The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

Grandfather runs into burning RV to rescue twin granddaughters

SALEM, OR (KPTV) - A family barely escaped a burning RV early Thursday morning. Now, a grandfather is in the hospital recovering from his injuries after he went back into the burning camper to save his grandkids.

It's been a long day for Sunya Laing and her family, but they're all grateful that they're alive.

The family is still trying to understand what happened after their RV burst into flames, as four of them slept inside.

"I guess a little after midnight all of a sudden we just heard this boom and I guess I got thrown out of the camper," said Sunya Laing.

The family believes the fire started at the propane tank. The flames spread from the middle of the RV to where 11-year-old twins, Jessie and Jaden were sleeping.

"Then I saw flames and that's when I heard my grandpa yelling and the flames went up after it started by the stove," said Jessie Laing, who escaped the burning camper.

It was their grandfather who jumped into action.

"He tried to get some of it out so he could get to us but he couldn't so he just went through the flames and got us," said Jessie.

Chris Laing rushed back in and was focused on one thing.

"All I can remember is him yelling for the kids; my kids, my kids and he ran back in there and got the girls," said Sunya Laing.

"He just yanked me and said Jaden jump and I jumped and I landed somewhere outside," said Jaden Laing, who escaped the fire.

Everyone got out OK.

The girls had minor burns to their feet. Jaden got a slight burn to her nose.

However, it was their grandpa who suffered the worst of it.

Chris got second and third degree burns to his arms and had blisters on his head and the bottoms of his feet.

"He doesn't think he's a hero but if we didn't have him we would not be here right now," added Jaden Laing.

The family knows things could have ended much differently if Chris didn't jump into action.

"Yeah, they wouldn't be here today if he didn't go get them," said Sunya Laing.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Chris remains in the hospital in Portland as he's treated for his burns. He was expected to be going home by the end of this week.

[kuhio98]

Mom shaves head in support of children's cancer research

LAWRENCE, KS (KCTV) - A local mom is shaving her head bald with 45 other mothers to show their support for children's cancer research.

The event is called 46 Mommas Shave for the Brave. The number is symbolic because statistics say that each weekday 46 moms will find out their child has cancer.

The group of 46 mothers involved share one devastating reality – doctors diagnosed each of their kids with cancer.

"On our team we do have a lot of mommas who have lost their children and they are some of the fiercest advocates," Karla Knudson said.

In 2010 in Los Angeles, CA, with a goal to raise $1 million for children's cancer research, the women voluntarily shaved their heads.

"This crowd of people they are all just crying, hooting and hollering and so moved by it," Knudson said.

Knudson braved the shave. She did it because when her daughter Annika was 11 years old, she was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma.

"As much as I didn't understand it then, I now know how close to really death I was when I was sitting in my bed," said Annika Knudson, who is now 17 years old.

Annika Knudson fought cancer with a smile on her face. When chemo caused her to lose her hair, she used the opportunity to try something out of the ordinary with fun and colorful wigs.

Karla Knudson is headed to Boston on June 27 for another shave five years after her first buzz to celebrate one huge milestone – her daughter is celebrating five years of being cancer free.

Annika Knudson says she knows not every mom would be as willing as hers to set style aside twice and lose her locks to raise money for research that could one day cure childhood cancer.

"There is this kind of rebelliousness to it. It's like, 'take that chemotherapy. I don't have to have you to be bald,'" she said.

It's estimated that only four percent of cancer research funding goes toward kid's cancer research. To help fill that funding gap, people can donate to the St. Baldrick's Foundation that sponsors the 46 Mommas Shave for the Brave event that will be held in Boston on July 27 this year.

To donate to Karla Knudson's efforts to raise money for children's cancer research, click here. https://www.stbaldricks.org/particip...ge/667139/2014

[kuhio98]

Officer steps in to help 96-year-old woman in stifling hot house

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - Thanks to an officer with the Kansas City Police Department, an elderly woman who was without an air conditioner is now staying cool.

Officer Patrick Byrd was called to Indiana Avenue when a neighbor reported to police seeing a disoriented woman in the area. When Byrd arrived, he saw 96-year-old Helen Adams outside in the heat. He offered to take her home, but realized her house did not have a working air conditioner.

"She had a fan, but it was still very hot inside the residence," Byrd said. "At that time I asked her if she had central air or an air conditioning unit. She said the air went out a couple days ago."

Byrd called the Bishop Sullivan Center and found out that volunteers could help Adams through their Project ElderCool program.

"Project ElderCool is a program we've had for years now where we deliver air conditioners and install them for older persons on fixed incomes; people who can't afford a unit for themselves," said Maria Antonia, who works at the center.

The organization also deposits $100 in recipients' accounts so they do not feel guilty about keeping the air conditioner running when it is hot outside.

Byrd stayed with Adams while they waited for volunteers to arrive, and found out no one was checking on the elderly woman in this intense heat.

"I stayed with her for quite some time and she shared with me that she didn't have any living relatives to check on her," he said.

Police say this is a reminder to check on your neighbors when it is this hot, especially if they are elderly or have a medical condition.

Click here https://www.bishopsullivan.org/donate/project-eldercool to find out more about Project ElderCool or to donate to the organization.

[kuhio98]

Real Estate Attorney Leaves $800,000 to Shelter Cats

Brian Russell Kirchoff loved cats.

So the San Rafael, California, real estate attorney did something purr-fectly nice when drawing up his will: he set aside some $800,000 for cats in need at the Marin Humane Society of Novato, California.

According to the Marin Independent Journal, Kirchoff died after suffering a heart attack last year and left a six-page handwritten will that said "any cash proceeds left shall be donated to the Marin Humane Society for the express benefit and use of their cat fund for the benefit of all the cats which come into their care."

So far the society has received $200,000 and the rest – approximately $600,000 – will arrive before the end of the year, says John Reese, chief operating officer of the organization, who tells PEOPLE that Kirchoff wasn't intimately tied to the organization when he was alive.

Holly Haugh, a former colleague of Kirchoff's, told the Journal that she wasn't surprised when she learned what her friend had done. "He had a passion for cats," she said, adding that the bachelor liked to call himself "Cat Daddy" when talking about his two beloved cats, Chelsea and Tarka (who reside at a Santa Rosa animal sanctuary which received $20,000 to care for them).

The Marin Humane Society hasn't yet determined how they'll use the money, but improvement of their current cat housing could be a future project.

"We will do very generous things for cats with his donation," Reese tells PEOPLE. "It was wonderful for him to consider his cats in the planned giving for his estates and then to also give that donation."

Cats available at the Marin Humane Society

[phesina]

My cats are the primary beneficiaries of my will, and once they're gone, whatever remains goes to rescues and services that help other cats.

Cat Lady here..

[kuhio98]

Tiny Chihuahua Saves Family from House Fire

Somebody get this super dog a cape!

A tiny Chihuahua named Chloe from Federal Way, Washington, barked until her sleeping family woke up during a house fire – and she's being credited with saving their lives.

"My mom's little 5-lb. Chihuahua started barking when she saw the smoke," Devon Whittlesey told ABC 13 News. "Smoke was pouring into my room. I dropped down to my hands and knees and crawled to the front door."

Whittlesey and two other residents made it out fast thanks to the barking, but Chloe wasn't so lucky.

When part of the home collapsed in flames, they thought the dog was gone forever. An hour later, firefighters discovered the pooch alive in the rubble, covered in ash, according to ABC 13.

"Chloe saved us," Whittlesey said. "We wouldn't have lived. If the flames wouldn't have got us, the smoke would've."

Despite her size, Chloe is being hailed a giant hero. "She's got 250 lbs. in that little 4-lb. body," said Chloe's other owner, Tracie Fox. "No doubt she saved us."

[kuhio98]

Return of an Earth Angel
After being rescued two years before, she prayed that she might one day thank the young man who came to her aid. It was a prayer quickly answered.
By Helen Chade Mahshi, San Clemente, California

Waves lapped against the shore as I walked along the beach. The ocean was calm, but looking out at it I shivered, remembering a day two years before. I’d left my daughter, Anastasia, relaxing on the sand while I went for a swim. I got caught in a riptide that swiftly took me deep into the ocean.

The harder I fought, the more exhausted I got. But I didn’t get any closer to shore. Was Anastasia going to watch me drown? “God, I need help!” I gasped, barely able to keep my mouth above the water.

A young man appeared in the surf. “Hang on to me,” he said. He sliced through the water with powerful strokes. We rode a wave in together until we stumbled onto the sand, his arm supporting me as I collapsed into the embrace of my daughter.

I hugged Anastasia tight and gulped in sweet sea air. By the time I looked up the man was gone. Anastasia couldn’t say which way he went.

I hope that man knows how grateful I am to this day, I thought, turning away from my memory. I stepped aside as someone came jogging down the beach–a young man who looked very familiar.

“You may not remember, but you once saved my life!” I said when he got close. “Thank you!”

He grinned, shyly. “You’re welcome!”

With another prayer answered, he was gone.