The stories of HeroicStories.
By Diana Karol Nagy
Gainesville, Florida, USA
This past holiday season did not turn out as expected for our family. We had relatives from Germany visiting our Florida home; our plans were to take all the kids to Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando. However, a few days before Christmas I developed excruciating pain in my neck, left shoulder, arm, and hand. After an agonizing wait, an emergency MRI scan disclosed that I needed immediate neck surgery for two herniated disks.
A woman recalls a story of receiving a brick baby for Christmas when she was small, and the story comes back to comfort her in her time of need.
A large family gets individualized Christmas presents from a charity group who took the time to put exceptional thought and care into each gift… making lifetime memories.
by Dottie Healy
California, USA
I expected December 2002 to be the worst Christmas ever, my first rough Christmas. My husband had had a stroke, and though progressing well, wasn’t his true self.
by P E Adotey Addo
North Carolina, USA
The night before Christmas I was very sad, with none of the joy and anticipation I always felt during the Christmas season. Christmas in my village was time to prepare for the birth of Jesus. Relatives and friends visited and shared dinners of rice, chicken, goat, lamb, and fruits of all kinds.
by Deborah Dessaint
Texas, USA
Right after high school, I got married and had two children. Child care cost was as much as I could make by working, so we decided I should stay home for a few years. It was rough sometimes, trying to make ends meet on just my husband’s income as a grocery clerk. While the pay was decent, the hours were crazy and we still struggled to get by. We only had one car, so I would sometimes keep it and then pick my husband up from work.
Pam Williams Angerhofer
Burr Ridge, Il
My sister’s friend since preschool was getting married, and I had been invited back to my hometown to her bridal shower. I set out with my two-month-old son from my home in the Chicago suburbs to make the 135-mile drive through the cornfields of central Illinois.
I stop to pick up a young mother instantly regretting it… until this encounter teaches a huge lesson about doing the right thing.
I young woman’s gift of organ donation helps many people, and their families live a normal life.
by Joseph Hili
Gozo, Malta
I live in the island nation of Malta. When I was young and attending the secondary school in the late 50’s, I had to study by the light of a kerosene lamp. Since there was no electric service in our area, we had no electricity at home. When finally the electricity passed our house, in 1961, I called a local electrician to come and install electricity in our house. He promised to come, but he never did it.