The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

Florida Orphan Who Begged for Love Is Spending Holidays with Adoptive Family

It's shaping up to be a very merry Christmas for Davion Only, the 15-year-old orphan who stepped before a Florida church congregation in October with a heartfelt plea: to find a family to adopt him.

Only's appearance, which captivated a far-reaching audience, sparked more than 10,000 responses from around the world.

Now comes word of his personal progress. Only has moved from his group foster home to spend Christmas with a prospective adoptive family, reports the U.K.'s Daily Mail.

This marks a likely happy ending for Only, who has spent his entire life moving from foster home to foster home after his mother, who spent time in prison, was forced to give him up. She has since died.

In frustration, the teen asked his case worker if he could speak to the 300-member St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, Fla., where his emotional plea shined a light on the plight of children like himself, desperate for love and seeking adoptive families.

"I'll take anyone. Old or young, dad or mom, black, white, purple. I don't care," he told the church. "I know God hasn't given up on me. So I'm not giving up, either."

Thousands who later read his story reached out to his adoption agency to inquire about him. Only also has done his best to help other children like him, traveling to Tallahassee to speak to Florida governor Rick Snyder and members of his cabinet about adoption, reported the Tampa Bay Times, which first wrote about Davion's story.

"Even though I am going through an adoption process right now," Only told a packed meeting of lawmakers, "I still hope that other kids in foster care get the benefit that I am going to have to be adopted and to have somewhere to call home and to have a bed to call theirs."

His biological aunt said she and other relatives who are unable to adopt him are supportive of his new life, with Doris Barnes telling the Daily Mail, "I just want him to be happy and loved and to be with someone who is going to do the best for his future."

[cassiesmom]

Some Meals-on-Wheels Programs Feed Pets, Too
(source: AARP via Good News Network)

By Sue Manning, The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — If Meals on Wheels didn’t deliver donated dog food, Sherry Scott of San Diego says her golden retriever Tootie would be eating the pasta, riblets and veggie wraps meant for her. But thanks to partnerships between the program for low-income seniors and pet groups across the country, fewer people and pets are going hungry.

After Meals on Wheels volunteers noticed a growing number of clients giving their food away to their furry friends, they started working with shelters and other pet groups to add free pet food to their meal deliveries. Those programs, relying on donations and volunteers, have continued to grow in popularity as seniors began eating better, staying healthier and worrying less about feeding their pets, one group said.

Meals on Wheels is just one organization serving people who are poor, disabled or elderly, but it has a vast reach. It has teamed up with independently run pet partners in several states, but how many isn’t known, said Jenny Bertolette, spokeswoman for Meals on Wheels Association of America in Alexandria, Va.

Partner pet groups will solicit, pick up, pack and get the animal chow to Meals on Wheels or another agency that donates food, volunteers said. Agencies also take pet food to nursing homes, senior centers or community centers.

[kuhio98]

Star of Wonder, Star of Light
The large star of Christmas lights that he almost didn't mount in his yard proved to be a beacon of hope.
By Dale Briggs, North Bloomfield, Ohio

"Maybe we should skip putting up the lights this year,” I told my kids over breakfast.

“No way!” Janna said.

“You have to put up the lights!” said Alysha.

Easy for them to say. They weren’t the ones stringing 8,000 lights around our yard, and along the border of our seven-foot-tall Christmas star. We had a nice-sized property next to a state-owned game reserve.

The lights did look stunning amid the backdrop of all that nature. That star could almost light the way to Bethlehem it was so big. But putting the lights up was exhausting and the electricity bill in January was out of sight.

My wife, Becky, smiled over at me from the stove. I couldn’t let the kids down. So out I went, braving the cold.

I was dragging at work the next day, and the guys at the firehouse where I volunteered knew what I’d been up to. “Now all you have to do is take them down!” they joked.

The lights were a comforting sight when I drove up to the house that evening. In the dark woods, the temperature had plummeted to five degrees, and we were in for a subzero night. As I got out of the car I saw Becky talking to two hunters on the front porch.

“You fellas lose your way?” I asked. They looked shaken up.

“We thought we wouldn’t make it out there,” one of the men said. They’d wandered around lost for the better part of the day and knew they wouldn’t survive the night without protection from the elements.

“Then we saw it,” the other man said. “A glow in the east.”

The two of them lifted their eyes to the giant star in my yard. “Your star saved our lives.”

The kids were right about putting up the lights. Especially that Christmas star, a guide we can all follow.

[momcat]

Sending a shout out to the city of San Francisco -
The Make A Wish Foundation contacted a 5 year old boy with leukemia asking about his big wish, he said he wanted to be a super hero. He spent a day as "Bat Kid" with Batman. He was dressed for the part and went around with Batman in the Batmobile. The film clip showed people lining the street many holding signs supporting Bat Kid. Along the way, he rescued a woman tied to the railroad tracks. The city's police commissioner went on tv saying there were problems in the city and asked Batman to help - and bring Bat Kid. While there, Bat Kid foiled a bank robbery and arrested the Riddler. The police commissioner also said the mascot for the San Francisco Giants had been kidnapped, Bat Kid found the mascot and the Penguin was arrested for the abduction. Dressed as Bat Kid, this little boy was cheered by the crowd everywhere he went and was given the key to the city. Then at the end of the day an anonymous donor paid for a billboard by the bridge that said "Bat Kid, thank you for saving our city".

Thank you to all in San Francisco that made this little boy's dream come true. You've proven that there are angels among us!

[kuhio98]

Agoura Hills Girl, 11, Donates $500 Worth Of Toys For Hospitalized Children

AGOURA HILLS (CBSLA.com) — A $1,000 windfall is not much to some adults, but to an 11-year-old girl, that kind of money could mean a new gadget, new clothes or a whole lot of makeup. But for Melissa Souza of Agoura Hills, that money was a chance to help others less fortunate.

“Some kids need things more than I do,” Melissa said as she dropped off $500 worth of toys at the CHiPs for KIDS kickoff event at the Studio City Broadcast Center Thursday. Melissa says she would like the toys to be donated to hospitalized children.

Over the summer, Melissa won a Radio Disney contest, receiving a trip for four to Charlotte, N.C., a chance to meet Ryan Seacrest, a $15,000 donation to his foundation and a $1,000 gift card to use at Walgreens.

“Well, I didn’t know what I was going to do with $1,000,” Melissa said. “But then, I just decided to give it to charity.”

Besides donating to the CHiPs for KIDS toy drive, Melissa also bought $500 worth of school supplies that she donated to needy children.
Melissa’s selflessness is not lost on the California Highway Patrol officers collecting toys for less fortunate children.

“I think it’s fantastic,” CHP Officer Leland Tang said. “Anyone at that age who thinks of others rather than themselves is also fantastic.”
Melissa’s parents, Caroline and Brad, say they are proud that Melissa is absorbing some of the lessons they are trying to impart.

“It is kind of something we discussed as a family,” Caroline Souza said. “To think beyond yourself is kind of our goal, to hopefully teach them to think beyond themselves.”
“We are very fortunate with everything that we have and so to be able to give back and to have her learn that lesson as well was really important,” Brad Souza said.

[kuhio98]

Woman rescues infant on JetBlue flight


WESTWOOD, Mass. (WHDH) -- When a baby stopped breathing mid flight a local woman jumped in to help save the baby’s life.

“The baby had been unconscious so many times I was literally flipping the baby back and forth freeing as much as I could,” Jeanne Gallahue

Gallahue, a CPR trainer and first responder, is used to heading into emergency situations.

But the 63-year-old was on her way to Puerto Rico with her family and wasn't expecting to be performing CPR on a 6-month-old in the middle of her flight.

“All of a sudden I heard screaming that they needed medical help,” she said.

The family was on board Jetblue flight 1347 and a baby girl in the back of the plane was unresponsive.

For two hours Jeanne and another nurse on the flight worked to save this infants life.

“She would come to and then all of a sudden she would become rigid and unresponsive, no heart beat, no breathing and I would resume CPR,” she said.

The pilot made an emergency landing in North Carolina where Jeanne handed the baby off to a medical crew.

She says she's been told the baby survived and she knows it's because of the team that came together onboard that flight.

“Together everybody achieved a miracle that day. There is no question in my mind; there were so many people that were involved in that. It was truly a miracle,” Gallahue said.

A flight attendant took detailed notes of everything Jeanne was doing so they could pass that information along to the medical team in North Carolina.

[kuhio98]

OC Girl Undergoing Chemotherapy For Brain Tumor Reunited With Missing Family Dog

ORANGE (CBSLA.com) — An Orange County family reunited with their dog last month after he went missing in Arizona more than a year ago say his return offers new hope to their family.
Meko, the O’Brien Family’s 4-year-old Brussels Griffon, vanished during a family vacation in Parker, Arizona.

“I woke up and I wondered where Meko was,” said 7-year-old Mady O’Brien. Her family looked for him everywhere, putting up signs and praying for his safe return.
“He was just gone,” said Mady’s mother, Dana.

Mady was devastated never forgot her best friend. But everything changed in May, when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
“It’s been a rough six months,” Dana O’Brien said.

After an intense surgery, almost 30 chemotherapy and radiation treatments and countless hospital visits, Mady struggled to walk again.

Last month, Dana O’Brien got a phone call as she and Mady were on their way to another round of chemotherapy. The Yavapai Humane Society was calling to say Meko had turned up on the streets of Prescott, Arizona.

A microchip led volunteers to the O’Brien’s phone number, and James O’Brien made the 400-mile trek to pick him up.
“Meko’s back,” Mady said, smiling.

For Mady’s parents, Meko’s return was more than just a story of a girl and her dog. They believe his return was one almost impossible prayer answered, and now they have one more to go. Mady O’Brien has three more rounds of chemotherapy at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

“We can just move forward, it’s the start of things going right,” James said.
“This was, you know, kind of the answer that things are going to be okay,” Dana said. “This was good news that our family had gotten and that it would be the start of more.”

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/video...clipId=9621424

[kuhio98]

Sending a shout out to the city of San Francisco -
The Make A Wish Foundation contacted a 5 year old boy with leukemia asking about his big wish, he said he wanted to be a super hero. He spent a day as "Bat Kid" with Batman. He was dressed for the part and went around with Batman in the Batmobile. The film clip showed people lining the street many holding signs supporting Bat Kid. Along the way, he rescued a woman tied to the railroad tracks. The city's police commissioner went on tv saying there were problems in the city and asked Batman to help - and bring Bat Kid. While there, Bat Kid foiled a bank robbery and arrested the Riddler. The police commissioner also said the mascot for the San Francisco Giants had been kidnapped, Bat Kid found the mascot and the Penguin was arrested for the abduction. Dressed as Bat Kid, this little boy was cheered by the crowd everywhere he went and was given the key to the city. Then at the end of the day an anonymous donor paid for a billboard by the bridge that said "Bat Kid, thank you for saving our city".

Thank you to all in San Francisco that made this little boy's dream come true. You've proven that there are angels among us!

Update on this story from November 13, 2014: Batkid One Year Later: One Granted Wish Spurred Flood Of Donations, But Help Still Needed
The Bay Area Make-A-Wish chapter saw a 45-percent increase in granting pending wishes, and in Sacramento there was also a jump in donations and volunteers.

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — It was one year ago when Miles Scott stole the show and our hearts as Batkid as part of his Make-A-Wish dream.

So whatever happened to Batkid?

Scott was in the fight of his young life, battling leukemia from the tiny town of Tulelake. For one day, the 5-year-old was able to fight something else—crime, so he could save the world.

There was no time to waste on that day as the streets of San Francisco transformed into Gotham City as Batkid fought off villains, rescued a damsel and grabbed the headlines.

T-shirts were made celebrating his triumph, billboards praised his victory, and even months later, Batkid would throw out the first pitch at AT&T Park for the San Francisco Giants’ opening day.

This weekend marks one year since it all happened, so where is he today?

Scott’s family provided us with photos of him on his first day of school with his trusty sidekick, little brother Clayton.

They were elated to tell us his leukemia is in remission. Oh and Batkid has lost his first tooth since that day.

But what Make-A-Wish gained because of his story has been huge.

The Bay Area chapter saw a 45-percent increase in granting pending wishes, and in Sacramento there was also a jump in donations and volunteers.

Nationwide, the group make a record-setting 14,247 wishes.

Scott’s mom and dad issued this statement this week: “We are happy to say that Miles is healthy, and we want to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support you showed him that day. We hope this will result in more wishes coming true for other deserving children.”

And it has, says Michele Flyn, director of outreach for Northern California and Northern Nevada Make-A-Wish.

“Miles’ story was amazing and he’s a special little guy and he really proved to us that superheroes do exist,” he said.

But, she reminds us, for every Miles Scott that grabs the headlines, there’s another child with a life-threatening illness waiting in the wings to have their wish granted.

“We know in our chapter—37 counties—we know there is potentially about 450 children who are eligible for a wish,” she said. “We grant about 260 a year so the need is very great.”

We’ll soon be able to relive Batkid’s story on a big screen. A documentary based on that amazing day is wrapping up funding and should be out by the end of the year.

Chances are, the audience for that documentary will be huge. On the day Batkid took over San Francisco, more than 1 billion people took to social media to cheer him on.

To mark the anniversary, Miles and his family will be back in San Francisco this Saturday. They’ll hold a private celebration with some of the people who helped make that day happen.

[kuhio98]

Kathy Russell Gives Sick Kids a Home Away from Home

When Kathy Russell was a young hospital administrator, she saw something she didn't like.

"Every day I'd come up on the elevator and I'd walk through radiology and I'd see all these kids in metal cribs with their parents lined up to go through whatever test they had in the morning," she tells PEOPLE.

"It really dawned on me that the whole business of people queuing up to go through radiology was really kind of ridiculous."

So Russell, with the help of a group of congressional spouses and some of her hospital colleagues, co-founded the Children's Inn, a residential facility at the National Institutes of Health for children battling life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer, blood disorders and HIV infection.

But the Children's Inn, a rustic lodge located in Bethesda, Maryland, is more than just a place to stay. With plenty of natural light from the many windows and skylights, as well as newly remodeled kitchens so families can make their children's favorite comfort foods, it's a home away from home, a place where kids can have fun and be themselves.

"I learned how hard it is to have a kid with a life-threatening illness and not be in your own community and not have the people you would call on in terms of support," Russell, 58, who lives in Montgomery County and serves as the Inn's CEO, recalls of those early days as a hospital administrator.

"It just became clear to me that there were a lot of things that we could do if we had the right resources," she says.

At the Children's Inn, there's always plenty to do. Whether it's field trips to Washington Nationals baseball games or playing with the Inn's resident therapy dog, Viola, Russell and her team of dedicated staff and volunteers make sure the kids are having fun every night.

One of the Inn's most popular activities? Bingo.

"We have a police officer who comes in and calls Bingo on Tuesday nights," Russell says.

"He'll get off his shift and come in here," she says, "and be standing there in his uniform with a goofy hat on and making the kids laugh."

But it's Viola, the Inn's resident therapy dog, who's the most visible member of the team. (She's even got her own mailbox at the Inn.) A former seeing-eye dog who lost her job for being too friendly, Viola now works full-time at the Inn, keeping the kids company with her sweet, calm demeanor.

It's not all fun and games, though.

By allowing their illnesses to be studied at NIH, these kids are helping to find a cure for some truly terrible diseases.

"They're pioneers in that they're looking for their own opportunity to be well, but if they can't, they're contributing to the body of medical knowledge that will hopefully be helpful to some other child in the future," says Russell.

"So unlike a Ronald McDonald house, we're in a position to bring our resources to bear to empower and engage the research in a way that helps develop new therapies," she explains.

Robert Vogel, whose 24-year-old son, Scott, has been staying at the Children's Inn on and off since 1999 while being treated for chronic granulomatous disease, says the Inn was a godsend.

"Words can't describe how competent she is and how wonderful she is," says Vogel, 62, who is also a member of the Inn's Board of Directors.

"I've walked in after a long day at the hospital with my son and you always get such a warm feeling from everyone," he says.

Tammy Koch, whose daughter Karly, 20, is staying at the Inn following a bone marrow transplant, credits Russell with making her family feel comfortable in this trying time.

"Even at a recent event we had where Kathy needed to schmooze with board members and donors, she took the time to come and talk to us," recalls 53-year-old Koch, who works part-time as a dental hygienist. "When I've asked for things, she never forgets and always follows through."

Koch, of Muncie, Indiana, is also especially grateful to the Inn for making the holidays extra special. "How do you replicate the holidays when you are away from home?" Koch says. "The Inn totally made that happen with stockings and gifts that were donated by generous donors and volunteers."

"The kids got to make Santa's cookies and leave them at the fireplace – just like at home," Koch says. "Being able to keep up some of the holiday traditions with the help has meant so much and Kathy Russell has created that kind of a place."

Adds Vogel: "I've seen her run down the hall chasing kids who are hysterically laughing. She has it all. She is an amazing person."
Kathy and Viola, the Inn's resident therapy dog

[Karen]

So glad there's a dog there!