
Here's a link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/1...n_4109542.html

[kuhio98]

Elyse ~ Wonderful story that goes a long way to prove there are angels all around us. It feels so wonderful to do something nice for someone else.
Sharing another restaurant story that just made the news.



Ellen DeGeneres Gives $10,000 to Waitress Who Paid Soldiers' Tab

A New Hampshire waitress who picked up the lunch tab of two National Guard soldiers affected by the federal government's shutdown has been repaid – more than 300 times over – by television star Ellen DeGeneres.

Sarah Hoidahl, a waitress in Concord, N.H., just wanted to do a nice thing for the soldiers, so she paid for their lunch. It cost her $27.75. On Friday, DeGeneres squared the tab and then some, giving Hoidahl $27.75 in cash and a check for $10,000.

An emotional Hoidahl buried her face in her hands and thanked DeGeneres as the talk show host repeated, "You're a good person."

DeGeneres caught wind of Hoidahl's act of kindness when the New Hampshire National Guard posted a picture on its Facebook page. The story spread quickly online, producers saw it and invited Hoidahl to Hollywood. Ellen also gave her a 50-inch television.

[kuhio98]

Grateful boy dresses up as his doctor for Halloween

SEATTLE -- A Seattle surgeon made such a huge impact on a second grader that the little boy decided to honor the doctor for Halloween.

Of all the costumes 7-year-old Landon Browne could have picked for Halloween, he didn't go for Spiderman, a fireman, a ninja or a warrior. Instead, he showed up to Seattle Children's Hospital on Wednesday dressed as Dr. Jay Rubinstein.

Browne hears pretty well for a deaf child. And what he lacks in hearing, the precocious and gifted child makes up for in smarts.

"I'm pretty smart," he said. "I don't mean to be not humble."

On Wednesday, Browne showed up at the hospital wearing a lab coat, just like the one Rubinstein wore when he performed the two Cochlear implant operations on Browne.

"Well, he worked on both my ears and he's a great surgeon," Browne said.

Rubinstein performed the first surgery when Browne was just nine months old. Browne became an important part of the doctor's research, and last summer he added a Cochlear implant to the child's left ear.

"I'm pretty grateful to him for all the efforts he's made on our behalf, and for him to do this makes it clear that he feels the same way," Rubinstein said.

Rubinstein is now helping develop advances in the way implant patients hear music. They often struggle following melodies and deciphering changes in pitch.

"I do like beat boxing," Browne said.

Browne's dad is a musician and his mom is hopeful about what her son will one day hear thanks to Dr. Rubinstein.

"I completely got goosebumps, because who would want their child to not experience the beauty of music," said Browne's mom, Alysia Browne.

Browne said if he didn't go with the Dr. Rubinstein costume he probably would have dressed up like a vampire or a prince.