Sliver of Hope

[SubGod22]

Teen Floundering in Foster Care Finally Gets to be a Sister With Real Family for First Time

At five years old, Merriah entered foster care after enduring abuse and neglect from parents with mental health and substance abuse problems. For nine long years, she went back and forth between multiple foster homes and her mother’s home, never experiencing the stability of a real family.

For years Merriah was afraid she might never get adopted.

“I knew what adoption was, but I just didn’t think that was something that was going to ever happen to me,” said Merriah. “I felt invisible.”

That all changed when she was referred to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Their signature program hires adoption professionals dedicated to finding permanent families for youth in foster care who are too often overlooked.

One of the ‘recruiters’, Megan, got to know Merriah, and built her a network of mentors and supportive adults—two of whom were like Emilie and John. The couple got to know the New York teen through community activities and dinners where they’d listen to what was happening in her life. Over time, Merriah began to trust Emilie and John and open up like never before.

They forged an unbreakable bond, until finally—just before her 15th birthday—Emilie and John announced they wanted that bond to be forever. They adopted her as a daughter.

“It took a huge weight off my chest knowing that I didn’t have to worry about not having a home anymore,” said Merriah. “I haven’t felt relief literally at all in my life.”

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Good Samaritan Ends Elderly Woman's Months-Long A/C Battle

A Kansas City woman who had been enduring sweltering temperatures without air conditioning for months finally found relief, thanks to the selfless actions of a local good Samaritan.

Peggy Moore, 75, had paid an HVAC contractor $5,000 in February to have her air conditioning fixed. Yet her house has been 90 degrees this whole summer and she finally broke down.

"I'm so hot, I can't do anything, I can't clean my house, I can't do anything. I feel bad about it because this is not the way I live. This is not the way I keep my house," Moore told FOX4 Kansas City. "I get to the point where I can't hardly breathe. I get these bad headaches, I can't see. It's really hard, it's very hard."

Moore pleaded with her contractor multiple times but received no answer. So, she reached out to FOX4 Problem Solvers, who shared her story.

The next day her HVAC contractor suddenly reached out and offered to replace the unit. Even after that, it was still 89 degrees inside.

Now, that's all changing.

Two minute Fox 4 segment on this story in the link.

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What everyone wanted Evan Wessel to be...

College Athlete Learns His Teammate Donates Plasma to Afford School - So He Gave Him His Scholarship

A collegiate athlete who had won a scholarship to Eastern Michigan University to play football gave it all away to his teammate who was struggling to pay tuition bills.

Without a doubt, offensive lineman Brian Dooley would have been extremely proud to have earned a full-ride scholarship to undergraduate and graduate school at EMU, but as much as he saw his dedication to the sport pay off, there was something that always pushed him to work harder.

It was the grind and ethic of his partner on the offensive line, Zack Conti, who made it onto the team as a “walk-on” meaning without a scholarship. Conti paid his $7,000 per semester tuition and associated expenses all on his own, even going as far as selling his blood plasma to make the payments.

“Football is something I really love, so ever since I got to school, I’ve had to do whatever it takes to stay here and stay in a good position with academics and football and everything,” Conti, a senior at Eastern Michigan, said in a video shared by the university with ABC News. “So I work a landscaping job and I rip out carpets and I demo tile floors whenever I’m not working or not doing football or going to school.”

[SubGod22]

I'll start by saying Gary Sinise has done a lot of good things for vets over the years. I watched a YouTube video over the weekend where he talked about some of his roles and his connection to the military (Uncles, father, grandfather, brothers-in-law) and the work he's put forth to portray them in the correct way (Forrest Gump, Apollo 13) and why he does what he does. I may try to find that video and link it at the bottom of this. He's a good actor, and a better person from everything I've ever read or heard.

Veteran Who Lost His Legs And Suffered A Brain Injury Gifted Mortgage-Free Home Through Gary Sinise Foundation

In a heartwarming display of gratitude and support for the nation's heroes, a disabled veteran who lost his legs and suffered a traumatic brain injury during his service has been gifted a mortgage-free home by the Gary Sinise Foundation.

On September 30, 2006, U.S. Army Sergeant (Ret.) Shane Parsons drove over a hidden bomb that was designed to cut through metal and protective gear while deployed in Iraq. He lost both legs above the knee and suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him unable to read, write or manage basic daily living skills such as bathing, eating, and dressing.

Last week, Parsons got the keys to his new "smart home" with his wife Jennifer and their two boys, Owen and Emmett.

"Not only does this home help restore Shane's independence, but it also empowers him in all the great things that lie ahead. His home is mortgage-free, contains specially adapted technology, and is custom-made to fit Shane's needs," the Gary Sinise Foundation said in a release.

"Sometimes I just…I don't feel like I'm worthy or feel like I'm deserving of this. It's still surreal," Shane said. "Him [Gary Sinise] coming out and just being like, 'Hey, I'm not going to give you a hand. I'm coming in. I'm going to put my foot in the door. No matter what. If you like it or not and I'm going to help you.' That's what I feel from him, you know? Like, 'Hey, I'm going to do this because you deserve it'."

There's a video at the bottom of the link if interested.

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Giving speech back to those who've lost it may be on the horizon.

Paralyzed Woman 'Speaks' with Brain Signals Turned into Talking Avatar in World First

A paralyzed woman has spoken again after her brain signals were intercepted and turned into a talking avatar, complete with facial expressions and sound samples from the woman’s real voice, all in a world first.

48-year-old Ann suffered a brainstem stroke when she was 30, leaving her paralyzed.

Scientists at the University of California then implanted a paper-thin rectangle of 253 electrodes onto the surface of her brain covering the area critical for speech. They then used artificial intelligence to produce the brain-computer interface (BCI).

These intercept ‘talking’ brain signals and are fed into a bank of computers via a cable, plugged into a port fixed to her head.

The computers can decode the signals into text at a rate of 80 words a minute, while an audio recording of her voice from her wedding day years before the stroke reproduced her voice and then gave it to an on-screen avatar that uses it with facial expressions.

The team from the University of California San Francisco says it is the first time that either speech or facial expressions have been synthesized from brain signals.

“Our goal is to restore a full, embodied way of communicating, which is really the most natural way for us to talk with others,” said Dr. Edward Chang, chair of neurological surgery at UCSF. “These advancements bring us much closer to making this a real solution for patients.”

There's a five minute video at the bottom of the article that appears to show how they've done it and putting it into action. I don't have volume on my work PC so I can't hear anything at the moment, but this could be huge down the road to help people feel more apart of society, or even their families. I had a grandparent who suffered a few strokes and mostly lost the ability to communicate. Reading this article made me think about her and how different things may have been had she not just been sitting/laying there with us and maybe was able to participate more.

[SubGod22]

Here's a young woman determined to take her bad experiences and turn it into a positive for others.

MSN - National American Miss Kansas Jr. uses platform to teach women how to protect themselves

She said after being a victim of sexual abuse, she wanted to help create a way for women to learn how to defend themselves and find their voice.

“I have experience with sexual abuse that began at a really young age, and it went on for many years,” said Bella. “I was able to be removed from that situation, and begin my healing journey, and become as healed as I can to create something like this, I did it.”

Gary Tate, the lead instructor at Fuzion Martial Arts, shared valuable tips with the women at Sunday’s workshops on how to maximize their impact - when every second counts.

“Sometimes you become that dead weight. but if you understand footwork and manage that distance, utilizing your forearm,” said Tate. “Ultimately, it’s finding ways to improve the position in the situation your in.”

I hate that these experiences are more common than we'd like to believe, but like one of my favorite mental health advocates, Bella isn't going to let it define her and has a mission to help others.

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Pole Vaulters Agree to Share Gold Medal in Unexpected Twist at High Stakes World Championship - WATCH

After matching each other in normal rounds, two Olympic pole vaulters continued to battle it out over three tiebreaker rounds to see who would get gold at the World Athletics Championships.

However, the tiebreakers proved inconclusive, with both Australia’s Nina Kennedy and American Katie Moon both making it over the 4.90 meter bar, but failing to get over the 4.95 meter one.

So with a kiss and a hug, the two athletes and longtime friends decided to share the gold medal, a choice which in such circumstances can be made if there’s a dead heat between two competitors.

“I didn’t think she’d want to share it, I thought we might have had to keep jumping,” Kennedy said afterwards, according to Olympics.com. “But, you know, I kind of looked at her and said, ‘Hey, girl, you maybe wanna share this?'”

“And the relief on her face — and you could see it on my face — and it was mutual. And yeah, absolutely incredible to share a medal with Katie Moon. You know, we’ve been friends for so long so it’s super special.”

Moon agreed, noting that it had been a long battle and that for four jumps they had done basically the same thing.

If you haven't seen the video, it's in the link.

Also of note, both women will eventually find themselves in the Candy thread.

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Viral Teen With Record Size Feet Finally Gets Size 23 Shoes Donated So He Can Play Football

Sports are a proving ground where every challenge becomes an opportunity to grow stronger, a fact that for one very unique Michigan sophomore proved true on and off the field.

Eric Kilburn Jr. was born a normal 8-pound baby boy, but has grown into a well-spoken giant of a young man with what might be the largest feet ever recorded in a human teenager.

His unique growth rate has certainly given the 6-foot-10 defensive tackle at Goodrich High School an advantage, but also created trouble finding shoes that could contain his feet which seemed to grow a size every 6 months.

At 15 years old he was wearing size 22 shoes—the largest which any sporting company had ever needed to make. But soon, even these were too small, and in lieu of constantly suffering blisters and muscle deformations in his feet, Eric’s mother Rebecca was left with no other choice but to order specially-made orthopedic shoes at a cost of $1,500 per pair.

Direct pleas to sporting goods companies fell on deaf ears, but a friend who started a $3,500 fundraiser to get two of these expensive shoes for Eric created something truly special.

The fundraiser was reported on by Hometown Life, and the story quickly went viral, attracting the attention of PR firms of Puma and Under Armour, as well as the king of big-boy generosity—Shaquille O’Neil.

Representatives of the two companies arrived at Goodrich High to measure Eric’s feet, and after a lengthy process donated 4 pairs of cleats and 2 pairs of trainers to the school, who gave them to Eric as a gift in order to maintain his status as an amateur athlete.

“I got my cleats before conditioning practice and it was an immediate difference,” Eric told USA Today, following up on the Homelife story. “It’s insane how much more traction I got. It’s mind-boggling.”

I didn't realize shoes pretty much stopped at size 22. Never really thought about it. I can't imagine having to pay so much for special shoes to wear just to play a sport you love. I do know that shoes that are too small can do a lot of harm to all parts of your body as the feet are the foundation. Glad to see a couple of companies step up and help. And of course Shaq would get involved.

Also cool to see mom setting up a network to help others who may be in a similar position find what they need.

There's a three minute video in the link if interested.

[Kung Wu]

That kid boxes out just by standing there. Get that kid a basketball scholly stat!

[Kel Varnsen]

How'd you like to sign up for JV football as a lineman and have to block that kid while weighing 190 lbs?

Also, the article spells Shaq's name wrong, which is hilarious.

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Woman Wrote 'please write me' on an Egg in 1951 - Someone Finally Did

We’ve all heard stories about people finding messages in bottles, but I’ll bet you’ve never heard about someone finding a message in an egg carton before.

Emerging from social media, a 92-year-old Iowa resident has had a 70-year dream fulfilled after a message she wrote on an egg at a packing plant in 1951 has finally been responded to.

Mary Foss and a few of the gals that worked at the Forest City Iowa plant decided to all sign eggs with their name and hometown on them and send them off all in different boxes that were going out that day.

The cartons were headed to the East Coast, and Mary, who had never been to New York City, hoped someone there would find it and become her pen pal. She sent out 4 or 5 such eggs to increase the odds of a serendipitous meeting over scrambled eggs, but as the year rolled on, the stunt became a memory to be shared at dinner and lunch parties.

“Whoever gets this egg, please write me,” Mary carefully wrote on several eggs with a pencil. She then added, “Miss Mary Foss, Forest City, Iowa” along with the date, April 2, 1951.

“We heard that egg story our entire lives,” Mary’s daughter Laurie Bascom told the Washington Post. “Our mom always thought it would have been fun to get a response.”

Unbeknownst to Mary, who married and became Mary Starn, one of her eggs had been found by a man named Miller Richardson, who kept it for decades in his home and watched it petrify amid his collection of antiques.

The second key figure in this story is John Amilfitano, a neighbor of Richardson’s who came across the egg one day while helping Richardson find something in his collection. Richardson explained its origin and then, before he died years later, gave it to Amalfitano who kept it in his china cabinet for 20 years.

Quite the interesting story. Who writes on an egg to be sent off? Who keeps an egg for 50 years before handing it off to a neighbor who then keeps it for 20? Who then finally makes an effort to track down the author after 70 years?

I'm glad they all did.

[SubGod22]

Good people exist.

Little Boy Wanders Into Fishing Store Alone, Ends Up With Trip Of A Lifetime

A heartwarming tale unfolded at the Scheels store in Sandy, Utah when Patrick Palepoi, the store's fishing manager, shared a moment that will forever be etched in his memory.

Patrick, a resident of Orem, is well-versed in conversing with customers about their angling needs, but one encounter stood out.

On this particular day, a young boy named Xander entered the store, his eyes filled with curiosity about the world of fishing. For nearly half an hour, they bonded over their shared passion.

Xander's mother, Brynn Padilla, shared the significance of this connection, explaining, "So my dad, he was a fisherman. He went fishing a lot. But he passed away a couple of years ago, and Xander never got to really go fishing with him. And so, I think, over the last year, that he's been missing grandpa, wishing he could go fishing with grandpa again."

Touched by Xander's longing for a connection to his late grandfather, Patrick decided to take action and gifted Xander his first fishing rod.

"It was sixty dollars and then he bought it with his own money," Xander told Fox 13.

This heartfelt gesture brought tears to Brynn's eyes, and she acknowledged that such acts of kindness are rare.

Patrick's own upbringing played a significant role in his decision to go above and beyond for Xander. Raised by a single mother without a father figure to introduce him to activities like fishing and hunting, he deeply empathized with Xander's situation. "He really reminded me of myself as a kid," Patrick shared. "And it just really resonated with me."

However, Patrick's generosity didn't stop at the gift of the fishing rod. The 22-year-old fishing enthusiast went a step further by organizing a memorable fishing trip to Strawberry Reservoir for Xander and his family. To ensure that Xander had an enriching experience, two professional anglers from Scheels accompanied him on the trip, offering guidance and teaching him valuable skills.

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Tide-Savvy Metal Detectorist Reunites Woman With Late Mother's Wedding Rings 2 Weeks After They Fell into Sea

A U.K. metal detectorist has worked a near-miracle, reuniting a woman with a beloved chain that held her late mother’s promise, engagement and wedding rings.

The 24-year-old was “devastated” when her necklace chain broke while she was swimming at Les Amarreurs beach in Guernsey last month.

On the chain hung three of her mom’s rings which always made her “feel close” to her late parent.

Not giving up hope, Tessa Le Gallez telephoned a local metal detectorist Matthew Kneebone and asked if he could possibly help her get the heirlooms back.

“My mum passed away in April and it was her wish that I had her rings,” recalls the office manager.

“I put it on a strong chain around my neck because sometimes in the cold your fingers shrink and you can lose your rings.

“I went swimming and by complete freak accident, my dog jumped on me and his claw got caught in the chain. It took all of his weight and snapped.

She searched for hours but couldn’t find them.

“I was panicking and worried I would never see them again. They’re so precious to me. That’s when I called Matthew and asked for help.”

Mr. Kneebone, a stonemason on the rocky island in the English Channel, told her he would be able to find the lost rings when there was a spring tide again.

Sure enough, two weeks later, on September 1, Matthew and Tessa headed back down to the beach—and within ten minutes, Matthew had found the chain. Then, amazingly, within a half hour, all of three of heirlooms were uncovered.

I can only imagine the anguish the poor woman felt. It's different, but I have two pieces of jewelry I wear pretty much at all times that have my dogs ashes in them, as well as their names and the days I lost them. They mean a great deal to me and I have an intense fear of losing them. Especially the necklace as the little eyelet that holds it together sometimes gets stretched and the chain will come off. I fear that happening at the wrong time and I know I would be devastated if I lost her again.

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Haven't heard anything about Warrick Dunn in years. Guess he's been up to doing good.

This NFL Running Back has Made 218 Single Parents New Homeowners With Collaborative Charity

A former NFL great recently surprised a single mother and her daughter with a brand new home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but it was just one of 217 other such blessings that Warrick Dunn has managed to fund.

The collaborative effort by Warrick Dunn Charities, Habitat for Humanity, and Catholic High School where Dunn himself graduated, saw the house built, furnished, and stocked with food.

“Dominique and Miracle, single mother, first-time homeowner, I think it’s important to help change the community and the environment, create stability for a family that could potentially have good long-term positive impacts,” Dunn said, upon returning to his hometown to welcome the family.

Catholic High School raised $85,000 for the house.

“A new home, a new, fresh start, a new beginning—I’m totally blessed,” said Dominque after walking into the new home for the first time, worried dreadfully about her makeup running for all the crying she knew she’d be doing.

Sheets were already on the bed, and food was already in the fridge. The mortgage was there on the dinner table for signing, with Dunn’s charity alongside it to help with the down payment check.

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Watch Heroic Bystander Jump Into River to Rescue Little Girl Getting Swept Away

Last week a heroic bystander jumped into a strong current to rescue a young girl who fell in and was getting swept away.

The seven-year-old girl accidentally fell into the river in Qingyuan City, China, which led to the hero leaping into the water from quite a height.

A video shows the man swimming towards the girl who appears to be face down in the water floating in the current.

Eventually, he managed to grab her and bring her back to the shore—with a school backpack still on her back.

Video at bottom of the link.

I believe I'd previously seen that he jumped in from about 30 feet.