Tell Me Something Good 6/2/19

Tell Me Something Good logo. Image by Lenny Ghoul and Word Clouds.

The news these days is often depressing at worst and frustrating at best. It’s easy to get caught up in the spin cycle and let it get us down. Never fear… The News Blender has you covered. Once a week we feature Something Good and, in return, all you have to do is tell us something good that has happened to you this week, something you are thankful for, a joke, a cute animal story, an inspiring tale of heroics, a Random Act of Kindness… SOMETHING good.

This week’s Something Good is a teacher who couldn’t look the other way when a student was in need.

Finn Lanning teaches middle school math in Aurora, Colorado and stepped up to help Damien, Fox 31 reports. Damien is, according to Mr. Lanning, an exceptionally bright 13 year-old student who has Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis. FSGS is a kidney disorder that results in Damien needing to be on dialysis 12 hours a day. Damien is in dire need of a new kidney but was not eligible because he was homeless.

He was put into foster care because of his severe medical needs but when there is no suitable placement, he has to live in the hospital. Hospital residence means he is at high-risk for a new kidney to stop working and thus not eligible for a transplant. Damien left school to reside in the hospital mid-year – he isn’t allowed to leave the hospital to attend classes – and Mr. Lanning visited him while he waited in the hospital for a home.

Finn said, “He spent, at that point, three or four months living in the hospital waiting for a placement. And over that time, I started out going in to give him his work and just hang out with him a little bit, keep him caught up in the classroom. And as I learned more about his story and what he was facing and what his needs were and why they weren’t being met, it just became really hard for me to look the other way.”

He took Damien in and is undergoing foster care certification, a process which takes six to eight months to complete. Lanning says he is hoping to adopt Damien and vows to be an adult who doesn’t let the boy down. Damien is now at the top of the transplant list and could get a new kidney in the next couple weeks. At the moment, Damien is thankful for something other kids his age take for granted. “It’s going good. Like, I got my own room now,” he said.

The community has been pitching in to help Mr. Lanning provide the necessities, like bedroom furniture, and a GoFundMe has been started to help cover the high costs of Damien’s strict diet and medical needs.

Sometimes we can be someone good to a person in need, like Mr. Lanning has been for Damien and that is Something Good.

Now it’s your turn… Tell me Something Good!

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About Beth 2699 Articles
*Principle above party * Politically Homeless * Ex GOP * Tribalism is stupid* NeverTrump ≠ Pro Hillary. Anti-GOP ≠ Pro Dem. Disagreeing with you ≠ Liberal. https://universeodon.com/@NoMorePlatosCave https://post.news/nomoreplatoscav Counter Social: @NoMorePlatosCave