The week's good news: May 9, 2019

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1. Red-legged frogs are once again thriving in Yosemite
2. Girl saves best friend from choking one day after learning Heimlich maneuver
3. Man unexpectedly meets the family of his organ donor while at a baseball game
4. Sons encourage their mother to attend college with them to fulfill her lifelong dream
5. 400 students surprise 88-year-old woman with heartwarming sendoff

published 9 May 2019

1. Red-legged frogs are once again thriving in Yosemite

Just two years after being reintroduced to Yosemite National Park, the red-legged frog is doing better than ever. In the 1950s, non-native bullfrogs and a fungal disease wiped the frogs off the Yosemite map, and 50 years later, the park, the Yosemite Conservancy, and the San Francisco Zoo teamed up to bring the threatened species back. Thousands of tadpoles and adult red-legged frogs were bred at the zoo, then released in Yosemite in 2017. This spring, scientists spotted the first signs of breeding in the park: tadpoles and clusters of eggs. "It's unusual to find eggs in any location, and to find them this soon is a strong indication that red-legged frogs are adapting successfully to the riparian areas where we reintroduced them," Yosemite Superintendent Mark Reynolds told USA Today.

Just one day after learning the Heimlich maneuver, third-grader Shailyn Ryan was able to use her new skill to save her best friend's life. Ryan and Keira Silvia were eating lunch last week at Marguerite Peaslee Elementary School in Northboro, Massachusetts, when Silvia's face turned red. Ryan could tell Silvia was choking on the hot dog she had been eating, and quickly jumped up and started to give the Heimlich maneuver, just like she had been taught. Thanks to her friend's quick thinking, Silvia was able to cough up the hot dog. Her mother, Noel, told CBS Boston she is "so thankful, there are no words." Ryan has been taking safety courses at the Northboro Recreation Center, and because of her training, "I wasn't nervous because I knew how to do it," she said.

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A baseball game brought together two families who are now bonded for life. Savannah Chavez Roesch's late brother, Donovan, was an organ donor, and his family received a letter last year from the man who received his heart. In a Facebook post, Roesch explained that the donor and recipient families don't know anything about each other — their names and locations are confidential — but she sent the man a few photos of Donovan so "they could put a face to his new heart." Roesch and her family recently attended the St. Louis Cardinals' Donate Life Day, wearing shirts featuring Donovan's picture. A woman recognized the photo, and said she was there with her dad: the man who received Donovan's heart. The families took photos together, and Roesch listened to the recipient's heartbeat. "I think Donovan arranged us to meet this way," she said. "What are the chances of this happening?"

Madelyn McClarey knew her sons were headed for college, but had no idea she would be going with them. When it came time to choose a school, twins Aaron and Aubrey Hough picked Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. They lived in South Florida, and didn't like the idea of leaving their single mom behind. McClarey worked hard to provide for her kids, and always dreamed of finishing college, so it made sense to the brothers that she attend Florida A&M, too. McClarey told the Tallahassee Democrat she was "shocked," adding, "I knew we were really close, but I didn't expect them to react like that." McClarey started at Tallahassee Community College, then transferred to Florida A&M in 2016. Last weekend, she earned her degree in English with a minor in education.

After moving to a house near Highland Secondary School in Comox, British Columbia, Tinney Davidson noticed that as kids walked by, they would often peer inside her front window. Davidson "just liked the look of the children," she told CBC News during a 2014 interview, and thought, "if they're looking in, I'll wave to them." The great-grandmother has spent the last 12 years sending students off to school with a smile and a wave. When the kids found out Davidson, who is 88, is moving to an assisted living home, they knew they couldn't let her go without a final wave. Late last month, about 400 students walked together from school to her house, bringing flowers and carrying signs that said "Thanks 4 Being Awesome" and "We Love You Mrs. Davidson." Davidson was delighted, telling CBC News she was "shocked ... that there's so many kids that want to say goodbye to me."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.