The good guys thread

[cassiesmom]

Doctor uses social media to help her patients

Krupali Tejura, MD, a radiation oncologist, treats patients at the Corona Cancer Clinic in Corona, Calif. And via the internet, she channels another powerful form of energy on behalf of patients with advanced-stage cancer — the goodwill and kindness of other people.

Krupali uses the tools of social media to fulfill the wishes of patients, many of them with terminal conditions. Tweeting and posting on her blog, which reads like an open letter to the world, Krupali has fulfilled patients’ dreams as varied as—attending a taping of the Ellen DeGeneres show and meeting a famous violinist—to seeing a Pittsburgh Steelers football game at Heinz Field.

“My wife is a big Steelers fan, and Dr. Tejura arranged an all-expenses-paid trip and even got NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swan to meet my wife and sign her jersey,” writes Chuck Chavez, whose wife has late-stage breast cancer. “It was the best medicine for my wife.”

On her blog, Krupali writes, “I honestly don’t do anything but put out a call to the world and at times the world responds.”

Krupali describes how it all started: “I have a patient support group called Ruby Red Slippers, and at one of our meetings, I heard a young patient with Stage IV cancer say she wanted to go to the Ellen show (Ellen Degeneres’ talk show). I went on the Ellen’s website but I could not get any tickets.

“So I put it out on Twitter, and a follower of mine who is a breast cancer survivor who works in the industry—she’s a makeup artist—got two VIP tickets so I could take my patient. When I first met this girl, she was metastatic and couldn’t walk because her knee was riddled with cancer. But by the time we went to the show, she was walking on her own, which was amazing.”

Through her unique care of terminally ill patients, Dr Tejura is showing us how to transform a seemingly hopeless situation into one filled with joy and caring.

For Dr Tejura social media has been an incredible tool to change the lives of her patients.

[kuhio98]

Devils Lake runner carries injured Fargo South runner during championship race

Glyndon, MN (WDAY TV) - Every once in a while in athletics, the scoreboard; who wins and who loses just doesn't matter.

Saturday, more than 20 teams and hundreds of competitors competed in the EDC Cross Country Championship.

The real winner? A show of compassion; a young woman from Devils Lake, who finished 8-and-a-half minutes behind the first place finisher.

This picture says it all. Devils Lake Senior Melanie Bailey carrying a distraught and injured Fargo South runner Danielle LeNoue…

Danielle LeNoue- Fargo South Runner: “I was past the two-mile mark; close to the finish line.”

…at the EDC Cross Country Meet held at the Ponderosa Golf Course near Glyndon.

LeNoue: “It happened instantly and felt like a pop in my knee… Down I went.”

“My left leg.”

Danielle, just back from the doctor Thursday, hurt her knee. Her left leg buckled during the run… That fast… An injury to her patella tendon.

LeNoue: “Just sobbing and so I started walking and I could not go any farther and she said, ‘here, hop on my back,’ half my size.”

The good Samaritan was Devils Lake High School runner Melanie Bailey…

Melanie Bailey: Devils Lake Runner: “All I could think about was she was in a lot of pain. And I wanted to help her.”

…A competitor, who says she was doing the right thing.

LeNoue: Honestly, I loved the way I ended it. It was a great way to end my cross country season.”

Now this is what winning is all about: Two runners finishing the race together, one carrying the other… Because that's what you do.

LeNoue: “So nice, she didn't have to do that. How many people ran past me? And she stopped.”

The two girls have been Facebooking each other. Strangers now friends. It's good to give someone the shirt off your back; even better to carry them on it when they're down.

LeNoue: “Pretty cool, touching moment for me.”

And the Devils Lake Senior plans a career in physical therapy.


http://www.wday.com/content/devils-l...ce?hpt=us_bn10

[kuhio98]

6th grader raises money for teacher battling Lymphoma

CULLMAN COUNTY, AL (WBRC) - Eleven-year-old Coleman Callan has always had a creative mind and now he's using his skills to help a teacher at his school.

"I like using my hands to make stuff and craft stuff," said Callan.

Add that to his passion for helping others and it was no surprise to his parents that he wanted to help Tamika Powell, a teacher at his school battling Diffused Large B Cell Lymphoma.

"He said, 'I just need to do something to help them.' Whatever it is to raise money or what," said Coleman's mom, Amanda.

Amanda Callan said her son learned how to make key chains out of paracord at camp.

Now, in a matter of ten minutes he's making them by the dozens and selling them to raise money for Powell.

"It's just very inspiring. You know, to see a little child that can make such a difference," said Powell.

Since her diagnosis in June, Powell and her family have been through a rollercoaster of emotions and the financial strain of battling cancer.

But it's the actions of Callan that help keep their positive attitude and faith.

"He took time out of his weekend, out of his life and did nothing really but make key chains for Tamika and our family. That's the inspiring part. He could have been doing anything. Playing on the iPad or anything. He chose to support us and help us," said Powell's husband, Cliff.

Since June Coleman has raised close to $400 for the Powell family.

For the Powells, the gesture means just as much as the financial support.

"He literally didn't just give us $300. He gave us a weekend to a week of his time. And is willing to do it again," said Cliff Powell.

Callan still has orders coming in and said he plans to continue making the bracelets as long as there's a demand.

If you would like to buy a keychain or help the Powell family contact Amanda Callan at [email protected].

[kuhio98]

Teens Save Dog Trapped in Mud

DES MOINES, Iowa — Students with an 8th grade class from Bergman Academy are being hailed as heroes. They were jogging around the drained Greenwood Pond as part of a gym class Thursday when they spotted two dogs, one stuck in the mud and the other by its side.

“It was a pretty short dog. It didn’t have very long legs so it was stuck in there pretty good and it couldn’t get out because its legs were too short,” says student Maev Cleary.

“The dog was right here,” adds student George Holtz, pointing to a hole in the mud, “The black dog was right here and looking at the dog with concern. And then we put this stick down so then we wouldn’t sink in the mud when we tried to rescue them.”

It took some work but the kids finally freed the dog.

“The dogs were really scared at that time. They were like shivering and whimpering and all that stuff,” said student Nate Stenberg. “It was an awesome feeling after they got finished because they saved their lives, so,” adds teacher Cristy Reeves.

And, like any real heroes they’re humble — sort of.

“I wouldn’t say heroes. I guess,” Stenberg says, “If you want to call us heroes I guess you can.”

The ARL tells us the dogs were micro-chipped so they were quickly returned to their owner.

[kuhio98]

Texas Woman Helps Women Battling Cancer Get Their Homes Cleaned – for Free!

It started with a phone call.

Years ago, Debbie Sardone, owner of Buckets & Bows Maid Service, got a call from a woman inquiring about a price quote for Sardone's cleaning service.

"I gave her our rates," she tells PEOPLE, "and she went, 'Oh I can't afford that, I'm undergoing cancer treatment' and hung up."

It was a literal wake-up call for Sardone.

"I sat there and realized I could have given her the cleaning for free, and I was disappointed it didn't occur to me until too late," she recalls.

"There's no way for me to call that first woman back," says Sardone, 55, of Flower Mound, Texas, explaining that it was in the days before caller ID.

"But she inspired me to change, inspired a policy that eventually became a nationwide nonprofit," she says.

That nationwide nonprofit is Cleaning for a Reason, an organization that provides housecleaning services free of charge to women battling cancer. www.cleaningforareason.org

Since the organization was founded in 2006, more than 1,100 maid services across the nation and in Canada have signed up to dedicate their time to women in need.

"Maid-service owners have told us it's the most rewarding thing they've ever done in business," says Sardone.

Her own mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, so she knows how difficult it can be to keep up with day-to-day tasks when undergoing treatment.

"If she couldn't have afforded a cleaning service," she says, "she wouldn't have been able to keep up with her home."

Adds Sardone: "Women have said it's the most normal they've felt in months, walking into a clean home.

"One woman told me she felt like her whole life had spiraled out of control, but when she came home to a clean house, she felt just a little bit more like herself."

Tanya Dodd-Hise, 44 of The Colony, Texas, was diagnosed with cancer in early 2013. Her friend signed her up for Cleaning for a Reason's services, and despite some initial reluctance on Dodd-Hise's part, she's grateful for Sardone's help.

"For me it was great, because I am typically the one who stayed home with our little one and got the big one off to school and did the cooking and did the cleaning and did the dishes and then suddenly, I wasn't able to do any of that," Dodd-Hise says.

"My wife is an attorney," she adds. "She was going to work all day long and then taking care of our little ones, but I didn't want her to have to come home and clean, too. Cleaning for a Reason was so helpful. More than most people would ever realize."

And now Sardone has teamed up with Swiffer and Walmart to help raise awareness of the nonprofit service.

This month, Walmart will carry pink-branded Swiffer products directing shoppers to Cleaning for a Reason.

"We're the best-kept secret in North America," jokes Sardone. "Swiffer and Walmart have helped us get the word out to women and other cleaning services alike."

But one woman she hasn't heard back from? That initial caller who changed her life.

"If I could talk to her again," says Sardone, "I would tell her that because of her phone call, she inspired me to give away free cleaning to women who need my help."

[kuhio98]

Trucker helps reunite dog with owners
By Kevin Boughton

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) - A family from Nebraska is finally complete in Arizona. But it wouldn't have happened without Jimmy Dimmit, a truck driver from Ashland, and an article in a local newspaper.

A friend of Dimmitt read a story about Dani and Jason Windham’s Koda who ran away from their home in central Lincoln in August. The female mastiff got loose just hours before the two left for their wedding. “We went to say ‘I do’ and then we got in the car and started driving around looking for her,” Dani said.

The next week, the Windhams moved to Camp Verde, Arizona, after Jason got a new job. Driving away, they resigned themselves to the fact it wasn't likely they would see Koda again. “It was horrible, we were so sad,” Dani said.

Two weeks ago Koda surfaced. A rancher found her chasing his cattle north of Wahoo. He took her to the local humane society. Workers scanned the micro chip storing the Windham’s contact information and contacted the Windhams. Dani says the micro chip and her prayers are the only reason they got Koda home.

But so soon after a big move cash was tight. “We just spent a couple thousand dollars to move down here in a rush and we didn't have the money to drive back up,” Dani explained.

Jimmy rolled to the rescue. A friend asked him if he was heading west soon and he was willing to take the dog. He agreed and picked up the dog from the shelter and headed west. “She was a good dog, a good rider,” he joked.

Jimmy met the Windhams in Flagstaff, Arizona, where Dani didn't wait for Jason to put their truck in park before jumping out to hug her dog. “I was crying, Jimmy was crying,” Dani said. “We are just so grateful Jimmy was willing to let her hitch hike all the way here with him.”
Video:
http://kmtv.video.jrn.com/?ndn.track...n&vid=27988639

[kuhio98]

Pittsburgh Doctor Heads to the Streets to Treat the Homeless – and Finds Them Homes

For the past 22 years, Dr. Jim Withers has been putting an entirely new spin on the concept of house calls.

Not only does he hit the streets of Pittsburgh to treat the homeless, but he also finds them actual homes.

It was a natural spin-off of his work caring for the homeless, he tells PEOPLE.

"In the late '90s we discovered that the homeless would not or could not go through the processes in place to qualify for housing," Withers, 56, says.

"We began asking them, 'What do you really want?' " says Withers. "And they wanted their own apartment. Fortunately, the rents in Pittsburgh are low enough so we were able to get them Social Security."

So far his nonprofit, Operation Safety Net, run through the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System, has given free medical care to about 20,000 individuals and helped more than 1,200 homeless people find a place to call their own.

"We are extremely fortunate to have Dr. Withers and his team from Mercy and Operation Safety Net working with the homeless population here in Allegheny County," Marc Cherna, director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, tells PEOPLE.

"Many homeless individuals, despite their situation, are very guarded when it comes to accepting help of any kind," he says, "but Dr. Withers has been able to connect with the community through his patience, compassion and care."

Street Medicine
When PEOPLE first profiled Withers in 1996, his work had just gotten underway. Since then, his "street medicine" (he coined the term) practices have been put into place in more than 45 communities in the U.S. and 90 internationally.

Withers's separate Street Medicine Institute hosts an annual symposium and assists communities throughout the world in starting their own programs.

Despite all that success, Withers continues to walk the streets at night, caring for those living under bridges, in boxes and in the shadows of the city – and his passion for it hasn't dimmed at all.

"I love the street people," he says. "I've formed friendships out there that are meaningful."

Making a Difference
He recalled the first time he met Lois Burke sleeping in a snow bank near a church.

She was behind a board when he approached and she playfully called out "Peekaboo!" startling Withers, he says.

It was the beginning of a lovely relationship between the two with Burke being placed in her own apartment for the past four years.

"I have my own bed and a couch," Burke, who worked in manufacturing before losing her job and landing in the streets, tells PEOPLE.

"I love it," she says. "I've never had a doctor like him before."

For his part, Withers says he has "so much respect for how strong she is," and affectionately calls the woman in her 50s "J-Lo."

More recently, he was able to help a desperately ill 20-year-old woman who was living in a homeless camp.

"She had a tough childhood, had run away and was in this camp with liver disease," he says. "She was attacked by someone on heroin and our team was able to get her out of the situation and connected with a case manager."

Subsequently, she went to a drug rehabilitation program to detox and is now clean thanks to Withers and his outreach workers.

"It was a lifesaving intervention," he says.