2006 May | Good News Blog

Wednesday, May. 31, 2006

Showing shear selflessness

The first thing you noticed was that the moms were a lot more freaked out than the girls. »

T-cell research could cure diseases

University researchers are taking on the roles of superheroes, hoping their discovery could one day treat gastrointestinal diseases, help underdeveloped countries and protect the United States from bioterrorism. »

Dog inducted into Hall of Fame for saving neighbor’s life

Dogs are man’s best friends. And for a Gallatin man, his neighbor’s dog, Scrappy, is definitely not only his best friend, but also his lifesaver. »

Nine-Year-Old Paw Paw Girl is a Young Hero

Paw Paw – A Paw Paw Later Elementary student was given a medal of courage by the United States Air Force National Guard 110th Fighter Wing division Tuesday morning during a ceremony at the school.
Adriana Lee Kaleward, 9, a third grade student in teacher Chris Koehne’s class, received the Young Heroes Award for “her outstanding display of courage and bravery in the face of both a life-threatening accident and subsequent surgeries.”
On Aug. 6, 2005, Kaleward was walking her horse in a pasture. When the horse became spooked, the lead rope wrapped around the little girl’s hand. During that time, Kaleward was dragged approximately 200 yards.
Kaleward was finally re-leased from the horse when she hit a tree and the rope severed her left hand.
She was transported to Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo, then airlifted to Motts Children Hospital at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she underwent treatment.
For nine days, Kaleward underwent various surgeries to restore her hand, however, the hand and arm were badly damaged and a prosthetic hand and arm would be required.
The certificate read in part, “Adriana Kaleward has endured intense suffering and pain as a result of the accident. Her indomitable spirit and sheer determination to survive and thrive in the face of loss of limb, fighting for her life and living with a prosthetic hand, is a credit to her and an inspiration to all of us.”
The certificate was signed by Col. David L. Augustine, MI ANG, 110th Fighter Wing, vice commander.
Sharing in the day with Kaleward were her grandparents, Bill and Sue Hoekstra of Decatur.
Hoekstra said, “At least we didn’t lose her! We’ve got to look at the pluses.”

Woman is Hero to Animals

Annie Trinkle’s lifelong interest in animals “really got going” when she got her first cat at age 6 “after years of begging.”
But it wasn’t until years later, after she nearly died, that she decided to dedicate her life to rescuing and finding homes for her furry friends.
Because of her work in founding Animal Alliance, based in Belle Mead, Ms. Trinkle, 41, its president, has received the Hero to Animals Award given annually by the Animal Welfare Federation of New Jersey.
Each year, her organization finds loving homes for more than 500 animals — about 10 to 15 a week, she said. Consisting of all volunteers, Animal Alliance, a nonprofit organization, rescues animals in immediate danger of euthanasia from several animal shelters.
Before she dedicated her life to animal rescue, Ms. Trinkle had a lucrative career in technical support and marketing for Abbott Laboratories, a national pharmaceutical company.
Ms. Trinkle graduated from Fairfield University with a degree in marketing and later got a master’s degree in business administration from Fordham University.
A native of New York, she and her husband, David, a partner and management consultant for Deloitte Consulting in New Brunswick, moved to 11 acres on Mount Airy-Harbourton Road, near the Lambertville border.
They adopted one dog, Dollie, a Maltese.
“She ripped the door open in my heart,” Ms. Trinkle recalled. “I never realized how much I could love another being.”
When they looked for a second dog, she went to an animal shelter, and that is one reason, she said, she “got bitten” by animal rescue.
“I know how much dogs love people, and I thought, ‘This is horrible,’” she said after her visit to the shelter.
That was when she started volunteering part time for Animal Allies, based in Trenton.
In the fall of 2000, she decided to take a one-year leave from Abbott. But two months later, in December of that year, she nearly died when an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy ruptured.
“It did almost take my life,” she said.
She needed massive blood transfusions and drifted in and out of consciousness, she recalled.
“As I was fading away in the emergency room, I thought to myself, ‘Thank God, I took that leave,’” she said. “At that moment, I redefined my life. Actually, it was the last two months (of her life) that really mattered.”
When she woke up in the ICU, she vowed, “If I survive, if I get my life back, I will devote it to helping animals. That will be my legacy. This is how I will fit in in this world.”
Shortly after she recovered, she kept her promise to herself. She founded Animal Alliance with a group of women she had met along the way in shelters.
“They insist on calling me the founder,” Ms. Trinkle said with a smile. “But it was more of a collaboration with me and five others.”
The other women are Heather Edwards of Lambertville, Janis Lepelis of Hamilton, Diane Hutton of Titusville, Nancy Remler of Delaware Township and Vanessa Oates of Hopewell, all of whom remain dedicated volunteers to Animal Alliance.
Unlike other shelters, Animal Alliance has no kennel for people to visit to adopt animals. It has a foster home network of about a dozen homes that keep the animals until homes are found.
Animal Alliance pays for all medical care, including spaying and neutering, and the food. The homes, Ms. Trinkle said, provide “socialization and love.”
Those who keep the animals until they’re adopted must have excellent references from a veterinarian and “active pet ownership.”
For example, someone who had a cat 15 years ago is not a good candidate for a foster home, she explained.
She prefers homes that have other animals, but is very careful where animals are placed.
For example, a small dog would be placed in a home with other small dogs, she said.
And the screening for those adopting the animals is as rigid as that for the foster homes, she said.
The animals Animal Alliance has for adoption come from specific shelters, one in Philadelphia, for example, and from a multiyear animal control contract with Montgomery Township.
Animal Alliance charges $100 for adopting a cat, $125 for a kitten, $250 for a dog and $300 for a puppy.
That includes free spaying and neutering, all the animal’s shots as well as professional dental cleaning and grooming and flea, tick and heartworm medicine as needed.
To those who may be taken aback by the fees, she said, they could find a “free” dog or cat in the newspaper, but by the time they get their medical care taken care of, that “free” animal costs about the same.
And all the animals she has for adoption have received a “high level” of medical care, whether it’s broken bones or other problems stemming from neglect. One dog, she said, had to have seven bladder stones removed because the previous owner did not take care of its bladder infection.
Veterinary care is provided by Kingston Animal Hospital and Nassau Animal Hospital in Princeton.
Her personal vehicle, a Mercury Mountaineer, serves as her rescue vehicle in which she picks up and drops off the animals she saves. Her love for her work is reflected in two bumper stickers, one of which says, “Kindness to animals builds a better world for all of us,” and the other, which proclaims, “Cats Nap. Only humans put them to sleep. Sterilize. Don’t euthanize.”
Her work has paid off for her in many ways, Ms. Trinkle said.
“I’ve met a lot of wonderful people,” she said. “I get to link them to very wonderful and deserving animals. At the end of a very long day, I know I’ve helped create a family. Animals are a very unifying force. They help heal people.”

Miracle Baby Turns Strangers Into Family

An infant who was born three months early in an unexpected place has been making tremendous strides by transforming total strangers into a family. »

Firefighters rescue pets from apartment blaze

Though a Madison Street apartment was scorched in a Monday afternoon blaze, the numerous pets of all kinds who called the apartment home were rescued by Forest Park firefighters. »

Four recognized for Katrina rescue efforts

Guardsmen relayed calls and text messages to locate survivors and connect relatives »

Monday, May. 29, 2006

Doctors, medical workers are Katrina’s heroes

Dr. Jessica Lee fought the urge to panic. »

Elderly homeless get a cash lifeline from office workers

OLDER people trapped in a life on the streets are being offered new hope in Edinburgh thanks to a mammoth fundraising effort by staff at Standard Life. »

Lemonade stand raises $13K for cancer cure

A terminally ill Tucson boy raised more than $13,000 Saturday with a lemonade stand and birthday party dedicated to curing pediatric cancer.
Members of the community brought gifts, birthday wishes and $8,000 to Reid Park to celebrate Benny Petz’s fifth birthday, more than doubling the goal set by Benny’s family.
Benny, who suffers from neuroblastoma, held the event as part of a nationwide effort called Alex’s Lemonade Stand, which raises money for pediatric cancer research.
The money raised at the lemonade stand, combined with more than $5,000 in online donations, will go to the organization to help find a cure, said Benny’s father, Derek Petz.
The amount of community support for Benny and cancer research was phenomenal, Derek Petz said, adding that Saturday’s total was raised in four hours.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better day,” he said.
The highlight for Benny came when members of the Tucson Fire Department showed up with gifts and donations, giving Benny a TFD hat and T-shirt.
Benny, diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2003, has gone through chemotherapy, radiation and bone-marrow transplants.
As he succumbs to the cancer, Benny wants to make sure that other children don’t have to endure his pain in the future, his father said.
“Hopefully we’ll keep someone else from having to go through what we’re going through,” Derek Petz said.
Alex’s Lemonade Stand is named for Alexandra “Alex” Scott, a Philadelphia girl who opened a lemonade stand six years ago during her own bout with cancer.

Breakthrough shortens the window of HIV detection

Testing for HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) has come a long way over the years – but there is still a mortally dangerous shortcoming in the technology that detects whether a person is infected. »

Doctors announce heart pump breakthrough

Experts claimed yesterday to have developed a heart pump that does not require invasive surgery. »

Library begins dog-reading program for kids

Children and dogs have always been great playmates and companions. But now dogs have an added role — that of an educator. »

Heroes honored on Memorial Day

Col. Daniel Adams, commander of the 91st Space Wing at Minot Air Force Base, will give the address for Memorial Day services in Minot Monday at 10:30 a.m. in Rosehill Memorial Park.
Adams has been at Minot AFB since July 2004. He leads more than 1,500 men and women at the Minot base in support of the nation’s land-based Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile force. The wing also maintains several helicopters. »

Volunteers help rescue first turtle nest of season

One by one, Turtle Watch volunteers crated and relocated 104 translucent pink loggerhead turtle eggs on Friday in an effort to save the Panama City Beach area’s first marked nest of the season. »

Lost wallet returned after 35 years

It took 35 years, but someone finally returned Gary Karafiat’s (kah-RAH’-fee-aht’s) wallet.
Karafiat, who is now Naperville’s community relations director, lost the wallet as a 14-year-old freshman at Benet Academy in Lisle. »

Saturday, May. 27, 2006

8-week-old puppy rescued in Siloam Springs

Driving around town looking for garage sales on May 22, Sherry Smith spotted something that she thought she would never see in Siloam Springs. »

Aussies in heroic rescue

AUSTRALIAN troops shepherded hundreds of panicked locals to safety through alleys on their dangerous mercy mission in Dili yesterday. »

Deaf mute hailed as hero

A deaf mute is being hailed as a hero after chasing down a man who stabbed a Christchurch preacher in Cathedral Square last night. »

New York Heart Surgeon Hailed As Hero

A New York cardiologist is being hailed as a hero for stopping to donate blood to one of his patients during surgery. »

Spinal Tumor Breakthrough

BACKGROUND: When tumors grow in the bone of the spinal column, there are not many surgical treatments that can remove them without causing serious damage to the spinal cord. As the tumors grow, they press up against the spinal cord. This pressure can cause a variety of symptoms like excruciating pain and numbness and tingling in extremities. If left untreated, patients can become paralyzed. Because of the proximity to sensitive anatomy including the spinal cord, pharynx, nerves, and major blood vessels, surgeons often refuse to operate for fear of causing irreversible nerve damage, paralysis and even death. As a result, patients with these kinds of tumors are often left without hope. »

Good News Blog

May, 2006