Inspired By Daughter’s Life-Saving Kidney Donor, Father Returns the Favor and Becomes a Donor:
Courtesy of Jones Family
A Welshman named Arfon Jones decided to donate his kidney to an unknown patient after his daughter received a donated one in a potentially life-saving procedure. When Arfon Jones’ daughter Seren became seriously ill and had to have both her kidneys removed, he did what any father would do and signed up to be a donor. However, the surgeons determined that his kidney would not match, and for months Seren sat on a dialysis machine 10 hours a night. In April of 2022, Arfon received a call that a suitable donor had been found. It was while Seren was awaiting a transplant that Arfon learned more about how to be a living organ donor, and that a normal person can lead a healthy life with just one kidney. Arfon then became a kidney donor at 70 years old just before Christmas, remarking he had given someone a very nice present. He doesn’t know their identity as it wasn’t a friend or family member, but he knows they’re doing well.
6 ‘Memory Bears’ Sewn With Love and Grandpa’s Flannels For Widow’s Grandchildren:
AccentCare hospice
A hospice care volunteer who sews together teddy bears for patients who’ve lost loved ones recently completed a monumental task of teddy bear sextuplets bearing a loving grandfather’s flannels. Patrice Travis works as a volunteer seamstress at AccentCare Hospice care in Texas, sewing a “memory bear” anytime one of their wards passes away. Thomas Lennon worked at the very same hospice for years before he died in August 2022 due to complications with Parkinson’s disease. Thomas’ widow, Mary was asked by AccentCare’s community outreach manager Christina if she wanted a memory bear in Thomas’ honor, but she requested six—one for each of his grandchildren, to be made out of his flannel shirts and in time for Christmas. Travis started right away and researched Thomas for details about him. She decided to make the bears look like “Pom-Pom,” grandpa’s nickname. The grandkids received their bears, each having been added to with one of Pom Pom’s hats, on Christmas morning. The grandkids call the bears “Grandpy.” They take “him” everywhere. Mary glows as she talks of how the bears do activities with the grandkids daily. Now, Grandpy continues to watch over them as their “Bear Angel.”
Bucket Truck Used to Rescue Seagull Entangled in Utility Wires:
Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter
Animal rescuers in Connecticut received word that a seagull was tangled in wires at the top of a power line. The Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter in Branford went to the location of the call and, sure enough, found a seagull stuck dangerously close to the live power lines. Shelter personnel were able to get in contact with Eversource CT, a company that works on power lines, who decided to send a repairman turned animal rescuer to the scene with a bucket truck. They posted a video of the seagull-bucket-powerline rescue on Facebook, proving that not all heroes ride in X-Jets or Batmobiles; some ride in bucket trucks.
Good News Sources:
Bucket Truck Used to Rescue Seagull Entangled in Utility Wires (WATCH) (goodnewsnetwork.org)