In the socccer off-season, January of 2012, then high school freshman Kate Reese tore her ACL and both menisci in her right knee playing high school basketball. This mini-documentary is her story from pre-op to stepping back on the field in October of 2012 and gives an honest “What to expect” perspective from one female athlete who loves the game and was single-minded in her goal during the 8 months it took her to return to play. She successfully channeled all of her energy into rehab and training to meet her goal to be back on the field at some point in the 2012 fall season. Kate’s surgeon, Dr. Kurt Schluntz of OrthoBethesda used Kate’s own patella tendon to replace her shredded ACL because of her age and intense level of activity.

Documenting her journey on video originally was intended to help other athletes who are undergoing ACL reconstruction. There are so many questions that athletes have before surgery such as the type of repair (Patella, hamstring, cadaver?) and during rehab. Kate found herself looking for information and positive examples on Youtube and found a lot of good information, but she wanted to know how athletes did not just in the days after surgery, but in their return to play.

So this video hopefully gives the full picture from pre-op to Kate’s return to play. And, as a side note, Kate acknowledges that this video had a second benefit. Beyond helping others who are traveling a similar road to healing, this video helped Kate too. She recalls that it was good for her to be reminded just how far she had come, especially on the days that she wanted to be able to do more–sooner.

NOTE: If you are going through an ACL reconstruction and have read that athletes return anywhere from 4 months to 12 months after surgery, you are right. Kate was told that even past the 1.5 year mark post-op, your “New ACL” is still learning to talk to your brain as you develop new feedback mechanisms that will do what the ACL used to do automatically. So, even when you return to play, you should allow yourself at least a year and a half to continue improving your game to your pregame skill.

Rockville High School students Chloe Thomas and Joseph Broussard are two examples of what is right with kids today.  Both, for different reasons exemplify the very best in people.  Chloe is proactive, courageous, funny, open-hearted and trusting…  Joseph is classy, kind, compassionate and sincere, and so many other things too.

This piece done by Laura Evans of Fox 5 News DC will warm your heart, probably make you cry some happy tears and confirm that there is a lot right with kids today!

Watch Chloe ask Joseph to the prom:

Watch Joseph’s response here:

Charles Eisenstein - http://sacred-economics.com/
Bill Kauth - http://www.sacredlifeboats.com/gift-community.html

There is so much that is right with kids today!

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It is this truth that makes this lovely video so powerful.  It is so unexpected that this young teen, Kait, holds up a sign in this video, sharing that “On October 5th, 2011, my mum died…I found her in my woods hanging. She committed suicide”.

It is staggering to think that this young spirit, who has surely been through a heart-wrenching loss has been able to turn this profound loss into a gift to anyone suffering a similar loss–or is depressed themselves.

Such sweetness, authenticity and care comes through with Kait only holding signs before the viewer.  What an exceptional human being.  At the time of this writing 16 year old Kait’s video has  419,255 views.  Share this beautiful message so it can get into the hands of anyone who needs a dose of Kait’s perspective.

All the best,

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

Sponsor of What’s Right With Kids Today

Rena M. Reese is the founder of Soul Salon International, an inspirational multimedia company which offers coaching, consulting, web-design, publishing support, and fundraising opportunities for individuals and groups. She is the author of several inspirational titles, a professional speaker and coach as well as the host of a weekly radio program, The Soul Salon. Her articles are syndicated in print and online  Please visit www.SoulSalonInternational.com and connect with her on Twitter @TheSoulSalon and on facebook

Leah, Grace’s older sister pictured here, realizes how fortunate she is to have access to so many educational choices, especially now as a  high school senior with an eye on her future beyond high school.  As she began searching for colleges it occurred to her that if Grace had remained at her orphanage, she would not have had access to the many opportunities that Leah has–and now Grace does too.

With this idea percolating, Leah spoke with her parents to brainstorm what she could do to help teenagers living in Chinese orphanages, to go on to college.  This is how Leahs-Hope.com, which is a fundraising effort that partners with Journey’s of the Heart Adoption Agency, began.

“When Leah first came to us with the idea of Leah’s Hope, to be honest, we felt overwhelmed with the whole idea. However, we didn’t want to discourage the giving attitude shining through in our daughter. We could not be prouder of Leah and the fierce pride she takes in Leah’s Hope. We are so proud that she is making a significant difference in the future of some orphaned teenagers’ lives.”      –Leah’s mom, Amy Gimre

Leah’s Mission Statement from her website: The mission of Leah’s Hope is to connect teenagers, leaving their Chinese orphanage because of their age, with the educational funding necessary to become trained, self-sufficient, hopeful adults.

Helping

Orphans

Prosper through

Education

 Fundraising efforts have gone well and one orphan, Di, has been sent through all four year’s of college thanks to the generous donors on Leah’s site.  Now, they are beginning the process of finding the next  orphan to help send to college.  If you are reading this and feel the pull to contribute to this beautiful endeavor, you can make a difference in the life of an orphaned teen by making a contribution to Leah’s Hope.

Leah’s Hope has a mission that is quite personal to the Gimre Family.  The gift of Grace, now 10 years old, has touched them all in myriad ways. Leah explains, “There are no words to describe the joy that Grace has brought into my life.  She is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  Grace is always full of energy and the two of us always seem to be laughing and having a great time together.”

As a high school senior, this is the year of college applications for Leah.  It seems her interest and focus on education seems to be converging.  Not only is she applying to colleges for her while raising money for a Chinese orphan to go to college, but she is also thinking her college major will be in, you  guessed it, Elementary Education.

Leah is a great example of a young woman being inspired at home to open her heart to others.  Looking beyond borders to show compassion and hope–and in turn, changing the world with one simple idea put into action.  Leah, you are a great example of what is RIGHT with kids today.

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

Sponsor of What’s Right With Kids Today

Rena M. Reese is the founder of Soul Salon International, an inspirational multimedia company which offers coaching, consulting, web-design, publishing support, and fundraising opportunities for individuals and groups. She is the author of several inspirational titles, a professional speaker and coach as well as the host of a weekly radio program, The Soul Salon. Her articles are syndicated in print and online  Please visit www.SoulSalonInternational.com and connect with her on Twitter @TheSoulSalon and on facebook

“All human beings have potiential.  In every person I  meet or see at school or on the street I can see that potiential. It’s like a spark that goes off in their heartand I always see that.”   –Eleanor Muzzipapa

Ask a few 13 year-olds their mission in life you will likely get a range of responses. It would not be unusual to hear a good number of those teens respond with,”I don’t know yet, I am only 13!”  But if you were to ask Eleanor Muzzipapa her mission in life, she would be quite clear about it–as a matter of fact, she has already gotten busy achieving it.  This Colorado teen from Colorado Springs explains her mission in one short phrase,”Bring Peace To Communites Across The Nation And Worldwide.”  She lives with a personal expectation of peace for our world and shared with WRWKT that her greatest hope is, “That everyone will understand that violence won’t be stopped with violence– The only way violence can be stopped is by caring,  love,compassion and understanding.”  Wise beyond her years, Eleanor will be entering 8th grade this fall and has had lots of practice in practicing these peace principles.  She is one of five sisters and has three brothers.

Eleanor is an advocate, messenger, supporter, and caretaker.  From as young as age three she began helping with the care of her grandfather and also cared for her younger sister who is autistic. So, it is no surprise that now, at age 13, Eleanor feels the greatest calling to work with the elderly, autistic as well as those in emotional distress.  She says she does this because she has “a lot of love, compassion, wisdom, and kindness to give.” Her close relationship with her grandfather allows her to spend time with him listening to his stories about life during WWII and what times were like during the depression. He shares life lessons and one that has really stuck with her is, “You can do anything you want as long as you work hard to get there.”

Eleanor is willing and able to work hard– and she carries a spirit of kindness and volunteerism throughout all parts of her life.  at home, school, church and in her community. She is making a difference and she has been recognized for her efforts. She has been awarded a Helping Hand Award, Valuable Leader Award, Outstanding Service Award and Great Kid Award in her 13 short years–so you know this is just the beginning of the terrific contributions she will make in life.  This big-hearted teen is a good friend too, she explains, “ I always have people’s backs if they’re getting bullied or they just need someone to talk to I have their back 100%.”

When Eleanor is not swimming, running track, playing her trumpet or hanging out with friends, you may find her on Twitter, Facebook Fan Page or on her website in support of Tito Jackson  or her personal website.  She is a huge Tito Jackson fan and has such admiration for him and is taken by his kindness. She is a life-long fan of all of the Jacksons and she hopes that she can one day use her gift of writing and singing to “express awareness” to the world and promote her messages of support for those less-fortunate as well as her hope for peace.  With a long list of Charities that she supports, Eleanor knows what matters most to her– and she invests her days lifting others up.

She offers her support to:

Marshall introduced a “drug cocktail” that  creates a super-mix which will actually seek to correct the genetic defect which results in CF. His research not only took first place at a national science contest but it is also is suggesting that the basic defect that is causing cystic fibrosis can be corrected.  With the technology supplied by the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children, he was able to use their sophisticated computer to create a model of his work.  His project explains how two compounds interact to cause CF.  This protein called Delta F508 and Marshall explains how the synergy  of the two compounds can correct the defect.  Watch what Marshall has to say to about it in his television interview.

So much is right with kids today!

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Sponsor, Whats Right With Kids Today

Founder, Soul Salon International

*NOMINATE A SPECIAL YOUTH YOU KNOW TO BE FEATURED on WRWKT *

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The competition which was sponsored by both Siemens and Discovery Communications.  The second graders used beans to act out the afternoon carpool routine.  They realized that “the cars that came first waited the longest, and the cars that came last waited the shortest,” explained 8 year old “researcher”, Eli Brotman.  Student’s further noticed that most cars came to pickup their students at the same time, creating a bottleneck.  Second graders decided on a plan to try and improve the situation. Deciding to stagger the drop off times over a twenty minute window yielded dramatic results.  As a matter-of-fact, the improvement was so significant that the school director Denise Gershowitz instituted drop-off times by alphabetical order (with flexibilty for unique schedules and needs) for the school and the families love it.  One parent explained that it now takes her just one minute to go through the carpool lane when it used to take 15.

Read more about these dynamic kids at the Concord Hill site and the feature written about them in the Washington Post’s Kid’s Post.

Way to go Concord Hill Second Graders!

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Sponsor, Whats Right With Kids Today

Founder, Soul Salon International

*NOMINATE A SPECIAL YOUTH YOU KNOW TO BE FEATURED on WRWKT *

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You can read more about this fabulous kid making a difference in his local community and our global community to creatures with legs, fins, flippers and wings at Kids Are Heroes.

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Sponsor, Whats Right With Kids Today

Founder, Soul Salon International

*NOMINATE A SPECIAL YOUTH YOU KNOW TO BE FEATURED on WRWKT *

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Two abandoned bunnies were found April 17 and it was obvious that one of the bunnies, given the name Joe, was born a paraplegic. The tenacious little critter was able to get around, but Liam, one of the boys in the family wanted to give him a chance at greater movement. He sketched and designed an A.T.B.—the All Terrain Bunny. While perhaps Liam may continue to hone the design, WRWKT is so happy to see that kids care–and take action to give comfort to the smallest creatures among us.

The compassion in this young boy Liam shows that respecting life, caring for living creatures and creative problem solving are all natural inclinations for youths.

So much is right with kids today!

Rena M. Reese

Sponsor, Whats Right With Kids Today

Founder, Soul Salon International

*NOMINATE A SPECIAL YOUTH YOU KNOW TO BE FEATURED on WRWKT *

Rena