Photographer Captures Lovely Snapshots Of His Adorable Dog Going On Adventures

-

May 10, 2015

Only the head cheerleader goes out with the high school quarterback right? Not so at McCamey High School in West Texas, where a girl with Down syndrome got the surprise of her life.

Cesyli Prieto, a high school student with Down syndrome, just wanted to go to prom like everyone else.

That’s when Adrian Alonzo, the varsity quarterback, asked if she would be his date.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Adrian, who presented Cesyli with flowers and a tiara with his prom-posal… the tiara she refused to take off.

Adrian is “one of the most polite, most conscientious, high-moral character kids that we have at this school,” said Jay McWilliams, McCamey’s principal.

Cesyli’s mother echoed the sentiment in a Facebook post where she thanked everyone who made her little girl’s dream come true.

Facebook.com

On the night of the prom, Cesyli shined in a sparkly back dress and her tiara, of course.

But soon the tiara would have to come off to make room for something else… the prom queen crown.

Cesyli beamed as she spent the rest of the night doing what she loved most… dancing.

US high schools are depicted in popular culture as being places where ‘mean girls’ and jocks reign in terror. But this story shows quite a different side to the ‘popular’ kid image — here he is kind, compassionate, and simply a wonderful human being. Kudos to him.

Some of the Most Beautiful Summer Gardens in Britain

By

-

May 7, 2015

Few spaces are more calming and zen-inducing than a beautiful garden. It’s hard not to feel at peace when you’re surrounded by flowers, fountains and the sounds of nature, and research has shown that walking through green spaces can put the mind into a state of meditation. A University of Michigan study also found that subjects had improved memory and focus after walking through an arboretum.

Even if you’re not planning a trip to any of these destinations this summer, looking at beautiful pictures of nature has been shown to have greater cognitive benefits than walking through the city. Scroll through the stunning garden photos in the slideshow below for an instant dose of tranquility and stress relief.

1. Pembrokeshire Coast, Wales 2. Cerney House Gardens, England 3. Wallerton Old Hall, England 4. Cotehele, England 5. Braco Castle, Scotland 6. Dyffryn Fernant, Wales 7. Cambo Estate Gardens, Scotland 8. Dalemain, England 9. Hindringham, England10. Kentchurch Court, England 11. Lip Na Cloiche, Scotland 12. Kentwell, Suffolk13. Rhodd’s Farm, England 14. Bryan’s Ground

Her life was on the line, and she did the one thing that could save her: She ordered pizza.

By

-

May 7, 2015

A woman in Florida got help out of a dangerous situation from an unlikely source: Pizza Hut.

WFLA reported the story of Cheryl Treadway, a woman who escaped a hostage situation with the help of her cell phone and a local Pizza Hut.

On May 4, 2015, Cheryl Treadway of Highlands County, Florida, placed an order on her phone’s Pizza Hut app — a small hand-tossed pizza with pepperoni. Oh yeah, it also came with a note telling store owners that she was being held hostage and asking them to please send help.

Treadway and her children were being held at knifepoint by her boyfriend Ethan Nickerson. Upon receiving her order, the local Pizza Hut called the police, who arrived at her home and arrested the boyfriend.

TOP CLICKED: Pizza ordering app saves woman in hostage situation. Story: http://t.co/NBDFdQJfJ7 pic.twitter.com/V1YWepftN9

— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) 6 maj 2015

Domestic violence affects an estimated 4 million women each year.

While Treadway’s story has a happy ending, many others aren’t so lucky. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1 in 3 women (and 1 in 4 men) have been the victim of physical violence at the hands of a current or former intimate partner.

Treadway’s story brings to mind a chilling anti-domestic violence PSA that ran during this year’s Super Bowl.

The PSA features a woman on the phone with police, but acting as though she’s ordering a pizza.

And, while No More — the organization behind that Super Bowl PSA — isn’t exactly everything it claims to be, the message in the PSA is no less valid.

The scenario in the PSA played out in real life and was shared on reddit by the 911 operator.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline has many resources for people stuck in an abusive relationship, including a safety planning tool.

The safety planning tool is really helpful for abuse survivors looking for a way out, and it includes details on the different types of plans, tips on how to leave an abusive relationship, and a guideline to some basic legal info.

While it might seem as simple as just leaving for those of us who aren’t stuck in those kinds of relationships, it’s nowhere near that easy for many abuse survivors.

This is why it’s so important for 911 operators, police officers, and all of us, really, to be able to read between the lines in these types of situations.

What if the Pizza Hut manager didn’t think to call 911 in Treadway’s situation? What if the operator in the PSA didn’t catch on to the caller’s message? Luckily, they did. Still, it’s important to know that not every warning sign will light up like a road flare. Sometimes, people are asking for help and we just might not be listening.

Thankfully, some out there are listening. And in doing so, they’re saving lives.

This Miracle Baby Boy Was Born 54 Days After His Mom Was Declared Brain Dead

By

-

May 6, 2015

Karla Perez and her partner desperately wanted a second baby. But during her 22nd week of pregnancy, she suffered a stroke. Doctors declared her brain dead.

This left her family and the medical team at the Methodist Hospital with a difficult choice, and an even more difficult mission:

To try and keep 22-year-old Karla alive, in order to save the baby growing inside her.

There have only been 15 recorded cases like Karla’s in history; the last time an assisted delivery was done for a brain-dead woman in the US was in 1999. Suffice to say, the procedure was risky.

“There is nothing in the books about how to provide medical care in this situation,” Dr Todd Lovgren, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, said. “That’s why our team approach was so important. We needed everyone on board with what we were trying to accomplish.”

Rewind a couple of decades earlier: a young Karla was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and was told by doctors she may never have children.

Contrary to this, Karla had her first child — a daughter — without any issues. For their second child, she decided to go off her medications in order to get pregnant.

“They really wanted this baby. A healthy pregnancy was more important than her own comfort,” the hospital said.

Karla started getting horrible headaches and on February 8, suddenly collapsed in her home in Nebraska. She had suffered a catastrophic intracranial hemorrhage, and was rushed to the hospital. When she arrived, she was declared brain dead.

It took a medical team of 100 doctors, nurses, and staff to keep Karla alive on life support just long enough so they could deliver her baby via cesarean section. When Karla hit 30 weeks, she showed signs of deterioration. The doctors knew they needed to act quickly in order to save the baby.

With the help of his guardian angels at Methodist Health System, Angel Perez was born on April 4, weighing just 2 pounds and 12.6 ounces.

Neonatologist at Methodist Women’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Dr Brady Kerr, said that Angel had no severe complications, though he was using a feeding tube. “It’s hard for us to know the long-term outcome due to the rarity of the situation, but we are cautiously optimistic,” Kerr said.

Karla, however, passed away two short days later.

“Angel’s first cry was bittersweet — it meant he was alive, but Karla was gone,” the hospital said.

But Karla didn’t fight the battle alone: nurses, doctors, and her family rallied behind her, cheering her on silently at her bedside.

“You can’t be a part of this team without being affected emotionally,” said Karla’s OB-GYN, Tifany Somer-Shely. “Her family’s resilience throughout this whole thing, with her grim prognosis and the reality of her situation…”

“They never stopped hoping, and they never stopped praying.”

Although baby Angel’s birth was a bittersweet moment, Karla left him both the gift of life, and a legacy of courage that will live on through him.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our medical team and the more than 100 staff who were a part of her care,” the hospital’s vice president Sue Korth said. “Karla’s loss of life was difficult, but the legacy she has left behind is remarkable.

These 40 Cartoons Perfectly Illustrate How Smartphones Have Taken Over Our Lives

By

-

May 5, 2015

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email… it seems as if our day is not complete if we don’t spend a few hours immersed in these rabbit holes, hours that could have been spent talking to a friend, helping out a parent, or striking a conversation with a total stranger on the metro.

The following illustrations attempt to show us the lighter side of mankind’s smartphone addiction. Is this really what we’ve come to?

If you can identify with more than one of the images above, maybe it’s time to put that phone down.

These 3D Floors Will Bring The Entire Underwater Kingdom To Your Bathroom

By

-

May 5, 2015

We invariably spend a lot of time in the bathroom, so why not make it an experience to remember? With these 3D polymer floors, you can feel like you’re right by (or in!) the ocean all-year round. And while you’re at it, why stop there? These floors will look great in every room of the house.

Currently being offered by a Dubai-based company called Imperial Interiors, these fancy floors are anything but boring.

So how is this sorcery achieved?

The process described on the company’s website is rather straightforward. They start by applying a layer of self-leveling screed, which makes the floor even.

This is topped off with the desired image, which is then treated with a transparent, two-component polymer — the very substance that will give the image its 3D feel.

Finally, a protective lacquer is applied to protect the design from damage, as well as make the floor easy to clean.

This technique has only been used in malls and public buildings in the past, but it’s now invading private homes.

And while this would actually work in just about any part of the house, it does look particularly great in bathrooms. It’s easy enough to see why!

Indeed, who wants tiled floors when you can have a dolphin smiling up at you as you do your business?

His Neighbors Saw These Boxes On His Lawn… 60 Days Later, He Finished Building THIS

By