When the California Riverside School for the Deaf varsity football team began the season, they assumed they would suffer another humiliating defeat. After all, for seven straight seasons the Cubs hadn’t come close to a winning one season. In fact, rival teams were guaranteed an easy victory every time they played the hapless team. Furthermore, they were resigned to being permanent underdogs suffering embarrassment, scorn and contempt, even from their home fans who had simply given up on them. Moreover, they had given up on themselves, believing their collective handicap of being deaf had permanently sealed their fate as a…
Author: Robert Amoroso
From humble beginnings to becoming a world renowned plastic surgeon is quite a journey in one’s lifetime. And perhaps, that in itself, would be quite an accomplishment. However, this is a story of much more than a simple tale of rag to riches or of one man. This is a true story of how that one man affected the lives of thousands of children with his remarkable skills as a surgeon, and more importantly, his generosity as a human being. Renowned plastic surgeon, Doctor Subodh Kumar Singh, has thus far performed just over 32,000 free corrective surgeries on children born…
If you haven’t noticed lately, computers have become as essential as our smartphones, and perhaps just shy of bottled water in our everyday lives. Most of us over 40 no longer rely on a daily newspaper to get our news and we’re less likely to leaf through a “how to” manual, preferring instead to go on YouTube and have someone demonstrate, usually in real time, how to assemble, repair, clean, paint and save money by doing-it-yourself. There are apps instructing us how to workout, how to get medical advice, and how to invest our money. Now there is an app…
Several months ago, a documentary featuring NYU Professor Elijah Stephens, regarding modern 21st century medicine and the evidence surrounding miracles, and whether miracles can be scientifically proven. The professor wanted to explore the natural tension that exists between the scientific and medical communities and individuals of faith, who have personally experienced God’s divine intervention. “I want to shift the culture of the charismatic movement,” Stephens told Fox News in an interview in September. “The whole movie is called Send Proof because I want people to send in their evidence. That’s not occurring and there’s lots of little cultural issues that…
For devout Christians the appearance of the Blessed Virgin, whether appearing in person as an illuminated figure or through various religious statues, her presence on Earth usually symbolizes a forewarning of perhaps some future event. The most publicized was her appearance on May 13th, 1917 in Fatima, Portugal, to three shepherd children, in which the Blessed Virgin through a series of other apparitions told the children of 3-secrets. Two of which were revealed; “a vision of heaven and hell, the end of WWI, the beginning of WWII, and to pray for the conversion of Russia. The third wasn’t revealed until…
A Cincinnati couple believes that divine intervention, along with the power of prayer, is the reason why their infant daughter’s suspected brain tumor appearing on a Cat-scan suddenly vanished. Carissa and Matt Hatfield had noticed soon after taking their new infant daughter, Paisley, home from the hospital, that something was wrong. At first they weren’t exactly sure if the slight droop on the left side of their daughters face was the result of Carissa’s difficult birth, or perhaps a temporary dropping of underdeveloped facial muscles. “We noticed when she would cry, her eye would not shut all the way,” Carissa…
Chronic homelessness in America has become a national tragedy. We witness it almost daily on the nightly news, and if we live within a city regardless of its size, there’s a better than even chance that a number of us will come into contact with these displaced individuals. Some live within squalor in makeshift tents, or huddled within doorways. Many suffer from emotional trauma, alcoholism, and drug abuse. If you live within a large metropolis like New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles, the likelihood of seeing homeless encampments in city parks, under highways and along urban streets becomes simply…
If you’ve ever had to face the uncertainty of an impending life-threatening surgery, then you’re already aware, regardless of how “safe” the data may be, in attempting to alleviate your fears of what may lie ahead. Fear of the unknown, is a natural instinct, especially when we put our lives in someone else’s hands. That’s perhaps what Doctor Deborah Cohan, a clinical professor and program director at the University Of California San Francisco School Of Medicine, may have been feeling on that chilly morning back in November of 2013, when she walked into an operating suite. Not to perform her…
Each of us, in time, will no doubt experience heartbreaking moments within our lives. Perhaps it’s losing a loved one, or ending a marriage through a divorce or maybe losing out on a promotion in our chosen career. Disappointments, regardless if they are big or small, affects us all. However, for a beautiful young mother, what followed on August 16th, 2008, would shatter anyone’s faith, even Stephanie Nielson’s belief in God. Stephanie and her husband Christian had decided to take a daylong outing and enjoy the scenic beauty of New Mexico, flying over the magnificent landscape in their small Cessna…
Polish Olympian Maria Andrejczyk, 25, finally had the opportunity to compete in the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics this past summer. The delayed opening due to the pandemic had allowed the young athlete to recoup further from several related health issues that had sidelined her from competing in 2017. The health issues were a severe shoulder injury that required surgery and a shocking diagnosis in 2018 that she had Osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer that is most often found in the legs and sometimes in the arms. The disease tends to occur in teenagers and young adults like Andrejczyk. Treatment…
The state of Tennessee is famous for many things like; country music, church communities, whisky, barbecue, rolling hills, sweet tea, fried catfish, Memphis ribs…and 9 gray haired seniors, also known as “The 9-Nanas”. And although they may not be listed on the official Tennessee roster of things to “see and do” in the Volunteer State, they’ve become synonymous with the phrase “Southern Hospitality,” for their warmth and kindness. Their mission began over 35 years ago over a card game one hot afternoon. As the ladies were reminiscing about the “good old days”, their neighbor, a couple they fondly called “MaMaw…
Prison can indeed be a harsh place to spend the majority of one’s life. It can harden those incarcerated further, beyond redemption, or it can transform self-centered inmates into caring selfless individuals, giving a little something back to society. Over the past 10 years, inmates at Missouri’s South Central Correctional Facility have been making quilt wall coverings and blankets and donating them to children within the state’s foster care system. The program now boasts more than 2,000 personalized quilts having been painstakingly created and assembled by prison inmates. The colorful cozy bed covers and wall hangings harkens back to a…
Life altering encounters are all around us, and we may never know it until those series of unexplained coincidences makes us aware that what transpired in moments, or even decades ago, profoundly changed our lives forever. This is another true life story that will leave you wondering if those random daily encounters that we all take for granted, may in fact be predestined. Obviously, we’ll never truly know for sure and perhaps that’s the way it should be. Michael Shannon, MD, a respected pediatrician, was on his way to meet an old friend for their regular early morning walk. He…
The holiday season is fast approaching, with many families around the world still struggling to survive in the midst of the deadly pandemic. Millions of hard working individuals have lost their livelihoods as harsh government mandates, forced lockdowns and mass firings have taken their toll on many families struggling just to pay the bills. However, Christmas time, regardless of circumstances, should be a joyous occasion especially for children. And for 82 struggling families in the city of Bendigo, in Victoria, Australia, Christmas has come early this year. Thanks to an incredible random act of kindness by an anonymous elderly couple…
A runner’s creed: “I will win; if I cannot win, I shall be second; if I cannot be second, I shall be third; if I cannot place at all, I shall still do my best.” Ken Doherty. Those inspirational words, and others like it, fuel the soul of the long distance runner. Competing against the elements and themselves, they run to achieve their own “personal best,” hoping to perhaps shave a fraction of a second off their last race. They run with muscle strains and aching calves, pushing themselves to the finish line. Nebraska Teen, Brandon Schutt, had been looking…
Perhaps the worst thing a parent could hear is the diagnosis from a medical doctor that their child is suffering from a life-threatening and perhaps a debilitating disease. In our anguish, we may ask ourselves why God has chosen the most vulnerable and innocent within our society to suffer, while sparing others who may have committed awful deeds. That question can be best illustrated within scripture, according to John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Those words somehow resonated with…
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, New York City received a lot of well deserved negative press for the cities appalling handling of COVID-19, especially within state run nursing homes, that claimed the lives of many seniors because of former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s willful incompetence and negligence. However, there’s another New York City that many within the mainstream media have ignored, and which few are aware. A city where thousands of young good Samaritans came together during the height of the pandemic to help those elderly forced to stay indoors because of the deadly virus, who were desperately in…
Seeing vivid color of reds and blues is one of those magical little mysteries we all take for granted daily. Most of us learned in grade school how the human eye and the brain work in tandem transforming light into color through light receptors within the eye. However, what if you’re one of the roughly 300 million people worldwide suffering from color blindness, a debilitating condition affecting mostly males? That’s how 12-year old Jonathan Jones of Cottonwood, Minnesota, has lived his entire life, in a world of gray hues. He was unable to fully see vibrant colors, especially red, green…
In a quaint picturesque town in northern France, lies the city of Arras, located just 50 minutes (by train) from Paris and less than 2-hours from London. The city is more than 2,000 years old and is perhaps best noted for its giant 13 foot statues draped in colorful folk costumes depicting the town’s colorful history. They are displayed within the tourist office adjacent to the regal Hôtel de Ville, located within the town square. Several times a year the giant statues are brought out of the tourist office in celebration of the town’s history through a series of town…
Thankfully, most will never know the dread of being stranded on a deserted road in a blinding snowstorm. We will not know of the fear wondering if first responders can navigate their way to rescue you because of the treacherous road conditions. We’ll never know that feeling of attempting to preserve power within our vehicle while simultaneously attempting to stay warm, turning up the heat for a few precious moments hoping to alleviate the constant chill within the air, as our feet grow numb within our shoes. Moreover, not knowing if we’ll be rescued within hours, or perhaps days, as…