9 Good News Stories: Cooper’s Determination, Church Finally Finds Home

ACROSS AMERICA — If there’s one positive thing to cling to in the aftermath of the 4th of July tragedy in Highland Park, Illinois, it’s Cooper Roberts’ determination.

The 8-year-old who survived a bullet that severed his spinal cord, paralyzing him from the waist down, was released from the hospital to a rehab center, where he’s taking part in daily physical and occupational therapy.

Cooper has kept his eye on the prize: rejoining his twin brother, Luke, in their third-grade class at their Highland Park elementary school.

“This is a huge motivation for Cooper as he is excited to return to the classroom and see his friends,” his family said. » By Jonah Meadows for Highland Park (Illinois) Patch

Swaddling Highland Park In Comfort

Jason Franklin still can’t shake what happened in Highland Park. Franklin, who hails from Deerfield, is a principal at Arizona-based Sportiqe, which recently said it would donate 100 percent of proceeds from the sale of a special T-shirt to a parade victim assistance fund. “They’re still dealing with a lot of stuff there, and when we started Sportiqe 16 years ago, we said we would be a global brand that stands for comfort,” Franklin told Patch. “When you put on a Sportiqe garment, we want it to be the most comfortable thing in your closet, and regardless of how tough your tough day is, we wanted to provide you with something that when you put it on, it would take you away from the troubles of the day.” » By Jeff Arnold for Deerfield (Illinois) Patch

A Home Away From Home

More than three years after the city began evicting it from its longtime home, Harlem's last remaining Ethiopian Orthodox church has found a new place to worship — but it still means being displaced from the neighborhood. A judge ordered the Beaata Le Mariam Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s move out of the Harlem storefront. “We didn't have any choice — we were in the box," Almaz Kebede, the church's board chair, told Patch of the move to the South Bronx. "Otherwise they will throw [out] our stuff and no one could help us at all." » By Nick Garber for Harlem (New York) Patch

The Doctor Ordered Fresh Food

The Delema G. Deaver Farm at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, grows 40 to 50 crops specifically for patients in north Philadelphia who are experiencing food insecurity. The goal is to help patients maintain a healthy diet when they’re released from the hospital. The farm also gives medical school students an education in nutrition and provides educational programs for students and campers. » By Holly Herman for Ardmore-Merion-Wynnewood (Pennsylvania) Patch

He Proved Doctors Wrong

Jon Rosen’s prognosis was bleak after he was admitted to Cooper University Health Care in Candem, New Jersey, in April 2020 with a COVID-19 diagnosis. He developed complications, eventually had part of his lung removed, and received treatments reserved for the “sickest of people,” his critical care internist said, adding it “was amazing that he lived.” Rosen was discharged three months later, but his work was just beginning.. “I had to relearn to walk, to sit up, to lift my arms," Rosen said. "I also had to learn how to swallow and eat." That made his recent accomplishment all the sweeter. Along with one of his doctors, he completed his first Ironman competition. "I'm doing it for the people like me who went through what I went through ... to show that they can get up, and they can push themselves, and they can get there too [and] their families and loved ones in their honor," he told Patch. » By Janel Miller for Haddonfield-Haddon Township (New Jersey) Patch

The Healing Power Of Working

Thi Tram Nguyen, who fled war-torn Vietnam by boat when she was 8 and eventually settled in Canada, is no stranger to adversity. It’s this bright and brave spirit that imbues Nguyen's work to empower special needs employees at her new restaurant, Chez Francois Poutinerie, in downtown Naperville, Illinois. It started when she thought about the future of her own son, Francois, 17, who has autism. “What am I going to do when he reaches 22 years old? I don't want him to stay at home and do nothing,” she told Patch, adding, “I'm not just doing it for Francois. I'm doing it for all the population like him who will not be able to find a job.” » By Lisa Marie Farver for Naperville (Illinois) Patch

The Healing Power Of Gaming

Jesiah Owens first discovered the healing power of video games when he was a 13-year-old patient at Johns Hopkins Children's hospital. While hospitalized, the Essex County, New Jersey, teen had two bright spots in his day: a doctor who would stop into his room and play a quick round with him, and the hospital's arcade. Now, with his online magazine and a recently launched summer camp, the now 17-year-old entrepreneur is spreading the joy of gaming to his peers, calling it “a tool that actually helps to change people's lives.” Portions of proceeds of every issue are donated to children's hospitals and organizations assisting young patients. » By Eric Kiefer for West Orange (New Jersey) Patch

An App For Coping

Cole Gawin understands that he certainly isn't alone in having experienced more stress and anxiety over the past two years than high school students in the past have endured during their formative years. The incoming senior at Deerfield (Illinois) High School developed the Well mobile app to help students, as well as working professionals, find more positivity in their lives at a time when joy can come at a premium in the everyday world. "Originally, I had no big plans or no big intentions on growing (the app) out or reaching on new avenues to get people to download the app and getting them to start using it," Gawin told Patch. "But I realized it really could make a positive impact on my community and communities around the country and around the world, all of whom we all struggle from the pandemic and the stress and feelings of being overwhelmed we all feel." » By Jeff Arnold for Deerfield (Illinois) Patch

A Kangaroo In Tuscaloosa?

The harrowing tale of a runaway marsupial in west Alabama captured the attention and hearts of a wide segment of the Tuscaloosa metropolitan area over the last week. But is it real? One person said, "When I first saw it, I had actually thought it was just a dog there scratching its belly, but when it stood up it was huge and just started hopping ... I knew it wasn't a dog, it literally looked like it had just come from the gym." No spoilers here: Read the story. » By Ryan Phillips for Tuscaloosa (Alabama) Patch

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