Take what you will from this wonderful story... Heather Krueger and Chris Dempsey are a match made in…well, the doctor’s office. The pair has a unique love story that began when Krueger was faced with a life or death medical emergency. Krueger was diagnosed with stage 4 liver disease in March 2014. Not long after, her condition worsened and her doctor advised her to start looking for a living donor for a transplant. "I was told I had less than a 50 percent chance of living more than two months. It was traumatic," Krueger told ABC. That’s when Dempsey, a former Marine who now works for the Village of Frankfort in Illinois, overheard his coworker (who turned out to be Krueger’s cousin) discussing her medical dilemma. He said he didn’t hesitate to get involved. "When I heard about it, I just thought I would want someone to help me," Dempsey said. He began to undergo several tests to determine if he was a match without ever meeting Krueger. Sure enough, he was. "He called me and said the tests came out great, let’s do this, I’m a match, I’m your donor," said Krueger. "I couldn’t believe it." The two underwent grueling surgeries in March that took over eight hours. Doctors removed 55 percent of Dempsey's liver. The recovery process took about two months for both Krueger and Dempsey. During the process they realized they were falling in love with each other. "If wasn’t for this person, I wouldn’t have made it to Christmas," Krueger said. "[Dempsey] was a selfless and brave person who was perfectly healthy and didn’t know me before this." Now, several months after Krueger's life-saving surgery, the pair is putting their medical ordeal behind them and focusing on their future. It was a difficult road to recovery but asked if he would do it all over again, Dempsey said without hesitation “in a heartbeat.” You can read the rest of the story HERE!
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This is another great idea that became a reality after a successful Kickstarter campaign. That means that, not only did someone come up with this idea, but enough other people joined in, wanting to help make it happen, that it's actually going on now in San Francisco! If you woke up this morning and showered in the privacy of your own bathroom, consider yourself lucky: America's nearly 600,000 homeless people often don't have a clean place to clean up. But in San Francisco, where the number of homeless has risen seven percent in the last decade, a non-profit organization is putting bathrooms on wheels and driving them to those in need. The group Lava Mae, whose name loosely translates to "wash me" in Spanish, is retrofitting decommissioned city buses with ensuite bathrooms and bringing them into neighborhoods like the Castro, the Mission and the Tenderloin, currently providing about 200 showers each week. While food and shelter are certainly pressing needs, Lava Mae's founder Doniece Sandoval believes that a warm, private shower—something most people take for granted—provides an intangible essential: dignity. "You can't overcome adversity if you don't have dignity and a sense of self," Sandoval, a former marketing executive, told TODAY. Sandoval first became interested in the issue in 2012, when she passed a young woman under an overpass near the San Francisco Design Center who was repeating over and over to herself that she'd never get clean. "It made me wonder what her chances were," said Sandoval, who was then inspired to research exactly how many public shower stalls existed in the city. Her findings were disheartening: Just 16 stalls for the estimated 3,500 people who sleep on the streets any given night. "I started to ask myself, if you can put gourmet food on wheels and take it anywhere, why not have mobile showers and toilets?" Sandoval said. Her initial research revealed a handful of small mobile-shower projects around the country, typically housed in trailers or converted RVs. Lava Mae came together when she heard that the city would be retiring old diesel buses. "I told myself, I want those buses!" she said. Three years later, Lava Mae has three buses that were donated by the city; two are currently operating at five different locations, and a third vehicle is scheduled to launch in early 2016. You can read the rest of the story RIGHT HERE! This is my attempt to make a difference by sharing good stories, hoping that they give you some hope and inspiration. You can find out more about why I'm doing this on my recent blog RIGHT HERE. Today's story is a little different than the previous ones. It's a reminder of something simple everyone can do, and it won't cost you one cent! This is from a Facebook post by our friend Intuitive Medium Danielle Garcia (and you can connect with her on Facebook RIGHT HERE)... What do you think happens when we cross the veil? Most of the time a huge welcome home party is followed by a sit down meeting with trusted souls and guides to watch a life review. As we watch our life flash before our eyes, we witness the affect we have had on others. Yesterday I connected with a man in spirit on behalf of his wife. She asked questions about how he treated her, things he did and said and things he did NOT do and say. As I communicated on his behalf, his words slowed down and he began to send me feelings and visuals. I was shown his experience with his life review. In those moments of seemingly suspended time, he witnessed how every word and action he'd given in his life touched other people. Some of this was positive, but not all of it was. He was then given the opportunity to FEEL what others felt through their experiences with him. His soul went into shock. He never realized how deeply people were affected by him. He operated on the surface of things and never wanted to live life from his emotional heart. When we're no longer of this world, the people who remember us will remember us for how they felt when they were with us. Did we ADD to their life, or did we TAKE AWAY from it? We can't take responsibility for another's feelings, but we certainly can be consciously aware of our impact. I don't think it's whoever dies with the most toys wins. I believe that whoever dies with the most joys is definitely a winner. Make a POSITIVE impact. Don't live with regret, and certainly, do your best not to die with them. You can also find out more about Danielle at her website RIGHT HERE! Like many people, I really want to make a difference, but I'm not exactly sure how. You can check out one of my ideas on my recent blog HERE. Another possibility is this story from last month, which I just came across, about some other people who wanted to make a difference, and help others figure out how they could make a difference, too! Whether it involves help with cat sitting or learning a new language, moving a sofa or lending a hand at a charity event, helpfulpeeps has seen the need requested – and fulfilled by a kind stranger.
In a matter of months, helpfulpeeps – a social network based on the idea of the gift economy and paying it forward – has amassed more than 2,000 users throughout the world. The initiative, which originated in Britain, is premised on a simple idea: “Ask for help whenever you want; help others whenever you can.” “We noticed the ongoing disconnect in society and our over-reliance on money to solve our problems,” says Simon Hills, a cofounder. “We were also amazed to find that there are 12 million people in the UK who used to volunteer and would love to get back into it, but existing barriers such as finding suitable opportunities and ongoing time commitments get in the way.” Enter helpfulpeeps, intended by its founders to help make it easy for those seeking help to find those willing to offer it. Without the requirement of an ongoing commitment, and with the flexibility of being able to offer support in person or even remotely – as in the case of virtual software or technological assistance – the objective is to offer a more fulfilling relationship between users. “We call it the ‘karma economy,’ ” Mr. Hills says. “Ultimately, it aims to save people money and develop a network of like-minded, helpful people, willing to lend a hand within the local and global community.” Still in its infancy, the site has seen nearly 500 requests with a 79-percent success rate – something its founders view as indicative of the true beneficence of the community of users. Users can ask for assistance for anything, and the requests have varied widely. “Quite possibly the 'best' story was one of our very first posts – it was from an Australian lady who wanted to be reunited with her long lost friend of 15 years from when she used to live in Telford, [England]” Hills says. “We seriously didn't expect this kind of post at all, but the community rallied together, and we are pleased to announce that they have since been reunited.” While the movement originated in Bristol, England, its founders have high hopes that the network will continue to expand globally. There are already users and community ambassadors in the United States, Hills says, who are bringing helpfulpeeps to their communities. In the short term, Hills wants to grow to 10,000 members, with the ultimate ambition of establishing “the world’s most helpful network.” “Our vision is to build a global community with millions of people helping each other every day,” he says. Anyone interested in joining can do so for free by visiting the initiative’s website – www.helpfulpeeps.com. Those interested in serving as ambassadors or community leaders can email [email protected]. Hills said running helpfulpeeps is a labor of love, driven by the potential to do good in communities around the world. Both Hills and his close friend and co-founder, Saf Nazeer, presently volunteer their time to manage the project, which does not generate any revenue. Both he and Mr. Nazeer left their previous careers to develop and grow helpfulpeeps, Hills says. “We both quit decent careers in sales and engineering to follow this passion and love every minute of it,” he says. “I am personally motivated every day to grow helpfulpeeps into an awesome global community.” Check out the original article HERE! This is my attempt to make a difference by sharing good stories, hoping that they give you some hope and inspiration. You can find out more about why I'm doing this on my recent blog RIGHT HERE. Previous stories shared here have been things that just about anyone could do, or at least help with. This one's a little different, in that the act of kindness performed here is by an airline pilot (and out of everyone reading this, I imagine the percentage that are airline pilots is pretty low). But that isn't really the point. The idea is simply what an amazing impact an act of kindness can have, even on people you don't know. Even if it takes you out of your way and costs you a little time. It's practically unheard of for a pilot of a plane that's filled with passengers to throw the jet into reverse and go back to the gate to let a few stragglers on board, but that's what a Delta Airlines pilot did for the family. They had less than 10 minutes to catch the connecting flight and they were almost left behind. "I was just crying.. I couldn't believe we were going to miss that flight and we are very, very thankful for those pilots," said Nicole Wibel. The Short family had the worst luck on their flight from Phoenix to Tennessee. They were on their way to bury their father, who lost his battle to cancer. They faced 90 minute delay taking off from Sky Harbor Airport, which meant they had less than 10 minutes to catch their connecting flight in Minneapolis, which was the last flight out to Memphis that day. Their father's funeral was the following morning. "It would've been sad not saying goodbye," said Wibel. "It would've been a hard thing to deal with." By the time the family got to the gate at the Minneapolis Airport, the jetway was pulling back and the plane was beginning to taxi toward the runway. Airline workers delivered the news. "The lady got on the phone and said there was nothing they could do, that the tower wasn't going to let them pull back in and my sisters and mom.. sitting there in tears and I'm screaming through the glass.. all of a sudden, another phone call," said Rick Short. He was screaming, crying and waving his hands in the window, trying to get the pilot's attention -- and he did. The pilot tells FOX 10 he didn't need words. He saw the tears, the sadness, the desperation on their faces and when he was told the family was on their way to their father's funeral, the pilot did something unprecedented. He went back to let them on the plane. "It's very rare.. someone stops and does something so kind and we need more people like that in the world," said Short. An airline worker told the family it was solely the pilot's decision to come back for them. The family made it to Tennessee in time to lay their father to rest in his hometown, which was one of his last wishes. You can read more (and see a video) RIGHT HERE! This is my attempt to make a difference by sharing good stories, hoping that they give you some hope and inspiration. You can find out more about why I'm doing this on my recent blog RIGHT HERE. Today's story is a personal one I shared on a recent edition of Psychic Tapestry. Last summer, I went to an animal shelter for the first time. We were looking for a kitten. We live out in the country, and after our last cat passed away, nature has started to encroach a little too close for my comfort. So we were going to get a cat to keep all the other little critters at bay. I expected to find mostly kittens and puppies there. Unwanted and stray. Instead, I found something much different. All the dogs were adult. Some were only a few years old, but most were into double digits. And they weren't strays.
And it happens a lot. Fortunately, here in San Diego, animal shelters are no-kill. So the clock wasn't ticking on Benji. Though I don't imagine it was much of a life, going from being part of a family, to being somewhere strange, where most of your day is in a small, cement cell. And while the shelter is no-kill, I did discover that they have kind of a fine-print disclaimer. When an animal is determined "unadoptable" that put it down. What does "unadoptable" mean? Six months? A year? I don't know. I do know that while I was there, a family was walking around looking at the dogs, and I heard them say more than once that "this one is too old". Picking out a kitten was easy.
Not that the two of them don't get along. They do. Most of the time. So, we picked out Audrey and turned around and met Ox. Like Benji, he's eleven. His owner was moved into an assisted-living facility, and she couldn't have pets. So after a little over a decade, Ox found himself in a small new home with strangers. And he had already been there for several months. So we took him, too. He was scared of us, at first. And really, who could blame him? He was a big, old cat who had lost his family, had lived in a cage and was now taken to another home. He mostly lived under our couch for the first few months. But he grew to trust us, and now he regularly visits and snuggles with my wife. I didn't do anything that anyone else couldn't have done. Am I certainly not the only one that has done this. I'm no hero
Truth is, what I shared here is not so amazing. I was even hesitant to share it at all. It wasn't really heroic. Then again, to Benji, Audrey and Ox, it might have been. Yesterday, I shared the video and the story of Baily and Blaze, and their owner. Here is a little more about them... This is the story of Baily and Blaze the 2 dogs that were reunited with their owner after 3 months. The video of him being told his adoption fee has been taken care of and the donations he received as well, has gone viral on face book with over 2 million views in 48 hrs. There is an over whelming amount of people wanting to help and to donate to this man who lost everything and almost lost his life this is how we decided to make that possible. On September 25, 2015 animal control picked Baily and Blaze up for safe keeping because their owner suffered a major heart attack. Safe keeping holds are normally 5 days. However their owner wanted them back more than anything and wasn’t doing well. The shelter held them for 20 days and made the decision to go ahead and sterilize them and place them up for adoption after receiving news that their owner wasn’t well and may not make it. Their owner called many times asking about them stating he was coming to get them. He loved them a lot but when he did get better he wasn’t in a position to get them back. He was getting back on his feet and finally on December 16, 2015 he came to see them for the first time in months and put a deposit down to get them back. Melissa Eagle who was a kennel tech, event staff, and now transportation for animal control knew the whole story and helped take care of them at the holding facility and transported them to the shelter just so happened to be there to pick up a dog to go back to the shelter at the same time. She saw him with his dogs for the first time in months and how he was in awe and so were the dogs! He sat on the floor with them as they licked him and went crazy with joy. Come to find out to much surprise of all the staff they were very well trained too! Seeing this and not knowing that Rebecca the office manager at the shelter had reduced the adoption fee in more than half of original fee, Melissa went home and contacted some of the volunteers from the events to see if any would be willing to pitch in 5 -10 dollars toward his adoption fee to get it covered for him. One volunteer stepped up and said they would cover all of it for him. The rest of the volunteers continued to get things he would need. Baily and Blaze’s owner was so determined to get them back at any cost. The staff of FSAC PetSmarts location had called and asked him to come down and get the paperwork started to get his dogs back. He didn’t know what was in store for him! After doing the paper work he was given his deposit back. Which is where the video starts. He couldn’t understand why he was getting his money back. He thought he wasn’t allowed to have them back. As Lindsay tried to explain everything to him he is in shock as she tells him that Melissa, who was there the day prior and watched him with his dogs was able to get his adoption fee covered by a volunteer and that other volunteers had donated dog food, toys, gift cards, treats, among other things yet to come. Melissa was on her way to PetSmart to meet him and give him the rest of the donations that he didn’t know he had during the video. This man is a Veteran from Vietnam, a man who lost everything his health, dogs, and home who is rebuilding his life and was given a Christmas gift from many caring people he had never met. Now that the video went viral the willingness to keep the Christmas gift coming is overwhelming and we are working to make that possible for them to donate to help this Veteran get back up on his feet! If you'd like to find out more, you can do that on their GoFundMe page RIGHT HERE!
They have already raised the money to help James, Baily and Blaze, but you can read more about them, share a pretty great story and maybe inspire someone to do something similar and help someone else in their own community! This is my attempt to make a difference by sharing good stories, hoping that they give you some hope and inspiration. You can find out more about why I'm doing this on my recent blog RIGHT HERE. Here's today's story... "This is the story of Baily and Blaze the 2 dogs that were reunited with their owner after 3 months. The video of him being told his adoption fee has been taken care of and the donations he received as well, has gone viral on face book with over 841,003 view and 22,735 shares in just 24hrs. There is an over whelming amount of people wanting to help and to donate to this man who lost everything and almost lost his life. On September 25, 2015 animal control picked Baily and Blaze up for safe keeping because their owner suffered a major heart attack. Safe keeping holds are normally 5 days. However their owner wanted them back more than anything and wasn’t doing well. The shelter held them for 20 days and made the decision to go ahead and sterilize them and place them up for adoption after receiving news that their owner wasn’t well and may not make it. Their owner called many times asking about them stating he was coming to get them. He loved them a lot but when he did get better he wasn’t in a position to get them back. He was getting back on his feet and finally on December 16, 2015 he came to see them for the first time in months and put a deposit down to get them back. Melissa Eagle who was a kennel tech, event staff, and now transportation for animal control knew the whole story and helped take care of them at the holding facility and transported them to the shelter just so happened to be there to pick up a dog to go back to the shelter at the same time. She saw him with his dogs for the first time in months and how he was in awe and so were the dogs! He sat on the floor with them as they licked him and went crazy with joy. Come to find out to much surprise of all the staff they were very well trained too! Seeing this and not knowing that the office manager at the shelter had reduced the adoption fee in more than half of original fee, Melissa went home and contacted some of the volunteers from the events to see if any would be willing to pitch in 5 -10 dollars toward his adoption fee to get it covered for him. One volunteer stepped up and said they would cover all of it for him. The rest of the volunteers continued to get things he would need. Baily and Blaze’s owner was so determined to get them back at any cost. The staff of FSAC PetSmarts location had called and asked him to come down and get the paperwork started to get his dogs back. He didn’t know what was in store for him! After doing the paper work he was given his deposit back. Which is where the video starts. He couldn’t understand why he was getting his money back. He thought he wasn’t allowed to have them back. As Lindsay tried to explain everything to him he is in shock as she tells him that Melissa, who was there the day prior and watched him with his dogs was able to get his adoption fee covered by a volunteer and that other volunteers had donated dog food, toys, gift cards, treats, among other things yet to come. Melissa was on her way to PetSmart to meet him and give him the rest of the donations that he didn’t know he had during the video. This man is a Veteran from Vietnam, a man who lost everything his health, dogs, and home who is rebuilding his life and was given a Christmas gift from many caring people he had never met. Now that the video went viral the willingness to keep the Christmas gift coming is overwhelming and we are working to make that possible for them to donate to help this Veteran get back up on his feet! |
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