[Source] https://www.today.com/parents/moms/nicu-nurse-indiana-adopts-teen-mom-triplets-rcna75047

Teen Mom Of Triplets Adopted By Her Nurse One of the first things neonatal nurse Katrina Mullen noticed about the 14-year-old who gave birth to triplets in her Indiana hospital was that the teen mom always seemed to be alone. “She’d be there alone for days at a time sitting at her babies’ bedside,” Mullen, 45, said. She wondered why Shariya Small never came with a packed lunch or snacks to eat. Was anyone looking after her at home? Did she have support? But Mullen didn’t push. Small, then in 8th grade, made it clear that she didn't want to share details about her personal life. “I knew if I gave her time, she’d likely open up to me,” Mullen says. Triplets Serenitee, Samari and Sarayah, who were born at 26 weeks gestation in 2020, spent more than five months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Community Hospital North in Indianapolis. Mullen taught Small about newborn care, and Small taught Mullen about TikTok. But the walls didn’t start to come down until Mullen revealed to Small that at age 16, she placed a son for adoption. “Something shifted after I told her that I was a teen mom,” Mullen says. “That’s when we really developed trust.” Small confessed to Mullen that she felt as if people were judging her. “I never judged her,” Mullen says. Before the triplets were discharged, Mullen gave Small her cell phone number. At that point, Small still hadn’t shared information about her family. “I said, ‘If you need anything, you just call me. If you need to talk, or you have a question, I’m here,” Mullen recalls. Small began texting and FaceTiming Mullen regularly. “I’d help her when she was crying and overwhelmed. I couldn’t fix it, but I would listen and support her and be like, ‘You can do this,’” Mullen says. “But I was becoming increasingly concerned about her support system. I couldn't figure out why she was calling me so often." On her day off, Mullen drove an hour to Kokomo, Indiana, where Small was living with a relative. Mullen was alarmed by what she saw: The triplets were sleeping together in an infant playpen, and Small was relegated to a couch. “It was not a place for her to raise babies,” Mullen says. Mullen was also concerned about Small’s son Samari, who has had digestive problems since birth. He looked “extremely skinny” and was covered in eczema, she says. Small explained that a doctor had switched Samari’s formula, but he was still throwing up and losing weight. Samari was admitted to a nearby hospital, where he was diagnosed with failure to thrive, which is when a child's weight measurements fall below the third or fifth percentile due to inadequate nutrition, according to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The Department of Social Services (DSS) was notified of Samari's diagnosis. Shortly after, Mullen received a call from DSS. “The caseworker said that Shariya and her babies were being removed from their home,” Mullen says. “And then she goes, ‘Shariya said she’d like to come live with you. Would you be willing?’” Mullen already had three kids at home, SeQuayvion, 16, ShaKovon, 14, and JJ, 7. She is also mom of Sevonté,’ 23, and Shai, 22. But she didn’t hesitate. “I knew it would be impossible to find a foster home that would take all four of them. No one was going to take a teen mom and her preemie triplets,” Mullen says. “I just kept thinking, ‘I have to do this.' I knew Shariya was intelligent and resilient and she just needed a safe place to put her roots. I knew it would be hard, but we'd figure it out." "It was like a baby bomb went off in my living room!" Mullen says, with a laugh. Mullen fostered Small and the babies for 668 days. During that time, Small graduated from an alternative high school with an A- average, and is now touring nearby colleges. She plans to pursue a career in social work. Mullen marvels at how far Small , who turned 17 last month, has come. She’s learned how to manage difficult emotions, is working on her communication skills in therapy, and always puts her children's needs first, Mullen said. “In the beginning, it was me pretty much doing everything for the babies and her observing and participating when she felt confident. And now she’s in charge,” Mullen says. “I’ll watch them if she wants to go hang out with her friends and stuff that teenagers do.” “But I’m just her backup,” she notes. Mullen is also officially Small’s mom, after adopting her on Feb. 6. After Mullen shared an adoption day photo on a Facebook page for foster parents, the story went viral and was first reported by the Indianapolis Star. “I’m so proud to be Shariya’s mom," Mullen says. “She just amazes me every day. When she’s frustrated with the babies, she never raises her voice. She’s just blossoming into this incredible woman.” Mullen has set up a GoFundMe to help "build a financial cushion" for Small and her babies. Serenitee, Samari and Sarayah, now 2, can count to 20 and are “learning new words” every day in English and Spanish. They call Mullen, who is officially their grandmother, “LaLa.” “Has it been easy? No! She pushes limits just like any other teenager," Mullen says. “But I love her. I'm her mom — and I'm never going anywhere."

[Source] https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/6135/Mother-And-Daughter-Rescued-After-Sinking-Into-Quicksand-As-Tide-Rolled-In

Mother And Daughter Rescued After Sinking Into Wet Sand As Tide Rolled In A mother and her young daughter were dramatically rescued after becoming trapped waist-deep in wet sand on the Essex coast. Security footage shows a young girl playing in the sand near Three Shells Lagoon in Southend, Essex, around 5:20 p.m. before the ground gives way beneath her and she suddenly begins to sink. As she struggled, her mother rushed in to help, but became trapped as well. Adrian Pikula, who had been walking nearby with his 6-year-old daughter, spotted the distress and immediately acted, alerting staff at the nearby Adventure Island theme park. A group of workers rushed to the scene with ropes, working together with calm precision. Video shows four men and a truck driver carefully coordinating their efforts, pulling the mother and daughter to safety step by step. Adventure Island later praised their team’s response, saying they “acted quickly and calmly to rescue them,” while another staff member contacted the Coastguard to ensure additional help was on the way. Timing played a crucial role. “Thankfully this happened while our team were still on site at the end of the day,” the park shared, “allowing staff to spot the situation and step in when it mattered most.” In the aftermath, local officials confirmed the incident is being taken seriously, but the focus remains on the people who made a difference when it counted. “A huge well done to our team who jumped straight into action and safely rescued them,” a spokesperson said. “We hope the mother and daughter are both safe and well after the incident.”

[Source] https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/6134/-039-She-039-s-Our-Little-Savior-039-Half-Blind-Senior-Dog-Takes-On-A-Bear-To-Protect-Her-Family

Half-Blind Senior Dog Takes On A Bear To Protect Her Family Out in the quiet rural community of Cordova, one very brave dog proved that heroism has nothing to do with age—or perfect eyesight. Meet Honey, a 12-year-old, half-blind family dog who is now being celebrated as a true protector after a terrifying overnight encounter with a bear. Earlier this month, Honey was keeping watch over the Martinez family’s land, home to chickens, horses, and other animals, when she suddenly picked up on something unusual. “She was tracking something at the time. We didn’t know what, but we knew she was tracking something,” Denise Martinez said. By the next morning, the family would discover just how dangerous that “something” had been. Honey was found lying in the driveway, badly injured. Around the property were clear signs of a struggle—scratches along fences and trees that pointed to a bear having wandered onto their land. Somehow, Honey had confronted it. “Her face was swollen on the left… and that’s when I saw, like her whole neck was just ripped from the back all the way down,” said Leanna Martinez. Despite the severity of her injuries, Honey had made it back home. The family rushed her to an emergency veterinarian, where she stayed overnight. “It was just devastating. You know, I never thought I would ever see our dog in that shape,” Darren Martinez said. With mounting medical bills, the family turned to Española Humane for help. The clinic was able to provide the urgent care Honey needed at a more affordable cost, treating her deep neck wound and continuing her recovery with bandage changes and medication. “Her face was so hugely swollen I mean you couldn’t even tell features in her face,” said Mattie Allen. Honey still has a long road ahead. Her wound remains open and will take months to fully heal. But what’s already clear is the impact of what she did that night — protecting not just her family, but the many animals depending on her. “She’s our little savior,” Denise said. “She’s been nicknamed the bear slayer.” And in a twist that makes her story even more lovable? “She’s afraid of the vacuum cleaner.”

[Source] https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/6131/Heroes-Firefighters-Revive-4-Cats-After-Apartment-Fire

Firefighters Revive 4 Cats After Apartment Fire When flames tore through an apartment building on Emma Street in Jurupa Valley, California, firefighters with Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department were already working quickly to contain the blaze. But during a search of one of the fire-damaged units, they made a discovery that shifted their mission in an instant. Hidden inside were four cats. Three of them weren’t moving. “When I looked under the bed, I found the first one,” Engineer Ray Guillen recalled. “As soon as I went to grab it, it fell over. So, I knew something was wrong.” The cats were rushed outside immediately. What followed was an all-hands-on-deck effort that looked more like an emergency room than a fire scene. Firefighters and a Riverside County Sheriff’s deputy sprang into action—performing CPR, giving chest compressions, and even mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. “We started CPR, started giving them chest compressions,” Deputy Adam Maldonado said. “I know from holding my cats that their hearts beat pretty fast. So, I knew it needed to be pretty deep and pretty fast.” Oxygen tanks were brought in. One by one, the team worked tirelessly, refusing to give up. “We just treated it like we would treat a pediatric patient that was unresponsive and not breathing,” Firefighter Salvador de La Cruz explained. “It's small, press hard and press fast and breathe into them.” Then came the moment everyone was hoping for. After several tense minutes, the cats began to stir. Their eyes opened. Their bodies moved. Slowly but surely, each one came back to life. With a little water and a lot of care, the once-lifeless cats were soon up and walking around—alive because a group of determined first responders refused to walk away. For Maldonado and de La Cruz, the rescue was personal. Both know the bond people share with their pets. “They treat them like their kids,” de La Cruz said. “We just couldn't leave them there.”