It all started with a girl called Michelle, when John Polo first saw her for the very first time he fell deeply in love with her, love at first sight I suppose we would say. The two high school goers dated fearlessly but parted after only 12 months of a wild romance!Fate has a turn of luck, eight years after they parted company, they bumped into each other again, but this time it was really meant to be, for real!Facebook/Better Not Bitter WidowerThey promised each other to be together for the rest of their lives and soulmates, with Michelle’s daughter, they made the decision to be a family. Michelle and John were going to spend their life together, with Michelle’s daughter, of course, a life of love and friendship!Two years on though, after taking up their relationship again, Michelle had some sad news, she was diagnosed with a “one in seven billion” rare and aggressive type of cancer, it was devastating.
Michelle is a life coach and author and John is Michelle’s biggest pillar of strength during these trying times ahead, and there were going to be many!Facebook/Better Not Bitter WidowerWith all this going on, Michelle and John thought they would quite like to go for a basic ceremony, at the courthouse, before she must have the cancer removal operation, they would fight it as a married couple.She recovered from the operation but then had cancer come back again, they took two very special holidays, like a honeymoon really, to Disney and to Las Vegas too!Her diagnosis was much worse this time though, Michelle and John celebrated their love for each other in the few days they had remaining with each other, they had their full wedding with friends and family all in tow to witness their love.
It was lovely, they Michelle even got the Wedding dress of her dreams, she kept that a secret from John though. He worried that she wouldn’t have time left to wear it…
John said:
“Her dream dress. She loved that dress SO much. While at the hospice, she would talk to people about how great the wedding was going to be.”
Facebook/Better Not Bitter WidowerThe Dress hung in the closet, it was ready for the big day, the tuxes were being altered too, sadly though Michelle couldn’t hold on any longer, she was 30 years old and it was only just two weeks before the ceremony.Only two and a half years after the diagnosis, Michelle and John’s dream of spending all their lives together vanished, he was broken.John was given a little glimpse into what could be just a week after Michelle passed on, it shook his every bone.He was looking through his wife’s phone and saw a photo, which was of Michelle wearing the lovely Wedding dress that she dreamed of wearing, in a moment he realized it really was THAT dress!He said:
“I lay motionless in bed, both happy and devastated.”
Facebook/Better Not Bitter WidowerJohn was in floods of tears, he lost the love of his life, remembering how happy Michelle was to have found the perfect dress for her special day, it was a cherished memory, it completely captured that special moment with the dress on.John will always keep that photo and completely cherish it, it’s likely he will marry again he said, but he will never ever forget his first love!
Teacher took to class to explain to the students God didn’t exist. One girl, however, was willing to prove her wrong in the most hilarious way possible!
One day a 6 year old girl was sitting in a classroom. The teacher was going to explain evolution to the children.
The teacher asked a little boy:
TEACHER: Tommy, do you see the tree outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Tommy, do you see the grass outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Go outside and look up and see if you can see the sky.
TOMMY: Okay. (He returned a minute later) Yes, I saw the sky.
TEACHER: Did you see God?
TOMMY: No.
TEACHER: That’s my point. We cann’t see God because he isn’t there. He doesn’t exist.
A little girl spoke up and wanted to ask the boy some questions. The teacher agreed and the little girl asked the boy:
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see the tree outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see the grass outside?
TOMMY: Yesssssssss (getting tired of the questions by this time).
LITTLE GIRL: Did you see the sky?
TOMMY: Yessssssssss.
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see the teacher?
TOMMY: Yes.
LITTLE GIRL: Do you see her brain?
TOMMY: No.
LITTLE GIRL: Then, according to what we were taught in the school today…she must not have one!!
I grew up in the 40s/50s with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it. And a father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones. Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away.
I can see them now… Dad, in trousers, tee shirt and a hat, mowing the lawn or checking the oil in the car — Mom, in a house dress, with a child’s spelling list in one hand and a cooking spoon in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we kept. It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating leftovers, reusing, I wanted just once to be wasteful.
Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there’d always be more. But then my mother died, and on that clear summer’s night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn’t any more. Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away… never to return. So, while we have it… it’s best we love it… and care for it… and fix it when it’s broken… and heal it when it’s sick.
This is true for marriage… and old cars… and children with bad report cards… and dogs with bad hips… and aging parents… and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special… and so, we keep them close!
Send this to those people who are “KEEPERS” in your life. Good friends are like stars… You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there. Keep them close!
Share this with the keepers in your life by clicking below!
A couple in Nashville, Tennessee were expecting a baby. Josh and Katie Butler were excited beyond measure to welcome their new baby into the world. At their routine visit at 20-weeks, doctors discovered something during the ultrasound. This would change the couples plans for the future.
The problem they discovered in the ultrasound could cause a problem for their son Dewey’s development. Dewey was immediately taken to the NICU for 132 days during which the doctors tried to work out what the problem was. During a routine operations when the doctors were trying to insert a feeding tube the precious baby boy died.
The Butler’s were beyond heartbroken with the loss of their son. When a nurse just one floor above them intervened and gave them a lifeline in their time of grief. The nurse worked in the NICU and had grown close to the Butler’s. She called to tell them she knew a little boy on the 5th floor named Brax who needed to be loved. She knew the couple had expressed interest in fostering.
Brax was 11-months-old; he hadn’t left the hospital since his birth. His parents abandoned him since they weren’t able to care for him. The poor little man suffered from pulmonary hypertension, chronic respiratory failure, and tracheomalacia. Doctors believed that Brax’s condition would improve as he got older.
As soon as the Butler’s brought Brax into their home, his health improved. Josh and Katie loved him so much, they made it official in September adopting Brax.
They will always miss their Dewey. They know he is free from pain and they feel his loss. They also understand that his death, they were able to make room in their hearts for another child who needed love.
This story gives everyone hope for the future even in the midst of darkness.
No one lives forever, we know that but when death comes suddenly to a loved one it is a painful moment.
That’s what happened to Crissy Naticchia, when she had to bury her husband after he was bitten by a tick.
Crissy’s story starts at the end, describing all the emotions and feelings of the loss her family suffered during this time.
“My son, now a junior in high school, has no father to teach him how to drive, to talk to him about girls, to help him choose a college— nor to see him reach all of these milestones. My husband was all about his family— he did everything for us, unconditionally— which we took for granted like most people do. Now that he is not here, we feel lost and scared and alone.”
Her husband had been working hard at getting healthy and losing weight when suddenly he developed a fever.
In their entire 26 years of marriage, Crissy’s husband had been pretty healthy only getting sick once. So when his fever continued with no other symptoms, she rushed him to the emergency room.
“He had been having drenching sweats— so bad he would have to change his clothes and bed sheets,” Crissy wrote.
“Urgent care tested his urine and diagnosed him with raging kidney infection, and prescribed him antibiotics. The fever and sweats went away but he still felt weak and not well.”
When her husband got worse and worse with each passing day he decided to leave work and go to the hospital. In the 12 hours that followed he went from joking to being in the ICU on a ventilator.
All the test came back negative for scarlet fever, strep, meningitis but the doctors determined his liver and kidneys were shutting down. When Crissy’s husband’s condition continued to get worse, he was transferred to a center that specializes in liver malfunction.
“They set him up on dialysis and they awakened him periodically to make sure his brain was functioning. After two days in this hospital, he was showing signs of respiratory distress and his prognosis was poor.”
Finally, they received a diagnosis. Crissy’s husband was suffering from a Babesia— a tick-borne illness that attacks the red blood cells. Because he did not have a spleen, the infection was particularly severe.
Doctor’s gave Crissy’s husband medication and she left feeling more optimistic than she had in a long time. Sadly, at 4:30 a.m. the next morning, she got a call urging her to go to the hospital.
“His blood pressure was dropping, and his heart was giving in,” she wrote.
“Within 2 hours, I watched my handsome husband of 23 years pass away.”
Crissy says her husband’s death was a tragedy that could have been prevented. She is hoping to bring awareness to others on this parasitic infection. Especially those who do not have spleens or are otherwise immuno-compromised.
“I lost the father of my children because he was bitten by a tick and the infection that developed is not widely known. If the doctors were able to diagnose him one, two, or four days earlier, might he have survived? We will never know.”
“If we had been educated, perhaps it might have made a difference.”
When photographers Lora Scantling and Christy Goodger sent out an open call on Facebook in 2014 they never thought it would change their lives forever.
“My stepdad was battling lung cancer at the time and I wanted to do something that had an impact,” Scantling told ABC. “I thought, ‘Oh how sweet would it be and I put a post on Facebook asking if anyone knew of little kids battling cancer.’”
Since then, she’s photographed childhood cancer survivors for a project she calls “Little Heroes.” But these three special little girls from Oklahoma stood out to her from all the rest. Their photograph, featuring all three bald and angelic little girls hugging each other went viral shortly after it was shot.
“They walked in and the second they saw each other they were like, ‘Hey, you don’t have any hair either. You’re going through what I’m going through,’” Scantling recalled. “Everyone was quiet at first, but after a few minutes they were sharing stories from the hospital.”
Rheann Franklin ,6, center, was battling a rare brain tumor. Ainsley Peters, was 5 and on the right, was facing leukemia. And Rylie Hughey, on the left, she was only three, but living with kidney cancer.
Less than one year later the 3 reunited to take another photo and to celebrate the all three girls remission.
“It was just like a bunch of friends getting together,” Scantling remembered. “They were bouncing off the walls, having fun, like, ‘Oh my best friends are here.’”
Scantling decided to make it an annual tradition. She plans to keep photographing Rheann, Ainsley, and Rylie throughout their lives, and hopes they will continue to give hope to people around the world.
“If I had to sum up Lora’s photos in one word, it would be ‘hope,’” said Rylie’s mother. “Strength comes in numbers! I hope that another family in the middle of a battle with cancer can look at the photo and be inspired.”
For this year’s photo, the girls were joined by a special guest — three-year-old Connor Lloyd.
Lloyd heard that the young boy had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, she invited him to pose with the girls.
“Sometimes you never know how much time you have,” she explained to his mother. She adds that Connor is responding well to treatment. so we should all expect to see him in the next photo as well.
“Connor will be in treatment for another three years, and yet he’s always so happy and brave. Just like the girls, he’s an inspiration,” she said. “I’ll keep taking this photo every year for as long as they want me to. They’re inspiring to all of us.”
Share this story of these amazing and strong kids with your friends and family!
It is truly amazing when a human rescues a dog. But sometimes that same time the dog returns the favor and saves the human, that’s called a ‘mutual rescue’
This story is about PJ a recovering addict and his dog Clove. PJ made a decision to conquer his addiction and that lead him straight to Clove. Clove was at the shelter waiting to be euthanized and this wasn’t the first time she had been there before. When PJ first saw her she wouldn’t even look at him, but that was about to change…
PJ had decided that part of his recovery was going to be an epic journey of hiking through woods and terrain that he never visited before. That’s when he discovered that Clove also loved to hike!
She not only looks at him now but she has the love in her eyes that only a dog can express to their human.
PJ ad Clove on one of their hikes in the snow.
Clove loves to hike even in the snow!
This story is a proof that a single smile can make a difference in someone’s life. One mother was about to complete the last assignment for her sociology class before she graduated. Interestingly enough, it didn’t require nights of studying or writing a bunch of essays, but simply to smile to complete strangers and see what happens.
See how this incredible story goes below.
I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with. Her last project of the term was called “Smile.”
The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway…..so, I thought, this would be a piece of cake, literally.
Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald’s, one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing special play time with our son. We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did. I did not move an inch … an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved.
As I turned around I smelled a horrible “dirty body” smell…and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was “smiling.” His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God’s Light as he searched for acceptance.
He said, “Good day” as he counted the few coins he had been clutching.
The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally deficient and the blue eyed gentleman was his salvation. I held my tears….as I stood There with them. The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted.
He said, “Coffee is all Miss” because that was all they could afford to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something…he just wanted to be warm. Then I really felt it…the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me…judging my every action. I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray.
I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue eyed gentleman’s cold hand.
He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, “Thank you.” I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, “God is here working through me to give you hope.”
I walked in tears to join my husband and son.
When I sat down my husband smiled at me. We held hands for a moment and at that time we knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give. We are not churchgoers but we are believers. That day showed me the pure Light of God’s sweet love.
I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand.
I turned in “my project” and the instructor read it….then she looked up at me and said, “Can I share this?”
I slowly nodded and she read it to the class.
In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald’s, my husband, son, instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student. I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn….UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.
Much love and compassion sent to each and every person who may read this.
Learn how to LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS – NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.
The problem they discovered in the ultrasound could cause a problem for their son Dewey’s development. Dewey was immediately taken to the NICU for 132 days during which the doctors tried to work out what the problem was. During a routine operations when the doctors were trying to insert a feeding tube the precious baby boy died.
The Butler’s were beyond heartbroken with the loss of their son. When a nurse just one floor above them intervened and gave them a lifeline in their time of grief. The nurse worked in the NICU and had grown close to the Butler’s. She called to tell them she knew a little boy on the 5th floor named Brax who needed to be loved. She knew the couple had expressed interest in fostering.
Brax was 11-months-old; he hadn’t left the hospital since his birth. His parents abandoned him since they weren’t able to care for him. The poor little man suffered from pulmonary hypertension, chronic respiratory failure, and tracheomalacia. Doctors believed that Brax’s condition would improve as he got older.
As soon as the Butler’s brought Brax into their home, his health improved. Josh and Katie loved him so much, they made it official in September adopting Brax.
They will always miss their Dewey. They know he is free from pain and they feel his loss. They also understand that his death, they were able to make room in their hearts for another child who needed love.
Crissy’s story starts at the end, describing all the emotions and feelings of the loss her family suffered during this time.
All the test came back negative for scarlet fever, strep, meningitis but the doctors determined his liver and kidneys were shutting down. When Crissy’s husband’s condition continued to get worse, he was transferred to a center that specializes in liver malfunction.
Lloyd heard that the young boy had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, she invited him to pose with the girls.
PJ ad Clove on one of their hikes in the snow.
Clove loves to hike even in the snow!
