Finally, some good news: 100-year-old veteran parachutes for SickKids, Belugas airlifted from war-torn Ukraine and marathoner runs across Canada
Yahoo Canada editors highlight the most smile-worthy and inspiring stories this week
In a world often dominated by challenging headlines, Yahoo News Canada aims to spotlight uplifting news stories both local and beyond. This week's roundup includes a 100-year-old veteran raising more than $100,000 for SickKids after parachuting from a plane, an ultra-marathoner inspired by Terry Fox running across Canada in 99 days and a four-year-old from Gaza with a one-in-a-million illness offered a lifeline.
🪂 100-year-old veteran parachutes out of a plane, raising more than $100K for SickKids
Second World War veteran and former paratrooper Ed Marshall is celebrating his 100th birthday by taking to the skies. Marshall's jump on July 12 ended well though — from an altitude of about 3,810 metres, he landed safely on his feet and exceeded his goal of raising $100,000 for the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto.
"I don't really want to do this," he recalled thinking while halfway through the door. "But by that time, it [was] too late," Marshall says in an interview with CBC News.
Marshall was trained as a paratrooper with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion during the Second World War and is the oldest living paratrooper from his battalion, previously completing low-altitude training jumps to prepare for deployment on the battlefield. His goal for this summer's jump was to raise $100,000 — or $1,000 for each birthday.
Niyousha Nejatpour, associate director of community partnerships with SickKids, was at the jump. She was "very emotional" when Marshall completed it and "in awe of his courage," she said to CBC News.
"I think it means everything for SickKids. When Ed first reached out, I think we were all kind of in awe of a hundred-year-old wanting to do a skydiving event."
They wanted to aim high, but never thought they'd hit that $100,000 goal. As of Monday, he had raised more than $102,000.
Nejatpour says the money is slated to go to the hospital's unrestricted fund, which will support high-priority needs at SickKids.
🐬 Watch: Beluga whales evacuated from war-torn Ukraine in complex mission
🏃🏻 Halifax ultra-marathoner runs across Canada in 99 days
Inspired by Canadian icon Terry Fox, a Halifax ultra-marathoner recently completed running across the country in 99 days, beginning in St. John's and ending in Victoria.
Along the way, Ryan Keeping ran 7,325 kilometres and raised more than $240,000 on GoFundMe — with 80 per cent of it going to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the rest covering his costs.
"Obviously in Canada, Terry is a hero — but other places in the world, they might not know who he is," Keeping said in an interview with CBC News. I was always making videos of running, so I thought I should run across the country and promote Terry Fox as the greatest Canadian of all time.
When asked about his most memorable moments during the cross-country run, Keeping said "I would have to say probably all the big cities. So what I'd do if I was approaching the big city — I ran 75 kilometres every day — but what I'd do is I'd run 70 and then I'd pick a park or something in a big city. So I would go in [the park] and then I'd do a five-kilometre group run."
He says when running through Toronto, he had upwards of 1,000 people running with him through the streets. "It was crazy," said Keeping.
Despite facing tough weather conditions and exhaustion, Keeping says the thought of giving up never crossed his mind.
"I like to say I have supreme self-confidence and anything I go to take on, I'm always going to have a positive attitude," said Keeping. "Of course there are days when you wake up and you're a little bit stiff and a little bit sore. But no, the thought of not finishing never crossed my mind — especially when you dedicate a run to Terry Fox and to your father, there is no way I would ever stop."
🥔 Watch: Alberta farm gives away 100,000 pounds of potatoes
🏥 Four-year-old Gazan with a ‘one in a million’ illness offered a lifeline
Julia Abu Zeiter suffers from a rare neurological disease that can be fatal without medication.
The nine-month war in Gaza nearly took young Julia’s life, as the fighting and displacement cut off her access to treatment.
After an arduous journey, she was finally evacuated from the war-torn enclave on June 27, accompanied only by her 21-year-old aunt, Dareen Zeiter.
“The displacement was really difficult, the events in Gaza are very difficult. What Julia saw was very harsh,” said Dareen in an interview with CNN.
Julia suffers from a rare neurological disorder called alternating hemiplegia of childhood, or AHC. It causes recurrent episodes of paralysis and life-threatening seizures. No cure exists for the illness, which is estimated to occur in approximately one in a million births. Its patients are referred to as “human time bombs” and need to constantly be monitored for signs of an oncoming episode. As soon as it strikes, lifesaving measures must quickly be administered.
Around a month into the war, Julia ran out of three of the five medications she was taking, Dareen told CNN. This triggered a state of paralysis for six months.
With the help of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), a US-based non-governmental organization, Julia was able to finally depart from Gaza through Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing, Dareen said.
Do you have an uplifting moment or story you would like to share with the Yahoo Canada audience? Email us: canadatips@yahoonews.com
