This touching story is well-worth the read. It highlights the strength of a family’s resourcefulness as well as displays amazing strides in medicine that allow this beautiful child to hear for the first time.

Evie was born profoundly deaf but it was not until she was 16 months old that tests revealed she had no hearing nerves, meaning an auditory brainstem implant - or bionic ear - was her only chance of ever hearing.

The 23-month-old has Oculo-Auriculo-Vertebral Syndrome (OAV), a very rare condition with no known cause, which affects the eyes, ears and spine.

Her parents Emily and David Small, of Horndean, Hampshire, only had weeks to raise funds for Evie, then aged 19 months, to undergo the implant, or face the prospect of a life of silence.

The procedure has to be carried out before children reach their second birthday because pathways in the brain start to close up at this age.

Mr and Mrs Small were initially advised their daughter should undergo a cochlear implant on the NHS in Southampton but after asking for a second opinion they were told Evie had no hearing nerves.

“This meant a cochlear implant would not be an option as there is nothing for the sound to travel through,” Mr Small said.

“It would be like having a set of speakers and a stereo but no lead to connect them.”

If Evie’s parents, who have four other children, wanted their daughter to hear sound, an implant was their only option.

The couple had hoped Evie could be operated on in the UK, where only a handful of bionic ears have been fitted, but a team of specialists could not be assembled until after they successfully secured NHS funding from Portsmouth, which could have taken months.

Following online research the couple, both solicitors, found Professor Vittorio Colletti, a specialist doctor in Verona, Italy, who has ­successfully fitted more than 90 children with auditory brainstem implants.

Read more at BBC.

Today I posted a controversial piece for an online newspaper. I was hesitant, fearful of the repercussions. So I dug up some positive quotes on the importance of speaking your mind, regardless of the backlash. Today, speak your mind, even when the fear rises up in you.

“When you give yourself permission to communicate what matters to you in every situation you will have peace despite rejection or disapproval. Putting a voice to your soul helps you to let go of the negative energy of fear and regret.”
- Shannon Alder

“Speak what you think today in hard words and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said today.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

“Take the time to make some sense for what you wanna say,
And cast your words away upon the waves.

Sail them home with acquiesce on a ship of hope today,
And as they land upon the shore,
Tell them not to fear no more.

I’m not saying right is wrong,
It’s up to us to make the best of all the things that come our way.

Cos’ everything that’s been has past,
The answers in the looking glass.
There’s four and twenty million doors
On life’s endless corridor,

So say it loud and sing it proud today.”
- Noel Gallagher

I struggle with being calm. There. I said it. I try, I really do…but it always seems like a state of mind I plan on acquiring when I get home. My affliction is probably like many others who can’t always find that peace of mind. So here are a few quotes to lead us in the right direction:

A desire arises in the mind. It is satisfied immediately another comes. In the interval which separates two desires a perfect calm reigns in the mind. It is at this moment freed from all thought, love or hate. Complete peace equally reigns between two mental waves.
Sivananda

Affliction is the wholesome soil of virtue, where patience, honor, sweet humility, and calm fortitude, take root and strongly flourish.
David Mallet

Am I calm all the time? That is a question to ask my mother. I am very happy in my home. I have a good family, that gives me something extra.
Jean Alesi

Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.
Publilius Syrus

Be calm in arguing; for fierceness makes error a fault, and truth discourtesy.
George Herbert

Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath.
Michael Caine

Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.
Martin Luther

Before, I was so stupid. But, you know, when you have friends who died on the street, you say, okay, let’s calm down. It’s not the kind of energy I want to have in life. I want to go slower, and longer.
Olivier Martinez

But when I lose my temper, I find it difficult to forgive myself. I feel I’ve failed. I can be calm in a crisis, in the face of death or things that hurt badly. I don’t get hysterical, which may be masochistic of me.
Emma Thompson

Calm self-confidence is as far from conceit as the desire to earn a decent living is remote from greed.
Channing Pollock

Stories like these always warm the heart. When people extend themselves for animals (which they should do, instinctively, I do pray), it reminds us that we’re all interconnected…and that deep down inside, we care.

MOUNT SINAI, N.Y. — Police on New York’s Long Island spent over four hours rescuing a baby deer that fell into a 20-foot-deep manhole.

The cute, speckled creature scampered into the woods after it was released Thursday by its beaming, burly rescuers.

Landscapers called Suffolk County police around 3:30 p.m. Thursday after they saw the deer fall into the hole near a vacant lot in Mount Sinai.

Four emergency service officers responded.

The officers said the deer looked scared and sounded like it was crying.

One officer descended while wearing a breathing apparatus and a harness.

He placed another harness on the deer. The team raised it to ground level around 8 p.m.

They proudly posed for pictures with the fawn before releasing it.

Source: AJC.com

We are happy to announce one of our first guest bloggers on Only Positive News. Her name is Melanie Bowen and she’s an awareness advocate for natural health. She wanted to share her wisdom about a topic very near and dear to her: cancer and massage therapy. Read on:

Amidst the turmoil and stress, massage therapy can be used to alleviate the some of the various symptoms of a cancer diagnosis. Many physicians use massage therapy to decrease stress and anxiety, which is often associated with cancer. Cancer patients can receive a variety of types ranging from aromatherapy massage, deep tissue massage and Swedish massage. People who receive regular massages often benefit from a better quality of life.

Massage Therapy Yields a Better Quality of Life

Studies have been conducted on cancer patients who received a 30-minute massage once per week for three consecutive weeks. The breast cancer patients that participated in this study had typically a better quality of life and were able to sleep healthier. When massage is combined with aromatherapy, a 2004 review of 10 studies revealed a reduction in anxiety levels and improved psychological well-being.

Some studies have also shown that massage can increase energy levels and improve moods. Studies have shown that endorphins are released with massage therapy and those same endorphins are responsible for enhancing mood and overall a patient’s mental well-being.

Massage Therapy Promotes a Stronger Immune System

When stress is reduced; typically the immune system has a greater chance of fighting cancer-causing free radicals and other toxins in the body. According to a 2004 study, massage may also boost the number of lymphocytes and natural killer cells. Experts concluded this after studying breast cancer patients. These patients received three half-hour massages three to five times per week. After the study concluded, experts found a decrease in anxiety, depression and hostility.

These patients also had higher levels of serotonin and dopamine. Both of these chemicals are known to regulate mood.

Massage For Pain Management

Pain management is also facilitated by massage. Patients receiving radiation therapy reported decreased pain when receiving regular massages. A 2002 study supported these findings. Patients also reportedly had less anxiety and better sleep quality in this study also.

Massage is recommended as long as the patient does not have bone injury, osteoporosis or other bone-related problem. Patients with these injuries may benefit from light touch or may have to opt out of pain management altogether.

What to Consider Before Starting a Massage Therapy Regimen

Patients in chemotherapy treatments often have lower platelet counts. Because of this, they may bruise easily. Deep tissue massage may be uncomfortable. Light touch is recommended instead. Radiation therapy treatment patients often cannot receive deep tissue massage either. Discomfort increases as a patient’s progress in their treatments.

Patients with tumors should avoid massage in the area of the tumor. The cancer could spread and cause more difficulty in the healing process. Massage or manipulation of bone in an area near cancer could cause a fracture and should be avoided.

Are You a Candidate for Massage Therapy?

In general, most cancer patients are candidates. Even mesothelioma patients can benefit from massage. Cancer patients should consult a physician to determine if they are a good candidate for massage therapy and get out there immediately and start feeling better inside out amidst your recovery process by getting a massage!

Melanie Bowen joined the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance in 2011 as an awareness advocate for natural health and cancer cure initiatives. You will often find her highlighting the great benefits of alternative nutritional, emotional, and physical treatments on those diagnosed with cancer or other serious illness. Melanie also assists in social media outreach in her efforts to spread awareness.

Keep up with Melanie’s work here.

Here in the US, it is the fourth of July. We celebrate our independence. Countries all over the world celebrate their independence as well. So today, let’s talk freedom:

“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”
- Gloria Steinem

“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”
- Coco Chanel

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

“Lock up your libraries if you like, but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”
- Virginia Woolf, A Room Of One’s Own

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Memoirs of the life & writings of Benjamin Franklin

“The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask. There can’t be any large-scale revolution until there’s a personal revolution, on an individual level. It’s got to happen inside first.”
-  Jim Morrison

“Freedom lies in being bold.”
- Robert Frost

“I’m single because I was born that way.”
- Mae West

I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being, with an independent will; which I now exert to leave you.
- Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

Many know this iconic image of a Vietnamese girl running naked down a street after a Nepalm bomb had been dropped. This girl has a name. She is Phan Thi Kim Phuc.

“Kim Phuc is a living symbol throughout the world of the atrocity of war. These horrors must be transformed into a symbol of reconciliation world-wide. We are here in the home that humanity will choose the path of peace and that peace will prevail in our minds.” - Federic Mayor, UNESCO Nomination Ceremony

Paris, France, November 10, 1997

Kim Phuc channeled her incredibly difficult experience to help children of war worldwide. She started The Kim Foundation International in dedication of her experience and her deep desire to give back to people who had helped her during a time of need.

Take a moment to read about her incredible journey.

“My life was like a cup of coffee. Very dark: with hatred, anger, bitterness, sorrow. How can I clean everything in my heart if it’s full of coffee?” The answer, she explains, was in letting her cup be poured out every day, “until it became empty and God spilled his love into my cup.”

This man’s face just makes me smile. And his story? It does more than inspire; it instructs. Thanks to DailyGood for this impressive piece on an amazing man, determined and at peace.

‘Anything worth doing is going to be difficult,” says Fauja Singh, the 100-year-old runner who this week became the world’s oldest person to complete a full-length marathon, crossing the line at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront event in eight hours, 25 minutes and 16 seconds. (And he didn’t finish last: five came in after him.)

At five foot eight and weighing a little more than eight stone, Singh is a spindly figure under his heavy turban and wispy beard. “Girl, you tell me: has anything you wanted ever been easy?” he says. “I was so worried we [he ran with his trainer] might not make it that we didn’t tell our relatives we were doing it. I just wanted to break that bloody record.”

He is referring to the record set in 1976 by a 98-year-old Greek athlete. “I lost my speed in this race,” says Singh, “but it was the thought of that old man that pushed me through the last four miles. That and God.”

Speaking in Punjabi, Singh says running has given him purpose and a sense of peace. “Why worry about these small, small things? I don’t stress. You never hear of anyone dying of happiness.” And Singh is, by his own admission, pretty happy. Having moved from India to England in 1995, after the deaths of his wife and son, he lives with family in east London, and leads what he says is “a very simple life”.

Read more here.

It seems as if we’re all burying our heads when it comes to climate change, knowing something needs immediately, but not making a big enough effort to make a real difference. Bolivia stands out from the pack.

Bolivia is to become the first country in the world to give nature comprehensive legal rights in an effort to halt climate change and the exploitation of the natural world, and to improve quality of life for the Bolivian people.

Developed by grassroots social groups and agreed by politicians, the Law of Mother Earth recognises the rights of all living things, giving the natural world equal status to human beings.

Once fully approved, the legislation will provide the Earth with rights to: life and regeneration; biodiversity and freedom from genetic modification; pure water; clean air; naturally balanced systems; restoration from the effects of human activity; and freedom from contamination.

The legislation is based on broader principles of living in harmony with the Earth and prioritising the “collective good.” At its heart is an understanding that the Earth is sacred, which arises from the indigenous Andean worldview of ‘Pachamama’ (meaning Mother Earth) as a living being.

Read more at Positive News.

President Evo Morales, voiced a commitment to the initiative at the World People’s Conference on Climate change, held in Bolivia in April 2010.

[Thanks to Only Positive News reader James for sending us this inspiring story! We're always grateful for suggestions such as these, so keep 'em coming!]

Claire Lomas approaches the London Marathon finishing line in her ReWalk bionic suit. Photograph: Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images

A paralysed woman has become the first person to complete a marathon in a bionic suit.

Claire Lomas finished the London Marathon 16 days after the race began. The 32-year-old said she was “over the moon” as she completed the 26.2-mile route, which she started on 22 April with 36,000 other participants.

The former chiropractor was in tears as she became the first person to complete any marathon using a bionic ReWalk suit at 12.50pm on Tuesday.

Hundreds lined the streets as she made her final steps to complete the race. Three mounted members of the Household Cavalry gave her a guard of honour as she crossed the finishing line on the Mall.

A spokeswoman for the mounted regiment said the riders were there to give Lomas “extra support because she is passionate about horses”.

Read more about this inspiring first!