Zebra-legged Cheerleader Truly Inspirational

And she's always been pretty awesome to boot, it seems. Read the story here:

When she was six months old, Patience Beard was diagnosed with Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency (PFFD), a disease that affects bone growth. Put simply, her left leg would always be shorter than her right. And over the course of years, that would create all kinds of structural problems. So when she was nine months old, Beard's parents allowed doctors to amputate their daughter's left foot and ankle. She would be able to walk, but not without a prosthetic. 

Beard's mom and dad worried about their girl falling down. Patience, however, didn't seem to have those concerns. When she was 3, her dad made her a bike with training wheels and a special sleeve that could accommodate her prosthetic leg. Patience demanded the training wheels be removed. Mom said no, but Dad relented. And off Patience went, riding along without training wheels.

Minor League Baseball Coach with Cancer Fights On

Brian Rose coaches the Wichita Wingnuts in Kansas and lives in Austin, Texas in the offseason. He was diagnosed with cancer in the spring of 2010 and thought he was screwed, as he didn't have health insurance at the time.

But the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Patient Advocate Foundation stepped up and helped him out, even assisting him in his efforts to get coverage through the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, a federally funded insurance program.

Still, when Rose tried to get into a clinical trial earlier this year he was out of luck and neither foundation was able to see him through. That's when he turned to You Tube and pled for help from the community.

Philanthropist Milton Verret saw the video and pledged half the $70,000 necessary to get into the trial and then called on the community to donate the other half. The insurance company seemed to take that as sign and agreed to pay for the treatment. 

Says Rose now: "I wake up with gratitude because I wake up," he said. "I go to sleep with gratitude because I get another chance the next day."

The Neighbor Kid is Just Great

Wow. I don't even know what to say about this kid. He's great.

8 year-old Wyatt Erber heard that his neighbor, just two years old, has leukemia, and so he entered a scavenger hunt that had $1,000 prize. He won it and gave all the money to his neighbors.

Fantastic!

Judy Blume Opens Up about Her Breast Cancer

Who doesn't love Judy Blume? If you don't, I don't want to hear about it, because she's absolutely great. And she's always been absolutely great. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing, and Forever are all awesome.

Well, it seems Miss Blume is still absolutely great. She had a post yesterday about her breast cancer diagnosis earlier this summer and her surgery and recovery afterward. It's smart and moving, just as you'd expect.

Setting a Guinness Record to Fight Cancer

KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana News Weather


Here's another story of a family and a community joining together in a fight against cancer. You really can't hear too many of these stories.  They are so great and so necessary.

No one can do this alone.

Paul Newman's Camp for Sick Kids

Do you guys ever watch CBS Sunday Morning? If you're up early on a Sunday morning and not at church yet, I recommend it. It's a great show. Last weekend they had a long segment on the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp that Paul Newman started years and years ago to get kids who are sick a chance to get out into nature and, as he said, "raise a little hell."

It's a pretty amazing thing. I recommend it whole heartedly.

Illinois City Rallying Around Man with NHL

It's never easy, having to battle cancer, but Kevin Huyser is facing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for the third time now, and it's especially tough for him. Both he and his wife aren't working while he undergoes chemotherapy this time.

But his town and his neighbors are doing what they can for him. An optician at Sam's paid for his eye exam when she learned of his situation and helped to set up benefits for him soon after. The CEO of Culver's restaurant even showed up at one recently.

I hope you all will send your thoughts and prayers Kevin's way.