Racquetball champ defies doctor's prognosis
Yelandi Rivero and his racquetball partner recently finished second in a statewide racquetball tournament in Florida. The reason this is noteworthy is that four years ago, Rivero, now 36, was paralyzed from the waist down after an all-terrain-vehicle accident, and was told by doctors he’d never walk again, let alone play racquetball. But Rivero, a truck driver, shrugged off the prognosis, and after a year and a half, was back on the court, hitting balls while holding on to his walker. He never quit, slowly regaining mobility and strength. “To look back and to see where I am now, I am very thankful,” he said.
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Massachusetts mom saves children from runaway bus
A fast-acting Massachusetts mother saved a sidewalk full of children from a runaway bus. Lorie Aliano of Methuen, Mass., had just dropped off her son at an elementary school for a trip to the zoo when she looked up and saw an empty bus rolling down a driveway. “I just said, ‘Someone needs to stop that bus,’” said Aliano, a Navy reservist. She jumped into the driver’s seat, grabbed the wheel, and stepped on the middle pedal, praying it was the right one. The bus came to a stop against a curb, along a sidewalk where kids were gathering. “She is a hero,” said school principal Richard Beshara. “I don’t think the average person would do what she did.”
