【推荐1】Doctors told us that our son, Matti, had a rare disease affecting his kidneys. We were in complete shock.

One of us would need to provide a kidney for him. This situation could have completely thrown us, but we decided to take it as it comes. We were in the hospital for a month and have to come back quite often.

Between the ages of 18 months, Matti was stable with the help of medication. Without warning, the function of Matti’s kidneys went downhill very quickly, before failing completely — what the doctors warned us of at birth.

Initially, we hoped dialysis would only be a couple of months until the kidney transplant happened, but the outbreak of COVID-19 mean I that it was put on hold.

As is known, it was tough trying to keep track of how much water he could take in. He was limited to 600 ml a day as required, but the restriction felt especially hard over the summer. In general, Matti was pretty accepting this — but there were moments when, understandably, he hated it. There were moments when we all got frustrated, I can’t deny.

Stefan and I had decided that he’d be the one to give Matti a kidney. Stefan was rejected, leaving me to be considered. I was nervous that the doctors would discover something that wouldn’t work with me too. But, thankfully, I was a match. I could barely explain the relief I fell when I woke up, to hear that the kidney had made it over to Matti safely.

Of course, there follow a lot of medications, and a specialist comes to bring a bit of fun to what can be a boring day. He is invaluable and occupies my son so that I can grab a coffee and a break. What I have learned is that nothing is more important that health.

【推荐2】One day, a farmer was walking along a road with his son Thomas. The father said, “Look! There’s a horseshoe. Pick it up and put it in your bag.” Thomas said, “It isn’t worth the trouble.” His father said nothing but he picked it up himself. When they got to a nearby town, they had a rest. There the farmer sold the horseshoe and with the few pennies he bought some cherries.

The father and the son continued their way. The sun was well up in the sky, and there wasn’t a house or even a tree where they could have a rest. Thomas felt too thirsty to walk on. At this time, his father dropped a cherry on the ground and Thomas picked it up quickly and ate it. After a while, his father dropped another cherry and once again, his son lost on time in picking it up and putting it in his mouth.

And so they went on. The old farmer dropped the cherries and the son picked them up. When Thomas had eaten up all the cherries, his father said to him, “My dear son, if you had bent down early to pick up that horseshoe, it would not have been necessary for you to bend so many times for the cherries. Always remember the lesson that he who does not worry about the little things will find that he cannot do the great things.”

【推荐3】Being a high school coach provides wonderful opportunities not only to seek great skill from students in sports, but also to implant in them some valuable life lessons. Donta Green, a committed coach at Westinghouse High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvanian has brought his school team to victory. While part of this is down to physical fitness and practice, an improved general attitude has also played a key role in the team’s success.

One way Green has changed his players’ behaviors is a strict no-bad-words rule. This applies to players and coaches alike. If anyone uses bad language then they can expect to start doing push ups. In another way, the coach is also addressing the way the high school students dress. No students are to be seen wearing trousers hanging too low and players should walk the corridors of the school in suit and tie.

This is having a positive effect on the students and their academic success, with the team grade average being 3. 2. These changes are really affecting the way the players see themselves. As Keyshawn Morsillo, the team’s star quarterback, pointed out: “He’s changed us. Everyone on the football team used to have some bad behaviors. But he has showed us the right way to be a successful man. We look up at him and follow his footsteps. Really, he’s helping turn us from boys to men.”

This is impacting the general altitude for these students not just in the school, but how they’re perceived in the wider community, too.

“A lot of the things we do might seem like small things, but they add up to big things. There are things we do that set us apart from other programs. It’s just a lot of simple disciplines. That’s what is lacking in a lot of our young people.” pointed out Green.

While the team continues to impress, it’s important to take note on how these small steps can inspire others. We can strengthen in our own children the importance of behaving appropriately.

【推荐1】Doctors told us that our son, Matti, had a rare disease affecting his kidneys. We were in complete shock.

One of us would need to provide a kidney for him. This situation could have completely thrown us, but we decided to take it as it comes. We were in the hospital for a month and have to come back quite often.

Between the ages of 18 months, Matti was stable with the help of medication. Without warning, the function of Matti’s kidneys went downhill very quickly, before failing completely — what the doctors warned us of at birth.

Initially, we hoped dialysis would only be a couple of months until the kidney transplant happened, but the outbreak of COVID-19 mean I that it was put on hold.

As is known, it was tough trying to keep track of how much water he could take in. He was limited to 600 ml a day as required, but the restriction felt especially hard over the summer. In general, Matti was pretty accepting this — but there were moments when, understandably, he hated it. There were moments when we all got frustrated, I can’t deny.

Stefan and I had decided that he’d be the one to give Matti a kidney. Stefan was rejected, leaving me to be considered. I was nervous that the doctors would discover something that wouldn’t work with me too. But, thankfully, I was a match. I could barely explain the relief I fell when I woke up, to hear that the kidney had made it over to Matti safely.

Of course, there follow a lot of medications, and a specialist comes to bring a bit of fun to what can be a boring day. He is invaluable and occupies my son so that I can grab a coffee and a break. What I have learned is that nothing is more important that health.