The Unsung Heroes Behind the Wounded Warriors

When Jessica Klein married her husband, Capt. Edward Klein, a 6-foot-tall, West Point graduate, the young couple had plans for adventure, in addition to raising a family.

"We were going to climb Mount Rainier," Klein told ABC News' Diane Sawyer. "We were going to go, just do all these amazing things when he got home."

Today, though, Klein is the primary caregiver as her husband, known as "Flip," fights his way back from a massive lower-body injury that he suffered in an IED explosion in Afghanistan.

He lost his legs, an arm and the muscles that allow him to sit. And those are just the visible wounds

Former Sen. Elizabeth Dole said she witnessed the towering battle that caregivers face when she was at Walter Reed National Medical Center three years ago, caring for her husband, former war hero Sen. Bob Dole.

After speaking with the caregivers and hearing their frustrations, Elizabeth Dole said she decided it was time for the nation to help.

So she and her foundation -- The Elizabeth Dole Foundation -- commissioned a report from theRAND Corp., putting hard numbers to the caregivers to assess their needs and recommend programs that will help them.

"I do think it's a crisis, a societal crisis that requires a national response," Elizabeth Dole said.

For Jessica Klein, the struggle to care for her husband daily sometimes seems too much.

"It's funny. The people around me have much more confidence in me and my abilities than I do," said Klein, 29, of Gaithersburg, Md. "You know there's the Mother Teresa quote, 'God only gives you as much as you can handle.' Well, apparently, God thinks I'm pretty good."

She is just one of 1.1 million caregivers of soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq who do the impossible. Though she is tiny, Klein is Flip's support both at home and when they travel.

"There have been times I've had to pick my husband up and carry him from his wheelchair to his airplane seat because his legs failed," she said. "And showering, I've had to pick him up soaking wet and try not to drop him, one foot in the tub, and try to put him in his wheelchair."

According to the Rand Corp. report released today -- "Hidden Heroes: America's Military Caregivers" -- many caregivers are trying to juggle full-time jobs with full-time caregiving. Nearly 30 percent give up their jobs altogether. Nearly a third have no health insurance for themselves and nearly 40 percent are at risk for a major depression disorder.

"But yeah, I grieve," Klein said. "He grieves. We grieve together. We grieve apart. There was a life we were supposed to have and we grieve for it. It's very difficult."

And it's not only the daily regimen of being a nurse, a therapist and a spouse -- military caregivers from all over the U.S. discussed the plight of taking on a system that can be famously bureaucratic and riddled with red tape.

Elizabeth Dole said she hopes the Rand study will be a catalyst for a nationwide effort, combining faith groups, government, businesses and nonprofits to address specific caregiver needs across the country. She is also working with legislators on Capitol Hill who will soon be introducing new legislation that will help.

"I'm trying to inspire organizations and Americans all across the country to support these hidden heroes because their story is really not known across America and these are the very people who are caring for those who cared for us," she said.

Source: ABC News

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The Truth Saves NFL Player from Gang Life

NFL wide receiver Jason Avant is known for his sure hands and clutch plays. In his eight seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, he’s also emerged as a leader, a role model and someone who keeps things in perspective.

“The game of football, I love to play, but in the grand scheme of life, it’s this big,” laughed Jason.

Jason’s outlook stems from a life of adversity. As a young boy he lived with his grandmother in the projects of Southside Chicago. Most of the relatives that lived with them were gang bangers. Drug deal and drive by shootings were just a part of life.

“I understood what it was like to come into the house with $1000 dollars for making drug deals because I was selling drugs in the 6th grade.” 

Jason’s grandmother took him to church and prayed for him constantly, hoping he would find a way out.

“I was young, and I was her second chance on life,” Jason explained. “Her children didn't turn out the way she wanted them to, so her prayers for me, ‘Lord, let him be different. Lord, let his life be one that will serve You. Let him escape these streets. Let him do Your will.”

 A battle raged in Jason’s mind between God’s truth, and the reality of life.

“Because of that environment it made me bitter and callous toward God. Even though my grandmother had something that I knew I wanted, but I still couldn't see me serving Him when some people in the world could have affluence and others had the bottom of the barrel. I couldn't understand that.”

Even then, Jason says his grandmother’s words were sinking in.

Jason told reporter Tim Branson, “I tell you the truth, I was the worst gang member slash drug dealer because my grandmother gave me too much truth for me to be comfortable in that environment.  And I...”

Tim responded, “You couldn't ignore it.”

Jason said, “I couldn't ignore it.”  

In the midst of the chaos, it became clear that Jason was a gifted athlete. On the playgrounds of Chicago he decided basketball would be his ticket out. But when his grandmother moved them to a new neighborhood with a new school, he found his passion… in football.

“In one year of playing receiver I was the number one player in the state of Illinois. And it was like a dream come true.” 

Jason became an All-American, and signed with the University of Michigan. He thought college would get him away from all his grandmother’s talk about God and Jesus.

“I get to the University of Michigan and I get to room with the pastor’s son,” laughed Jason.

Tim smiled, “Wherever you go man!”

Jason agreed, “Wherever I go. Right? Listen! Here I am again with these religious, crazy people!” exclaimed Jason. 

Tim poked back, “It hadn't sunk in had it?”

Jason admitted, “It still hadn't sunk in.”

But it soon would. When Jason first came to Michigan he expected to be a star. After all, he was a top recruit. Instead he found himself on the bench. . . and stewing.

“I’m pouting on the bench. I’m so mad because I’m not playing. I’m not dressed.”

Then Jason had an epiphany.

“I’m sitting on the bench and thinking, ‘I’m being a real baby right now, and I’m missing this exciting game,’ and so the fourth quarter, I get up off my seat and I begin to cheer with the crowd and get the crowd pumped up. And we end up winning the game on a last second field goal of 56 yards and we win by one. And it was one of the greatest victories I've ever had as an athlete and it has nothing to do with the win, but it was more me dying to self. Then I made my life about others. It was one of those moments where I saw how selfish I was.”

With a new attitude Jason finished out the season and even saw some playing time. But he admits his heart was still empty. At the end of his freshman year Jason went to church where he says he heard from God.

“He began to show me all the times being in a gang neighborhood selling drugs out of my grandmother’s house, all the times my house was shot up and nobody was killed from it, how He protected me over and over again,” said Jason.  “The last thing He showed me how He gave me this talent that I didn't know I had and how He used football to bring me to this place and He began to replay all of these things over in my mind. And at the end of that it was the Spirit speaking to me. ‘After all I’ve done for you Jason, and you can’t live your life for me?’ And the Bible says, ‘it’s the goodness of the Lord that brings us to repentance.’ He was so good to me, so merciful to me, so kind to me, that May 4, 2003, I finally said, ‘yes,’ and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ.”

Afterwards, Jason went to see his grandmother.

He explained, “I was able to go there and say, ‘You know what? I thank you for showing me that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Light. I thank you for all your prayers. I thank you for being a good person. I thank you for helping me find the right path. And I tell you that because of you I surrendered my life to Christ.’ It was the happiest day of her life. Because she enjoyed me going to the University of Michigan but her goal in my life was that I would finally surrender. And I finally surrendered to God. And the next year she passed. It seemed like she stayed around long enough to see me come to Jesus Christ.” 

Jason went on to have a stellar career with the Wolverines.  And after college he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, where by all accounts he was admired and respected by his team and the community.

Since our interview, Jason was released by the franchise after eight successful seasons and is now a free agent. He’s not sure where he will land, but he knows God has the answer.

“That’s what I love about God. He’s the God of the comeback. It seems like it’s always going down and it seems like it’s never going to work out. But He has the power to raise up dead things. He’s the Resurrection and the Life. I was definitely on my way down but I know Him now to be the Resurrection and the Life!”

Resource:  CBN.com

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Mom Finds Daughter, Long-Feared Dead, via Facebook Search

Amira Ali stood nervously in the Denver International Airport, waiting to meet the daughter she hadn't seen in 24 years.

"America saved my life," said Ali, who arrived in the U.S. decades ago after fleeing Sudan. "I'm very happy. It's good day for me."

Suddenly, a shriek in the distance: her daughter Tina Deng, now 30, had spotted Ali and was running toward her. They embraced, and sobbed. Soon, Ali would also meet the grandchildren she never knew she had.

"God bless America, and God bless my kids," Ali said, overjoyed.

Until recently, Ali thought her daughter Tina, her sister and her mother had all died in Sudan’s civil war. But when they discovered each other on Facebook, everything changed. After living separate lives for so many years, they finally reunited this week in Colorado.

"I'm so very, very happy," said Deng as she hugged her mother. "It's a long time, my mom is like a dream and now I see her, I can't believe. But I'm happy."

As a young mother, Ali had fled her southern Sudanese village during a raid by local rebels. In the chaos Ali lost track of her mother, sister, and 6-year-old daughter, Tina. After walking through the desert for four days with one of her other children, Ali finally reached a refugee camp. Her family was one of many torn apart by the war in Sudan which has killed 2 million people.

She spent months in two other countries until the United Nations helped Ali seek asylum in the United States, where she moved to Colorado and took English lessons to help her become an American citizen.

In Denver, Amira began a new life. She had no job skills but would volunteer to copy papers or babysit at the Colorado African Organization, a nonprofit that helps African immigrants adjust to life in the U.S. While there, a friend urged Ali to join Facebook, suggesting someone from her past might recognize her. And that’s how she came to discover her long-lost family.

"It's miraculous. It truly is a miracle," said George Brown, Ali’s English teacher and Executive Director of the Colorado African Organization. "She was discovered through the Facebook page by her sister in South Sudan, and her sister emailed and said, ‘You know your daughter is here with me. We are alive.’"

Source: NBCNews.com

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Man Who Lost His Legs in Boston Bombing Is Engaged

A man who lost his legs in the Boston Marathon bombings, then helped authorities identify the suspects, is engaged and an expectant father.

Jeff Bauman, 28, and his fiancee, Erin Hurley, 27, told The Associated Press in a recent interview that the baby is due July 14. They don't know if it's a boy or a girl, and they want it to be a surprise.

"My mom loves it. My dad's going crazy," Bauman said. As for himself, "I just want to be a good dad."

The two have been preparing for the baby's arrival by painting a nursery in their home in Carlisle. Hurley said Sunday that she and the baby are healthy and her pregnancy is going well. They became engaged in February and together picked out a white-gold engagement ring. She said they plan to marry next year.

"We've got a lot going on. So we don't need to do everything all at once," she said.

An AP photo of a badly injured Bauman being rushed away in a wheelchair by three rescuers became one of the most memorable images of the April 15, bombings, which killed three people.

He was standing near the finish line waiting to cheer on Hurley as she completed the marathon when the two bombs exploded. Bauman became a hero after he provided a description of one of the suspected bombers from his hospital bed.

Bauman's memoir on his experiences, called "Stronger," is out April 8, one week before the anniversary of the bombings.

Source: ABCNews.com

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Purr-Fect Companions: Program Pairs Cats With Kids Learning to Read

Colby Procyk, 7, loves to read.

It wasn't always the case though. A few months ago, he struggled with reading and was embarrassed to be called on in class.

Enter the Animal Rescue League of Berks County, whose Book Buddies program turned things around for Colby.

Once or twice a week, Colby goes to the animal shelter to read to cats. The program pairs about 30 children a week with felines awaiting adoption.

Getting the cats to pay attention can sometimes be a challenge but the kids don’t seem to mind. The program helps the children relax and become better readers and the shelter says the company helps soothe and socialize the cats.

“It doesn't matter to them [the cats] what the book is about, how well the child is reading to them or anything like that,” said Kristi Rodriguez, a volunteer and program coordinator at the center. “They just love the one-on-one contact that the kids provide.”

At the start of the school year, Colby was reading below grade level. Recently, he received an award for most improved student in his second-grade class.

“I’ve seen a big growth in his reading ability and his confidence,” said his teacher Nicole Gonzalez.

Colby’s mother, Katie Procyk, said the program has really helped.

“It makes him absolutely confident in his reading ability and he’s more inclined to read now,” she said.

ABC News’ Rachel Humphries contributed to this story.

Source: ABC News.com

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The Aldys: 'Prayer Changes Things'

It was a hot day in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  Baseball practice was in full swing. Sixteen-year-old Jonathan Aldy had just run to second base, when suddenly , he collapsed.  His father Dennis, who was also his coach, stood just steps away.

“I glanced over towards shortstop for no apparent reason, was just looking around the bases, and I noticed Jonathan lying on the field there motionless,” Dennis tells The 700 Club.

Spectators thought Jonathan had fainted from the heat.  One of the player’s moms, who was a nurse, walked over to check out the situation.

“He’s lying on the ground there, and she begins to do mouth to mouth. She was instructing me in chest compressions.”

Jonathon’s heart had stopped beating.  Many people, including his brothers, started praying.

“My sons were kneeling there on the baseball field around him, crying out to the Lord [to] heal Jonathan.”

Dennis was also praying. “’Bring him back, Lord, bring him back.’ So my heart was just devastated.”

The paramedics arrived about 10 minutes into the ordeal.

“The ambulance is there, and they’re shocking him. The first shock, there’s no response. A second shock, there’s no response. So on the third shock, I think a heartbeat of about 30 beats per minute, and they instantly put him in the ambulance and were rushed to the hospital. It was a 28-minute period of time there that he had no oxygen.”

Jonathan’s mother, Dara, met them at the emergency room. She recalls, “I’m a mother of seven. What was on the altar first was, ‘Will I be a mom of six? Will I be the mom whose son collapsed and died?’”

The doctors prepared Dennis and Dara for the worst.

“Twenty-eight minutes without breathing,” Dennis says. “There are no statistics past 20 minutes of CPR in an out of hospital cardiac arrest. If you survive at the 20-minute mark, you’re a vegetable. You’re sustained with life support and you may or may not go home. It was the next day after he was in the intensive care that a neurologist came by. Her story was actually, we’ll believe that God can do something, but you need to know that he has very little chance at all to have a brain. It’s basically impossible that someone could go this long without oxygen and their brain ever function.”

Dennis and Dara run a prayer ministry called the International House of Prayer of Hattiesburg. People across the city prayed around the clock for their son.

“Every three hours we got to go in to the ICU. I anointed him with oil every time I went back there. I was big enough I could have pretty much reached his body and from his head to his toe. I just prayed for him. ‘Lord, life. We speak life into this boy’s body, into our son’s body.’”

Soon they began seeing answers to their prayers.

“After 30 hours of being unconscious, Jonathan woke up and he looked at us,” Dara said. “At first his eyes did not track us. He was just kind of glazed.”

“At that 40-hour mark was a time when we were back there and his eyes were open,” Dennis said. “He actually focused on me, because I would go in and I would get directly over his face, and I would say, ‘Jonathan,’ because as a father, I wanted him to know his dad’s here. So I finally said, ‘Jonathan, if you hear me at all, smile at me or something.’ He attempted a smile, and his mom and I just bawled, wept at the joy that Jonathan was in there.”

Within days of the incident, Jonathan began to improve.

Dennis continues, “On day three, they allowed him to try to walk in the ICU there. He walked about 10 steps around in a circle and came back down. The doctors thought that was incredible.”

By now people all over the country were praying for Jonathan.  “We were seeing him do things that the doctor said he couldn’t do for months or years or maybe never.”

Dara says, “By day five, all the tubes were out, everything. He was totally unhooked. He walked around the cardiac care unit, and the doctors couldn’t believe that on day five, after such an event, that he was walking around.”

On day 10, Jonathan went home.

“I believe that Jonathan was not only spared the effects of not breathing for 28 minutes or not having a heart beat,” Dennis says, "but he was healed of whatever caused it. So it was like two miracles, because they could find absolutely nothing wrong with him.”

Still the doctors recommended he should not play sports for a while.

Jonathan says, “I love the competitiveness of sports.”

Within six months, Jonathan returned to playing baseball and basketball.

Dr. Ralph Kahler says, “Even the people that make it out of the hospital,  some of those have neurological damage. They’re never quite the same after that, but to see Jonathan playing drums, driving down the road, it’s just nothing short of miraculous.”

The Aldys believe that God heard their prayers and healed their son.

Dennis says, “Through this experience, my biggest things are the preciousness of life obviously, the reality of a God who is in charge and does care.”

“The biggest lesson is that God loves me and that God cares for me,” Jonathan says. “My friends and my family love me [and] care for me.”

Dara agrees, “There are moments where my heart returns to the miracle and the gift that God gave us when He returned Jonathan back to us, overwhelming gratitude to the Lord. His goodness envelopes me. Prayer changes things. “

Can God change your life?

God has made it possible for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life. Discover how you can find peace with God.

Source: cbn.com

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Do you Believe in Miracles?

Do you believe in miracles? We do. My wife and I have been Christians since early childhood and throughout the years we have been truly amazed in his faithfullness towards us and how he has kept his loving protective hands upon us throughout our walk with him.

Over and over he has manifested himself in various ways which confirms to us that there is indeed a loving and benevolent God who watches over those who serves him. Psalm 139: 13-16 eloquently states: " For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

On December 15th, 2004 my wife and I were in a horrific motor vehicle accident and by all accounts we should have been seriously injured, if not killed. Instead, by the grace and mercy of God, we miraculously escaped from our demolished 1995 Windstar minivan with no broken bones, no internal injuries involving vital organs and no cuts that needed stitches! Surely the Lord had his hand upon us! 

The night before the accident I worked a 12 hour shift at my place of employment and knocked off work the morning of the 15th. After I had a nap we departed for a day of Christmas shopping up in Moncton, New Brunswick. ( We had been planning to go up there in previous weeks and take my parents along but the weather wasn't the best so we stayed put. We finally left on the 15th but for some reason I did not feel like inviting my parents along so we went by ourselves. ) 

I was still tired and sleepy so my wife did the driving while I slept in the front passenger seat. We were traveling along a four lane divided highway at approximately 110 kilometres per hour when my wife became drowsy because of the heat. She closed her eyes for an instant and we drifted over to the left hand shoulder. My wife came to when she heard the sound of gravel and also the sound of the van hitting a metal highway marker. She tried to get the van under control and veered to the right, crossed both lanes, went down an incline and according to paramedic Keith Jarvis, rolled the van at least once or twice and hit a rock wall head on. The distance between the damaged highway marker and where we ended up at was approximately 70 paces or so. ( Another 10 seconds farther down on the road we could have gone off a bridge and fallen into a steep ravine.) 

Damage to the van was substantial and it was written off by our insurance company. The windshield was shattered, rear window was smashed out , four side windows were smashed out, three out of four tires blew, both air bags deployed and the van's frame twisted and dented beyond repair. 

When all mayhem was breaking loose all around us I can truthfully say before God that I did not see any damage being done nor did I hear any damage being done. I also did not feel any kind of impact whatsoever when we crashed into the rock wall. To me it was if we just pulled over and parked! 

The only thing that I remember about it is my wife calling my name, opening my eyes and seeing that we were heading precariously close towards a rock face that seemed to be almost right on top of us. I remember thinking that we were going to be killed but yet I had complete peace of mind about it. The reason being is that I always believed that your life can be snuffed out without warning so I always made it a point to make sure that I was right with the Lord. I have known a lot of people around my age that were killed in accidents and the majority were not Christians that I know of.  (According to my wife I raised my hand to protect my face. ) 

The next sequence that I remember is realizing that we were stopped and I turned to my wife and asked her if she was okay and tried to reassure her. She had blood on her face and I asked her where the cell phone was. ( We had purchased the cell phone several weeks before that in case of an emergency. ) She replied that it was in her purse and I retrieved it. At that time I spotted a gentleman walking towards us and when he reached the van, I handed him our cell phone and asked him to call 911. When he was calling, I started to move around a little bit to see if there was anything broken. I had a drop of blood on the front of my nose, a few little specks on my hands where the glass sprayed  and a little bit of discomfort below in my lower back on the left side but other than that I felt okay. Being truly amazed that we survived this harrowing ordeal I got out and took several photographs of the wreckage. The bystanders were starting to get concerned about me walking around so I sat back down in the van and one of them covered me with a blanket in case of shock. They were also looking after my wife. In hardly any time at all the mounties, fire department and the paramedicsarrived 

I informed one of the paramedics that I had already been walking around but he advised me to be on the safe side, I should have a cervical collar on and be strapped securely on a spine board. Not wanting to take any chances in case complications set in I concurred and they did the same with my wife. We were transported in separate ambulances to the Sussex health centre which was only around 10 kilometres away. While there they examined us, took blood pressures, took x-rays and  administered tetnus shots because of the broken glass. The x-rays came back negative, meaning no broken bones! They kept us for observation for a few hours and then discharged us with basically a clean bill of health. They did however prescribe an ointment for the bruise on my wife's cheek. 

Victims have been in lesser accidents and fared much worse even to the point of losing their lives! Since our mishap there have been six people killed in four separate accidents in our area, the latest was a school teacher driving home from a March Break trip. According to newspaper reports the accident was possibly caused by driver's fatigue and it happened just a few minutes from where we had our accident. More chillingly it happened at the same time of morning ( around 10:30 ) under the same road conditions. 

A friend of ours who is a deputy sheriff down in Maine stated to us that anytime he responded to an accident that involved a van rolling over it was "bad". Occassionally they would get a "breather", ( someone still living ) but not always. Another individual that we were in touch with said that she believes that we were "divinely protected". She is a former registered nurse and paramedic so she should know. 

This is not the only time that the Lord has protected us on the highway. Less than two years ago we were heading to Hampton Bible Camp to volunteer our services for a week. My wife was driving and I had a strong inclination to advise her to reduce her speed in case a deer ran across the road in front of us. I let her know what I was thinking and she slowed down. No more than five minutes later a deer ran across the road, which was only a few feet away from us! That was the first time in all these years driving along that particular stretch of highway that we ever saw a deer. 

Concidence? You decide! 

As Christians, we do not understand why things happen but at the same time we should remember Romans 8: 28:" And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." We believe that the Lord spared us to be a witness to him and to bring him the glory that he deserves. If our testimony encourages just one person, it will be worth it all!

Source: www.ainglkiss.com 

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Babysitter's Worst Nightmare

About four years ago I was babysitting my brother's children. My nephew was two and his older sister was twelve at the time. My niece and I were talking and laughing in the kitchen while her little brother was playing in his room.  

His mom would "baby" him when he'd cough- play along with him, patting his back asking if he was okay. He'd smile or laugh and keep doing it, relishing the attention.  

He began to cough towards the back of the house where the bedrooms are.  

At first it sounded like he was pretending because it was a short cough. It caught our attention and it grew quiet. Then we heard gagging and couldn't run fast enough. I ran past his sister's room to his bedroom but it was empty.  

I heard the sickening sound again and turned back to my niece's room. I walked in as he stood hunched over, his sister patting his back telling him to spit it up. He was gagging and vomiting at the same time.  

I scooped him up into my arms and told my niece to call 911.  

I took him to the living room, sat down, flipped him on his stomach draped over my knees- almost like I was giving him an "airplane" and was firmly but gently thumping him between his shoulder blades. He was gagging and vomiting as I began to cry and say "Please." I could hear my niece crying on the phone with the 911 dispatcher.   

I flipped him on his back, feeling desperate, and tried to push on his diaphragm but it didn't feel right to have him this way so I flipped him over again. I kept pleading with tears "Please, please Jesus, please." 
My nephew threw up again as I pressed in between his shoulder blades again and this time a loud thud sounded on the floor. He finally coughed up what was lodged in this throat! It was a Chuck E Cheese game token, about the size of a quarter.  

He was quiet, but alert, clinging to me. The sound of cop cars and an ambulance pulling up blared in the neighborhood. The paramedics came in and checked him out briefly. They determined he was okay and soon left.  

I was ashamed with guilt. It was my job to watch over these kids, to keep them safe. I thought of my brother and his (ex) wife and how I would've had to call them and tell them the worst news they'd ever receive- I did call them of course to relay the terrifying ordeal- that their son was no longer with us. Gosh that makes me queasy even to type it but it's what I'd thought.   

What makes this story even more miraculous is that I flashed on a high school memory. I received a helpful tip from an eccentric computer teacher. Not sure why she'd tell us almost out of the blue one day that with children two and under you wouldn't perform the Heimlich Maneuver because you would most likely break their ribs. Her suggestion was to hit them on the back between their shoulder blades.  

Us as students didn't think that made sense and some argued with her that it didn't seem like a good idea. My brother himself said he probably would've stuck his finger in his mouth to try to dislodge the obstruction. My father had done that to my brother at a similar age as he choked on a bottle cap.   

Unfortunately, years later Mrs. B's advice would come in handy. Thank the Lord I was able to recall it.   

These days, my nephew is a happy and healthy, if not overly energetic, and intelligent six year old boy.

          Source:  ainglkiss.com

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George Abbott: Appointment with Death Cancelled

George Abbott woke up one morning with severe stomach pain.

“I thought maybe it would go away, but it didn't go away,” George said.

“I asked him, you know, ‘well, what’s wrong?’ his wife, Cheryl remembered. “And he said he was in such pain that he couldn't stand it. And for him to say that I know that it’s very bad”

Cheryl rushed her husband to a nearby hospital.

“Well, they found gallbladder cancer,” George said. “This is a very rare form of cancer.”

Doctors performed emergency surgery to remove the cancerous gall bladder; but there was more bad news.

“When they did the surgery, the cancer had gone down into the liver bed,” George said. “And that, as you well know, basically the prognosis is that you’re not going to live very long.”

Their family doctor, Dr. McQueen, who is also their friend, feared the worst.

“His prognosis was poor,” Dr. McQueen said. “With the stage of the cancer being advanced, once it had metastasized to another organ, he is classified as advanced stage carcinoma. For George, his treatment options were limited. Not only were those options limited, the ones that were available to him, in many cases, will take your life.”

Facing almost certain death, George got a second opinion.

“Same diagnosis, same prognosis,” George said. “The only difference was that this doctor was a little more positive and he said to me, ‘we’re going to operate.’”

“He also said, ‘okay, this is in the upper part of the liver; but if I open him up and I find any cancer anywhere else in the liver, I’m just going to close him back up because then there’ll be nothing we can do,’” Cheryl said. “I just thought, ‘I cannot lose my husband.’” 

At the surgeon’s recommendation, George did not undergo chemotherapy or take any medication before surgery. Ultimately, he knew his fate was in God’s hands.

“I know that God heals,” George said. “But I’m also a realist and I know that the Bible says, ‘it’s appointed once to die, and then the judgment.’ So, I was ready to accept this - that if this is the time that God wanted to take me home, I was ready for that.”

As the surgery date approached, Cheryl prayed for God’s help.

“Our church got together and had a prayer meeting and one of the ladies in the church or maybe more than one, called The 700 Club and asked for prayer for George,” Cheryl said.

As surgeons performed the procedure, Cheryl got a phone call.

“I got off the phone and I just started crying. ‘The doctor said that his liver is perfectly normal; that there was no sign of cancer whatsoever.’ So we were just hugging each other and crying,” she said.

“The doctor said it looked like a normal, healthy liver. God had taken [the cancer], and I don’t know how He did it. I don’t know whether He just made the cancer go away. I don’t know if He gave me a new liver. It doesn't matter to me. All I know is God is a God of miracles and he healed me,” George said.

“They believe in prayer and they trust in the sovereignty of God,” Dr. McQueen said. “There is no medical treatment or explanation for that type of result - absolutely miraculous!”

For the past two years, routine tests have shown the same result – no cancer!

“God really did heal,” Cheryl said. “I mean, when God does something, He does it right.”

“Some people today say, ‘well, miracles went out with the apostles.’ Well, I’m here to tell you that miracles did not go out with the apostles, that God is a God of miracles and He is a healer today,” George said. “He gave me a miracle - the miracle of life.”

Source: cbn,com

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U.S. Paralympian reunited with Russian birth mother in Sochi: "It's like a miracle"

Tatyana Mcfadden of United States, second left in the first row, poses with her Russian birth mother, second right in the first row, after her race during the ladies 12km cross country ski, sitting event at the 2014 Winter Paralympic, March 9, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.  AP PHOTO/ROB HARRIS

Pushing through pain in her debut at the Winter Paralympics, Tatyana McFadden only had to remember who was watching to draw inspiration on this emotional homecoming.

Together in the stands at the cross-country skiing were McFadden's Russian birth mother and the American who adopted her as an ailing child.

"I got to see them before I raced so I think it gave me that extra energy, an extra boost," the 24-year-old McFadden said after finishing fifth. "I just raced for my family today. When I was feeling tired, in pain and frustrated I just had to think about my family in the stands."

Tatyana Mcfadden of the United States races during the ladies 12km cross country ski, sitting event at the 2014 Winter Paralympic, March 9, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.

 AP PHOTO/DMITRY LOVETSKY

When McFadden left a St. Petersburg orphanage for Maryland 20 years ago, she was not expected to live long, let alone return to Russia. After spending the first six years of life walking on her hands because of spina bifida, even after several operations in the U.S., her adoptive family feared the worst.

But McFadden survived against the odds, with a fighting spirit that drove her into an unlikely yet successful sporting career, leading to Sunday's emotional and rare reunion with the mother forced to abandon her.

"I am very proud, it's amazing," said Nina Polevikova, beaming with pride to her daughter as her Russian family translated. "It's like a miracle."

McFadden is already a decorated athlete, with 10 medals from the last three Summer Paralympic Games in wheelchair racing, and last year the first "grand slam" in wheelchair marathon racing.

Deborah McFadden, who adopted Tatyana at age 6, had expected the winnings from the Boston, Chicago, London and New York marathon to be spent on a new car. Instead that cash was used to bring her birth family and the St. Petersburg orphanage director to Sochi.

"Tatyana's my daughter, but it's taken a lot of people to get her where she is today," said Deborah McFadden, who first met Tatyana in Russia while working as a commissioner of disabilities for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"She's alive and she is back in the country where I met her where she wasn't supposed to survive."

She's doing more than just surviving. And the pride of her mothers was clear from the tearful hugs as she recovered from the grueling Paralympic debut over 12 kilometers.

"It's definitely been a tough transition," said McFadden, who won three golds on the track at the 2012 London Paralympics. "It's harder than wheelchair racing because the snow can change every day."

At a Paralympics overshadowed at times by politics in Russia, McFadden steered clear from controversy. Previously, McFadden tried unsuccessfully to derail a Russian law that prohibits adoptions of Russian children by American parents.

"We did everything we could," she said. "I think that being here people can see my story and what an impact it is, just from my personal experience."

So adopting a more diplomatic stance than previously, she instead delivered a message to disabled children who might have given up hope.

"I've always had a lot of courage, and a lot of strength," she said. "And it made me the person I am today."

And, with three more events to come in Sochi, McFadden will hope to return from Russia with a medal.

"I love being part of the (Russian) culture, eating the food and meeting the people," she said. "But my home is in America."

Source: CBS News

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Ohio 8-year-old turns $20 into priceless gift

At the Ohio Air National Guard base near Toledo, Lt. Col. Frank Dailey still can't believe the honor recently bestowed upon him.

Lt. Col. Frank Dailey

 CBS NEWS

"It's incredible being recognized in such a manner," he says.

It happened at a Cracker Barrel, of all places. As the security camera shows, Dailey entered the restaurant on Feb. 7 for an early lunch. At about the same time, 8-year-old Myles Eckert came in with his family.

Myles was very excited. He'd just found a $20 bill in the parking lot. He'd started thinking of what he could spend it on.

"I kind of wanted to get a video game, but then I decided not to," Myles says.

Myles Eckert

 CBS NEWS

He changed his mind when he saw the guy in uniform.

"Because he was a soldier, and soldiers remind me of my dad," Myles explains.

And so, with his dad in mind, Myles wrapped the $20 in a note that read, "Dear Soldier -- my dad was a soldier. He's in heaven now. I found this 20 dollars in the parking lot when we got here. We like to pay it forward in my family. It's your lucky day! Thank you for your service. Myles Eckert, a gold star kid."

Myles wrapped the $20 in a note and gave it to Lt. Col. Frank Dailey.

 CBS NEWS

Army Sgt. Andy Eckert was killed in Iraq, just five weeks after Myles was born. All the kid has ever had are pictures and dog tags, other people's memories and his own imagination.

"I imagine him as a really nice person and somebody that would be really fun," Myles says.

The dad he imagines must also love a good story. Because after lunch that day, Myles asked his mom, Tiffany, to make one more stop.

"He wanted to go see his dad," Tiffany says. "And he wanted to go by himself that day."

Myles pays a visit to his dad.

 TIFFANY ECKERT

She took a photo from the car. Follow the footsteps and you'll see Myles standing there behind the flag, presumably telling his dad all about it. And whether heaven heard him or not, his good deed continues to impress here on earth.

"I look at it every day," Dailey says of the note Myles gave him.

It turns out Myles gave him a bigger gift than $20.

"A lifetime direction, for sure," Dailey says.

Dailey says he's already given away that $20 and plans to do much more. He also hopes that little green Post-It will inspire other people across the country to give -- to give as sincerely and dutifully as that father and son.

Source: CBS News

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