Strollerderby : nice news

Boy Saves Brother's Life With Bone Marrow

Brett Singer — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:00:00 GMT

Sometimes it's good to just read a nice story. Especially around the holidays.

Yes, I'm sappy, but this has to make you smile.

Back in October, Daniel Badmus, a five-year-old boy from Ontario, CA, donated bone marrow to his four-year-old brother John. John suffers from sickle cell anemia, described as, "a genetic condition in which there aren't enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body."

Daniel, the donor, received an award today from the Canadian Armed Forces. They also held a torch ceremony in his honor. (Not sure what that means but it sounds like a good thing.)

I have to admit that this sort of story (a) always chokes me up a little bit, and (b) makes me think about paying attention to my own health so that I can be there for my kids for as long as possible. There's also (c), where I think about whether or not I would have the courage to do what five-year-old Daniel did. I hope I would. He's a brave guy. Good for him.

Source/Image: citynews.ca

Read more:

Working Parents Smackdown Part 2 – Dads With Jobs vs Moms With Jobs

High School Student in Hospital After Scavenger Hunt

Autistic Girl Kicked Out Of Girl Scouts

Rite Aid Says They Will Stop Selling Expired Baby Products

They Say – Most Toys Are Toxic

Brain Wave Study Sheds Light On Autism

Red eye? Nope, eye cancer

Brett Singer — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:00:00 GMT

You know those people you've befriended online? Never met them, but you trade baby pictures? It's all just a little casual thing, right? A way to connect with people who are experiencing the same things that you are.

For one woman, that seemingly casual connection actually saved her baby's life.

Megan Santos of Riverview, Fla. and Madeleine Robb, of London, were online buddies. They gave birth the same day and swapped photos of their bundles of joy. The U.K. mom noticed something odd about one of little Rowan Santos' eyes.

It wasn’t easy for Madeleine Robb to send an e-mail to another mom warning that her baby might have a deadly form of eye cancer. But she’s glad she did it — and so is the mother of 1-year-old Rowan Santos.
…
Just hours after reading the e-mail, Megan Santos of Riverview, Fla., learned from a doctor that Rowan has a potentially deadly form of childhood cancer called retinoblastoma.

WOW.

(For what it's worth, "retinoblastoma" isn't on my spell-check.)

Here's a video report from the Today Show:

source: NBC

Read more:

Man ejected from Yankee Stadium for lack of patriotism

Return of the son of stuff YUPPIE parents like

More Kids Stuff I like that my kids don't care about

Kids Stuff I like that my kids don't care about

Sarah Palin, Sportscaster

11 months old, 62 pounds

Dad arrested for leaving son at McDonald's (what is it about McDonald's, anyway?)

They Say: Make Lunch Fun

Airline removes life vests

No presents for this kid - just donations

Brett Singer — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:00:00 GMT

More nice news – an 11-year-old in Greensboro, North Carolina told her friends not to bring presents to her birthday party. Instead, she asked them to bring canned goods that she will donate to a local food pantry.

This isn't the first time Audrey Mangum decided to forgo gifts in favor of more charitable pursuits. This has been going on for four years. Previous birthdays included items such as teddy bears and toys to be donated to less fortunate families.

Some kids, of course, brought presents, and Audrey was happy about that, proving that she's nice, but not nuts. "That is pretty cool," said Mangum. "They didn't even have to do that."

Cool kid! I have a friend whose daughter did something similar one year, and everyone was pretty charmed by the gesture. Frankly, I think it would be nice if more kids did this sort of thing, but I think the idea needs to come from the child. That is, if you say, "Hey, Toy Boy. How about this year you don't get presents and your friends just bring cans for the food pantry?" you may not get a great reaction. Then again, maybe not every kid is going to think of this on their own, or they might be embarrassed to bring it up for fear of being teased (not to mention not getting any cool gifts.) Has anyone ever done this with their children?

Image/Source: digtriad.com