9 Good News Stories: TikTok Kidney; Planes, Trains And (Hmm) Sailboats

ACROSS AMERICA — Say what you will about TikTok, the social media platform people love to hate. Because of it, a Pennsylvania dad is looking forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, “re-energized” in a way he never expected.

In a video posted on her account, Ryan Neve’s 10-year-old daughter, Daniella, held up a sign telling everyone who was watching that her daddy needs a new kidney.

He does. The 45-year-old Neve’s kidneys are functioning at about 4 percent capacity, requiring four-hour dialysis treatments three times a week.

Daniella’s video blew up on TikTok. From the millions of likes and tens of thousands of new followers emerged a complete stranger with a kidney Neve will receive in a Jan. 5 transplant surgery.

“It blew me away,” Neve told Patch. “There's a lot of negative connotations with social media. But in doing something like this, when people saw it, they wanted to help. I never expected it.” » By Dino Ciliberti for Warminister (Pennsylvania) Patch

No One’s Grounding Him

At 96, George Coulton (top photo) refuses to be grounded. He didn’t get his pilot’s license until he was in his 80s, and he’s not ready to give up sailing through the sky in a biplane. He piloted a flight over Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a few days ago to take in the autumn splendor. “It was something extra special,” Coulton said. “And to do it at 96 may be kind of crazy, but I liked it. It was wonderful.” » By Jeff Werner for Doylestown (Pennsylvania) Patch

He’s Finding Joy Underground

A lot closer to the ground — in fact, beneath it — and a lot younger is 3½-year-old Mark, who lives on New York’s Upper West Side. He became fascinated with subway entryway signage as he strolled around town with his parents in the first months of the pandemic. Mark’s mom, Diana Lee, told Patch her son “has absolutely always been obsessed with the alphabet and numbers” and figured out quickly the numbers and letters corresponded with trains. With the availability of vaccines, the family is comfortable taking the subway as Mark checks off lines on a mission to ride every train in the city. He’s not quiet about how much he loves it, either, hollering out the stops and making friends as he travels. “Most of our adventures have been so positive and so many people notice my son’s enthusiasm and give him fist pumps and stop to chat,” Lee said. » By Gus Saltonstall for Upper West Side (New York) Patch

Sailing The Seas

YouTubers Ryan Ellison, 40, and Sophie Darsy, 36, are about to drop anchor for a while in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and buy a house. The couple of seven years have been sailing around the world on a 40-foot sailboat for four and one-half years, sharing their story with tens of thousands of subscribers as they hop from one island to another. Within three months of meeting each other on a dating app, Ryan, who hails from Iowa, and Sophie, who was born in France, decided to live on a boat. “Nobody believed me,” Darsy told Patch. “My friends really laughed at me when I told them that was the guy I had met on Tinder. …” Believe this: They have traveled the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas, crossed the Atlantic Ocean three times, visited 17 countries and logged 25,000 nautical miles. » By Jacob Baumgart for Annapolis (Maryland) Patch

A Salute To Sgt. Bishop

U.S. Army veteran John Reuter had just moved to Sipp Avenue in Medford, New York, when he noticed the street was dedicated in honor of Staff Sgt. Keith Bishop. Who was he? Reuter satisfied his curiosity with a Google search, learning Bishop was a Medford native who died in a 2019 helicopter crash in Afghanistan while serving with the elite Army special forces division of the Green Berets. As he learned more, Reuter decided the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post should be renamed in Bishop’s honor. That is scheduled to happen in a ceremony Saturday. The plaque was donated by Bishop’s best friend since childhood, Matt Catapano, who told Patch: “I still feel like I’m going to look over my shoulder, and he is going to be there. It doesn’t go away.” » By Peggy Spellman Hoey for Medford (New York) Patch

Cyber Silence Is Golden

Tim Sanders has a heart for philanthropy, but like many who want to give, has concerns about online privacy. “I was shocked to find there was no easy way, no online platform designed for donors like me, to send fully anonymous donations quickly and easily,” the Mokena, Illinois, native told Patch. He changed that by developing Silent Donor, a secure website that allows makes nonprofit and charitable donations completely anonymous, even to the organization that receives the donation. » By TJ Kremer III for Mokena (Illinois) Patch

‘A Kid Or A Parent Will Be Fed’

Look behind the “volunteer of the year” plaque Nancy Trofemiuk received, and you’ll see a volunteer corps better prepared to tackle food insecurity and the grateful faces of countless people Trofemiuk has helped connect to food through her work at the Open Arms Care Center in Riverhead, New York. Zona Stroy, who nominated Trofemiuk, said she has a “well-developed talent of recognizing precisely what each volunteer needs and allowing each one to leverage their natural strengths and make their best contribution.” A humble Trofemuk said that when she volunteers, she knows “a kid or a parent will be fed.” » By Lisa Finn for Riverhead (New York) Patch

Caitlyn’s Vision Sees What Kids Need

Caitlyn Miciels has been struggling to see since she was 8 and came down with what appeared to be a case of pink eye. But as the Mastic, New York, girl’s condition worsened, she was diagnosed with bilateral uveitis, a rare condition that causes inflammation in the eyes and, if left untreated, can cause the pupils to seal shut and lead to blindness. Doctors caught it in time, but it’s a disease Caitlyn will have to treat for the rest of her life. Her mom, Kim, has given her now 12-year-old daughter the grace to feel what she needs to feel. “It’s OK to be sad, to be angry, to be nervous, but tomorrow’s a new day, and we just start our fight all over again,” she said. Caitlyn has flourished as a result. She takes part in the same activities as other kids her age, and dedicates between 20 and 30 hours a week to her nonprofit, Caitlyn’s Vision, to help kids facing the same fears she’s staring down. » By Peggy Spellman Hoey for Shirley-Mastic (New York) Patch

Give Bats Halloween Love

If ever there were an animal in need of a good public relations campaign, it’s the much maligned bat. Fear of these ecologically vital flying mammals is nonsense, according to the folks who care for orphaned and injured bats at the Owl’s Nest Sanctuary in Oldmar, Florida. Instead of fearing bats, they’re asking people to “adopt” a bat, which sanctuary director Kris Porter said are “extremely important to our environment” because they devour “a lot of moths, flies, dragonflies, beetles, wasps, ants and, especially, mosquitoes.” » By D’Ann Lawrence White for Lutz (Florida) Patch

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