This is a wonderful world, people. Don’t let pessimistic grinches tell you otherwise. Do you need a reason to believe it? I’ll give you ten! On today’s article, we’d like to share with you ten heartwarming stories to prove people is awesome and humanity still have a chance. Altruistic gifts, selfless efforts, people enjoying and smiling despite the adversities and a lot of self-commitment.
Do we need an excuse for this reading? Not really. We don’t really need reasons to share with you some happiness. Since you're already here, just sit, relax. We promise you, it'll be all worth it.
Home Depot Employees Build A Mailbox For An Autistic Kid
This is the story of a 7-year-old kid named Cameron. Cameron is autistic. He and her mother once visited a Home Depot store, when she was approached by two employees, Gary and Lorel. The kid’s mother, Haight, wanted to give him a present, when she came up with the idea of a mailbox.
"He loves to put things in, take them out, open the door, close the door, raise the flag, lower the flag over and over (not necessarily in that order!) I was looking to put a mailbox together for his birthday that would be sturdy but able to be moved from room to room," Said Cam's mother.
The employees built the mailbox following precise instructions, like the height of the box, color, shape and the final detail: his name on it, “Cam’s mail”. The new mailbox should have been ready by the end of that week. When Haight came back at Home Depot, Gary told her not to worry about charges. It was an actual birthday gift!
But not only that; the mailbox was stuffed with a Teddy Bear and a few small toys, so little Cameron could test it when they arrived home. Haight actually left the store in tears, not believing how lucky she was.
Cameron was actually luckier, and just imagine how good impression he had to leave on the Home Depot employees, maybe all it took was a heart-melting smile, the pure innocence of a little boy. Of course, Cam’s mother couldn’t resist sharing this amazing story on the internet, thanking Home Depot for such an altruistic effort and making sure everyone knew the name of these heroes.
It was just a matter of time until the story went viral, and people started sending stuff to Cam! Now they had an actual reason to check on that mailbox every morning!
A Blood Donor Whose Rare Antibodies Have Saved The Life Of Millions Of Babies
“A gift of life” is what they call donors, which is certainly the most accurate name for it. This is the case of James Harrison, an Australian man whose rare gens have saved the life of millions of babies.
When he was 14 years old, Harrison had a very complicate surgery that required the transfusion of a huge amount of blood. Since then, he took the decision of becoming a for-life blood donor.
When he was 14 years old, Harrison had a very complicate surgery that required the transfusion of a huge amount of blood. Since then, he took the decision of becoming a for-life blood donor.
He had to wait until he was 18 years old to start, though. But once he started, he never stopped. It is estimated that he donated blood no less than 1,173rd times.
After the first donations back in the 50s years, doctors found out he has a rare strong antibody against the D Rh group antigen. This mutation is crucial for babies with the risk of contracting Rhesus disease a hemolytic condition that affect babies during the its formation as a fetus. Knowing this only encouraged James to keep donating during the rest of his life.
For some reason, this disease was very common in Australia, kids would be born with brain damage or even not being born at all, several pregnancy miscarriages happened too and doctors didn’t know exactly why.
Harrison donated as much blood as the country’s norms allowed it. He started when he was 18 years old -the minimum age required- and until he was 81 years old, the age limit in Australia. More than 60 years donating hope to those babies that could need it. He was nicknamed as “the man with the golden arm”. Like a marvel comic character or something…
His self-less actions earned him two honors; the first one in 1999, Medal of the Order of Australia and a nomination at New South Wales Local Hero division of the Australian of the Year awards in 2011.
The Amazing Paint Job On A Hairless Woman
Let me introduce you to Julia. A girl from Spain who suffers alopecia. There’s an aggressive and rare variant that affects only 2% of world population, being even rarer on woman. She had the first symptoms during her childhood. At the age of 8, she had lost all of her hair, even eyebrows and eyelids.
She started using wigs and understood she would have to for the rest of her life. However, three years ago she accepted what she looked like and stopped using wigs.
During the COVID lockdown she met Marina, a body painter that lived near her building. The first approach was made by Marina. If you take a look at her job, you’ll notice the varied number of customers she has. When she met Julia and saw that perfect bald head for the first time, she offered to do a paintjob on her.
She believed it was due to some sort of cancer at the beginning. To ashamed to even ask, she let Julia opened her heart with no rushes. She had met a new friend; they had all the time in the world to get to know each other.
The lockdown at least gave some fortunate the chance to meet new people, fascinating human beings. When they were finally free to go outside again, they found even more things in common. So now their friendship was sealed and it could only mean more and more paint on that natural canvas. It was like they were destined to meet each other, the perfect couple.
In word of Marina herself, “Beauty is diversity.” She has been working on people whose bodies have been ashamed. cancer survivors or burned patients. She believes the body painting is like a healing process. Needless to say she loves her job ad astra.
This Couple's Fitness Transformation Process
Say Hello to Grant and Chantelle, a couple from Melbourne that lost the combined record of 380 pounds after they got married. The drill was simple, both were aware of the health issues ahead in their lives. But we aren’t talking about back pain or sleeping problems. They took the first step when Chantelle was told she might die. That was enough for her to start an extreme change.
When she met Grant, she knew he was her soulmate. They shared several things in common, such as food, for instance. “We snacked on family size bars of chocolate, drinking a liter of Red Bull a day and eating greasy take out sometimes 3 times a day.”
When they moved together, the eating habits went worse. But they were both focused on changing this as soon as possible. This process included, of course, diet and exercise, but they both also had to endure a surgery: A gastric sleeve. Even though the complications and pain, they both knew they weren’t alone on this process. Every step was followed by the other, which made things a bit easier.
Skin infections is good example of post-operatory complications. This surgery leads to a quick loss of weight, which results in a skin excess. Before it was surgically removed, they had to keep it fresh and dry.
This process that started in 2015, the year of the gastric sleeve surgery, ended in 2018. She kept record of the whole process on her Instagram account. Chantelle narrates it wasn’t only about looking better, it has a huge impact on physical and mental state: “I wasted the first 17 years of my life being severely obese, depressed, and unhealthy, but now I’m excited about my future.”
Chantelle likes to wear her old bride dress, as a reminder of what she used to be. It’s a catharsis process that can also help her to look forward with hope in her eyes.
Woman That Stole Five Eggs, Surprised By The Cop That Caught Her
The year is 2021, Helen Johnson, responsible of five children at home, was caught stealing a pack of five eggs at convenience store. Her kids haven't eaten in two days according to her. The charge for five eggs was $1.25, but when she reached her pocket, found out she had only 50 cents, like the singer. She tried to ‘smuggle’ the eggs into her pocket, but was caught by a staff member. The employees called the police and Officer William Stacy arrived.
She admitted her mistake and returned the eggs, so the store staff decided not to press charges. At this point, she was free to go, but something else happened.
The Officer purchased a carton of eggs for Miss Johnson and her family and asked her to never shoplift again. An unexpected altruistic gesture that she never imagined could be possible. Prior to the incident, the woman had lost her paycheck the week before and was on the edge of starvation. That was the most desperate decision she had made in her life, almost pushed by the circumstances.
She could have ended behind the bars that day, but instead went home with a whole pack of eggs. As incredible as it is already, this story still doesn’t end here.
Later that week, two trucks of food honked at Miss Johnson’s door. It was all orchestrated by officer Stacy. She had been supplied during a whole month, maybe more. Stacy kept note of the precarious situation the family was going through. This woman was in charge of whole family, like millions in the country, trying to reach the end of the month.
In a society in which police are pointed way too often for unfavorable stories, Tarrant Officer William Stacy showed us that under those uniforms dwells a human being.
This Couple Could Finally Deliver A Baby After Five Miscarriages
Jennie Hill, a woman from Atlanta tried during 15 years to get pregnant, sadly having five miscarriages in the process. This nightmare started in 2003, during Christmas, when she lost her first baby. How cruel can destiny be. She had a second miscarriage the next year and a third miscarriage the year later. So many devasting news couldn’t be just a coincidence, something was clearly going wrong with her body.
This horrible experience sadly led to another one. His former husband filed for divorce in 2007. However, in spite of her fertility problems, Jennie decided not to visit a doctor.
Jennie simply stopped worrying about it and decided to stop trying. During seven years she remained single until she met her second husband, John, getting married in 2014. This man was more than just a support. He acknowledged her problem but he was decided to remain by her side no matter what. However, her worst nightmare occurred again. Jennie had a fourth miscarriage, but something would be different this time.
During this process, doctors discovered that Jennie had a rare genetic condition, a chromosomal translocation that could lead to spontaneous abortions. At least now she had an answer.
That’s when the couple decided to play safe. They applied for an in vitro fertilization process in 2016. As you can imagine, anxiety and negative thoughts took over. However, as weeks passed by, she began to realize… it’s finally happening! On January 25, 2017 Jennie and John gave birth to Harper grace, a precious baby girl. A miracle baby if you ask anyone. The nightmare finally ended; it was real!
“If I can give one person hope because they think, ‘I just went through this loss and I’ll never be a mom. I want them to know, don’t give up on that dream if that’s in your heart because it can happen.”
The Kid Who Survived Two Days Alone In A Forest
Ryker Webb is the name of this little fighter. He was only three years old when he got lost in the Montana wilderness. But how did this even happen to begin with? He was playing in the yard of his own house with the dog near mile marker 18 of state Highway 56. In just a matter of ten unsupervised minutes, little Ryker just disappeared. It was a Friday, around 4:53 p.m.
Two hours after his disappearing, Lincoln County Sheriff's Officers entered the scene. Their main focus? The woods crossing the highway. Time was a decisive factor, the search started immediately.
Police sent a code red alert to residents on Saturday, asking that they search their properties and structures for Ryker. It was improvable they could find him there after 24 hours without receiving any type of notification, which meant they had to keep all their focus on the woods. They used drones, K9 teams, a boat and even a helicopter team. The little lad really made a number hard to forget.
After almost 48 hours of search, Ryker Webb was finally found by the Deputies. He was found no more than two miles from his home.
He was hungry, thirsty and cold, police said. Authorities said the area where Ryker was found is inhabited by mountain lions and bears. He was eventually taken to a hospital. Besides a couple of superficial wounds, he was fine. At the beginning he was so scared that he could barely speak. Perhaps the impact of the experience or maybe he thought he was in troubles.
Do you know who were in troubles? Ryker’s parents. They had to respond why they waited so long to report the kid as missing. Child Protective Services had to take matter into their hands for a possible case of negligence.
Online Gamers Meet In Real Life At Bedside Of Terminal Friend
Gaming, reddit and friendship. There are the ingredients of this story. These six friends met through the online community and during years, they had never met in person. "We played pretty much everything. We played all the time. Even if we weren't playing games, we would be just hanging out talking about anything.” Said David Miller to BBC. However, one of them, Joe, had been diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma.
The drill was simple, it was a terminal illness, so if they wanted to really said goodbye in person, they’d have to hurry up. Time was crucial.
"We always had an idea we would eventually meet up, but after finding out that our time was limited, we knew we had to do it sooner rather than later," David said. The meeting happened at a hospital in New Jersey. That included rushed fly tickets, cancelled meetings and probably school suspensions, but there we had them; the six friends finally together.
“It meant everything, especially to Joe. There were definitely tears. It was a dream we have had since the beginning and it's amazing that it came true." Explained David, who shared the story on reddit.
The image of the friends gathering around next to his ill friend made everyone reflects about the bonds that online community can create, regularly labeled as an anti-social scape from reality. During all those years, this group of friends were Joe’s only life. There are several cases out there about online friends meeting in real life for the first time, terminally ill boys playing unreleased titles and pretty much, many wishes coming true.
This amazing community includes not only gamers and reddit users, but also video game companies, who from time to time, have these types of gestures too.
A Wrong Dial Made This Family Grow Bigger
A classic thanksgiving story. It all began in 2016, Phoenix, Arizona. Jamal Hinton received a message from his “Grandma”, telling him date and address for thanksgiving dinner. However, something was wrong, Jamal had this feeling this woman wasn’t actually his grandmother. When he requested a picture to clear things up, what a surprise. “You’re not my grandma” answered Jamal appending a picture of him. No, they don’t even look alike.
Yet, something triggered Jamal into asking him for a plate, which Wanda -fake grandma’s name- replied positively. “That’s what grandma’s do… Feed for everyone.” Isn’t that lovely?
However, this story doesn’t end here. The thanksgiving dinner did something more than just a funny viral story. They replicated the same for next year, not only for thanksgiving but also other holidays. Family got bigger; Jamal brought his girlfriend too. What a beautiful casualty if you ask us. It’s been seven years since that wrong dial happened and Jamal and Wanda kept together since then.
If you feel like it, you can keep track of this new family on Jamal’s twitter account. We wonder, does Jamal call her “grandma”? We hope he does.
They are together for special occasions but also grief moments. During COVID, Lonnie Dench, Wanda’s husband -and thus, Jamal’s ‘grandpa’- passed away. The Omicron variant that took over Arizona, it seems. He battled against a pneumonia complication and left this world on April 2020. Yet, the holiday meetings remained the same. Lonnie is no longer with them on the pictures, but their smiles are still shining.
“Wanda told me all the love and support he was receiving put a huge smile on his face so I thank every single one of you guys for that.” Wrote Jamal.
Tortoise That Lost Legs Gets Prosthetic Wheels
This story happened in Pembrook, Wales. Mrs. T is the name of this little girl. A 90-year-old tortoise whose legs were devoured by rats when it was hibernating. A pretty sadistic episode. However, its owner, Jude Ryder decided to give him a new lease of life: Wheels! Oh yeah. After a £1,000 vet bill to keep Mrs. T alive, it was time to do something else. Poor animal could get depressed without its front legs.
That’s when Jude contacted his son Dale, who is a mechanical engineer. The best choice for Mrs. T was a set of wheels from an old model aircraft wheels.
The firs inconvenient was to fit the new wheel set onto Mrs. T’s body, which were held tight to its shell with several dabs of superglue. “It was like fitting her with a turbo charger – she’s going double the speed she used to,” said Ryder. This ‘cyborg’ implant allowed the little tortoise to regain its mobility and increase its quality life, which is still very long ahead, for your information.
You see, Mr. T is 90 years old, but it’s still too young for a tortoise of its species. His owner Ryder says it could live another 50 years.
Ryder received Mr. T as a birthday gift when he was only 8 years old, it’s an old member of the family. Mrs. T was in her sixties when she was bought as a pet for Jude, making her at least 100 years old. The set of tires seem to work perfectly, yet there’s still a lot of learning ahead.
“She took to her new wheels straight away but she has had to learn how to turn and stop.” Explained Jude. It doesn’t really matter; she has a long life ahead to learn how to use them.