Sometimes, they pull of feats that nobody can explain, not even animal experts or medical professionals. And that’s precisely what makes dogs perfect companions for humans.

When you least expect it, your four-legged friend might do something that can actually save your life, so pay attention!

Case in point: Lauren Gauthier of Buffalo, New York, was confused when her coonhound dog Victoria kept sniffing at her nose.

There was a small reddish lump there and though it was a tad unsightly, Lauren wasn’t too concerned. And yet, Victoria just wouldn’t leave her alone.

Day after day, Victoria would put go nose-to-nose with her owner, sniffing at that tiny little bump.

As it turns out, the concerned dog had a very good reason for being fixated with Lauren’s nostril. And if Lauren hadn’t visited the doctor, it might’ve been too late…

As she told InsideEdition.com, it was determined that the bump was basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer.

And Victoria had known!

“She’d been literally putting her nose onto my nose where the cancer was.

My dog’s persistence in smelling that area made me wonder if there was something suspicious about it.”

Lauren thinks the cancer came from using a tanning bed three times a week when she was a teenager.

And years later, it was her adorable rescued pooch that called attention to the danger lurking in her system.

“She started smelling a specific area of my nose to the extent that she would actually touch her nose to mine where the cancer is and lean back and look at me and smell it again and look at me.

It was very odd and she kept doing it repeatedly and I thought that that was a little bit unusual for her to do.”

As you might expect, Lauren is now warning teens to avoid those suntan beds, and she’s also thanking her lucky stars for Victoria. As she added later:

“Hounds have a keen sense of smell but I never thought that I would personally benefit from it!”

Lauren is getting better by the day, too, so this story certainly has a happy ending.

And you can bet that Victoria will have a loving owner forever, and one who will never forget what man’s best friend did for her!

Source: Inside Edition

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The shelter took them in and scheduled their spay/neuter surgeries.

Already terrified from being at the shelter, precious little Meesha had her surgery.

Afterwards, she was confused by what she was feeling and already scared, she cried and whimpered pitifully.

The vet wrapped her in a blanket and picked her up and cradled her…and seeing it on video is enough to bring you to tears!

The heart-shaped nosed puppy snuggles into his shoulder still crying, but you can tell she also feels comforted.

This is a precious moment between a puppy and her doctor. One that we don’t often get to see. She was so scared and confused and needed some hugs and kisses.

Watch the precious moment.

Sweet little Meesha recovered and was just adopted by a loving family where she will undoubtedly have a wonderful life.

And she will never have to be frightened and alone again!

Source: Youtube

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And she had to be … because she faced and beat cancer not once, but TWICE.

She beat it once as a toddler and then again at age 15 when she was in high school.

Throughout everything, she maintained one dream as she battled a very rare type of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma, which affects the connective tissue.

That dream involved coming back to the place of her healing, the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Cancer Center.

But not to fight another disease that threatened to ravage her body; to help cure diseases that assaulted others.

She decided she would become a nurse and she only wanted to be a nurse at this one institution, the one that meant so much to her.

Amazingly enough, that’s exactly what happened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdFsT4BG6qg

As Montana told WSB-TV Atlanta:

“The nurses here, as great as they were when I was 2 — from what my mom says — they were extremely loving and caring and compassionate.

And, just the love they showed me and my family in our time of need just really helped me.”

I really wanted to be that person where when I said, ‘Hey, I totally understand. This is where I was. This is where I am now.’

That me and my patients would form a bond. I’m not walking through the doors as a patient anymore. I am walking through as a staff member.“

It’s one of the most inspirational stories you will ever hear, especially because it involves a huge victory: Man (or in this case, woman) over a fatal disease!

On top of which, her dreams of helping others are now coming true.

This is exactly the sort of story you should share with everyone, especially those who might be feeling a little down…

Source: WSB-TV Atlanta

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That person was simply far too young to be taken and it’s extremely difficult to find any silver lining, especially for family and friends.

But what if that death could create life in some way? What if your dear departed loved one actually managed to set a record by saving 8 people’s lives?

Then, perhaps, the silver lining isn’t so difficult to spot, even if it doesn’t make coping with the death any easier.

Jemima Layzell was described as “lovely, clever, funny, compassionate and creative,” so when she suddenly collapsed at her home in March 2012, her entire family was horror-stricken.

As it turns out, Jemima suffered a sudden brain aneurysm that prematurely ended her life. Obviously, her mother Sophy and the rest of her family were devastated.

Eerily enough, the week before Jemima’s death, her parents had discussed organ donation when a family friend died in a car crash. Said Sophy:

“They were on the register but their organs couldn’t be donated because of the circumstances of their death.”

“Jemima had never heard of organ donation before and found it a little bit unsettling, but totally understood the importance of it.”

So they put Jemima on the organ donation list, which ultimately resulted in the saving of 8 lives after Jemima’s death. That, by the way, is a record according to doctors.

Her heart, small bowel, and pancreas went to three people, two others received her kidneys, her liver was actually split and transplanted into two people, and one other patient got her healthy lungs.

The recipients included five children as well.

Her parents have set up the Jemima Layzell Trust in her memory to help those who survive a brain aneurysm, which can leave victims severely damaged.

As for the organ donation, Jemima’s parents feel it was the best thing they could’ve done, and they’re glad they convinced Jemima to agree to it just before her passing.

“We feel it’s very important for families to talk about organ donation.

Every parent’s instinct is to say no, as we are programmed to protect our child.

It’s only with prior knowledge of Jemima’s agreement that we were able to say yes.”

NHS Blood and Transplant hopes this story will encourage more families to sign up for organ donation, because there’s always a shortage. This shortage costs hundreds of lives every year.

The numbers are disheartening: 457 people died waiting for a transplant last year, and there are currently 6,414 people on the list, including 176 children.

Said NHS representative Anthony Clarkson:

“Every donor is special and Jemima’s unique story shows the extraordinary difference a few words can make.

Hundreds of people are still dying unnecessarily waiting for a transplant because too many families say no to organ donation.

“Please tell your family you want to donate, and if you are unsure, ask yourself; if you needed a transplant would you accept one? If so, shouldn’t you be prepared to donate?”

If you can turn death into life, even if you aren’t intimately acquainted with that other life, you shouldn’t pass up the opportunity.

Right?

Source: The Guardian

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It’s not uncommon to hear bands talk about playing at bars so rough that there was chicken wire around the stage to protect performers.

Street musicians brave the elements every day to bring a smile to passersby, and a dollar to their pocket.

Stars play to crowds in strange towns when they’d much rather be with their families.

But one man who played his instrument somewhere out of the ordinary wasn’t doing it to make a buck. He wasn’t doing it to entertain.

He wasn’t doing it for practice, either. He wasn’t even doing it just because he felt the urge to play.

No, believe it or not, he was actually playing in a surgery theater while a surgeon worked on his brain. Yes, DURING the operation.

This sudden internet sensation is Dan Fabbio; some years back, he was 25 and working to get a master’s degree in music education. One day he realized he could no longer hear music in stereo.

Extensive testing showed a tumor on Fabbio’s brain, which of course was a huge blow.

The good news was that it wasn’t malignant, but the bad news was that it was attached to the portion of the brain that is active when people listen to or perform music.

Playing music had always been a huge part of Fabbio’s life, and when he thought it was going to be taken away from him he was heartbroken.

He told his doctor that music was his passion as well as his profession and he would do whatever it took to keep it.

So, he was sent to see Dr. Web Pilcher, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and his colleague Brad Mahon. They had developed a special brain mapping program.

For over five years they have used the program to treat all kinds of patients with different types of brain tumors: a bus driver, a carpenter, mathematicians and lawyers. But Fabbio was their first musician.

Most of their work had been on the language center of the left side of the brain, and Fabbio’s plea sent them to the right side of the brain to begin mapping it for the first time.

But they had to be sure they knew exactly where the music center of his brain was.

They contacted Elizabeth Marvin, professor of music theory with the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music and together they came up with a series of music tests for Fabbio.

Because Fabbio’s tumor was very slow growing, doctors allowed him time to help the team with their brain mapping before heading into surgery.

All told, it took them six months to study the structure of Fabbio’s brain.

Once they were certain the mapping was complete, it was time to schedule him for surgery. Brain surgery is not only tricky for surgeons, it’s tricky for patients.

Fabbio had to be completely awake during the entire surgery; he had to be able to answer the surgeon’s questions so they would know that they were doing the right thing.

Yes, with his brain exposed.

Once the tumor was removed, but before sutures had been put into place, Fabbio was given his saxophone. There he was, on his side with his brain exposed to the room, but he played.

“”He played it flawlessly and when he finished the entire operating room erupted in applause,” said Marvin. “It made you want to cry.””

Fabbio has now completely recovered and has returned to teaching music within six months of the surgery. The beat, for Fabbio, goes on.

This story is amazing on about a half-dozen different levels; wouldn’t you agree?

Source: Good News Network

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