Good News! Taking Action, Saving Lives

by Kevin Burton

   The Good News Network is a good place to hang out. It’s a place to find stories Paul Harvey would have liked.

   Good news above the fold for a change, and why not?

   “Above the fold” refers to the part of a newspaper that shows in a newspaper box. It’s the stuff that sells papers, or used to. Who says it always has to be doom and gloom?

   We accentuate the positive with two GNN stories today, both about life saving action taken by people who cared and were paying attention. Both were attributed to GNN staff.

   The first hero is a barber, who saw something and said something:

   “An eagle-eyed barber saved a teenager’s life by spotting a lump that turned out to be a rare cancer.”

   “A Turkish stylist named Firat Davutoglu spied it on the 17-year-old customer’s neck after he’d come in for a trim of his back and sides.”

   “He advised him to ‘get it checked out’—and the next week Owen Norgrove went to his doctor who referred him to a specialist.”

   “Following a series of tests, Norgrove was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, an uncommon cancer that develops in the lymphatic system—and he immediately started aggressive chemotherapy following the diagnosis.”

   “Norgrove, from Shropshire, England, is now in remission and hoping to be given the all clear next June.”

   “Owen had just gone for his normal haircut and Firat noticed the tiny lump on his neck,” his mother Hayley told SWNS news agency. “When Owen came home he told us what Firat had advised and we immediately got him an appointment with his GP.”

   “Once we saw it, it did start to grow; by the time he was diagnosed it was a sizable lump in his neck.”

   “Firat really helped Owen have the cancer diagnosed much quicker so he could start treatment sooner. He underwent five months of chemotherapy at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and is being supported by the Teenage Cancer Trust.”

   “He had his last chemo on May 1. Then in early June he was in remission.

   “You just don’t expect cancer at that age, it was a shock for everyone. But everyone rallied around and we had a strong support network. With his age and resilience, his body fought back.”

   “Recalling the day he had his trim, Norgrove said: “I came to the barber as I do every few weeks. Suddenly Firat stopped and said to me ‘do you realize you’ve got a lump on your neck? You might want to get that checked by a doctor.’”

   “I’m really grateful that the barber noticed the lump,” he said.

   “Davutoglu, who runs New Styles hair salon, said: “I’m just giving him a haircut and I saw that his neck, the right side of it, is swelling. I just asked what is it?’”

   “‘He said he didn’t know and I got the mirror and he said he hadn’t seen it before. I told him, ‘Mate, you should go see the doctor.’”

   “He came with his dad (five months later) and I didn’t remember him because he had chemotherapy and had no hair. His dad told me the story and I feel emotional.”

   “He’s alright now and that’s what’s important now. I hope he’s going to have a long life, healthy, and he’s never going to see the hospital and doctors again.”

   The other life savers we highlight today are local farm workers from Madera County, California who noticed a school bus emitting smoke.

   “Two California farmers were honored recently for being the first ones to help save over 20 students aboard a school bus that caught fire,” GNN reported.

   “Long before the Madera County Fire Department arrived on scene, Angel Zarco and Carlos Perea were there, and in fact, the pair noticed the smoke billowing from the back of the bus even before the driver.”

   “They quickly alerted the driver and helped evacuate all the students on board before hightailing it to a safe distance as the school bus began to burn.”

   “At a meeting of the Madera County Board of Supervisors, the men were proclaimed as heroes of the community, who acted in the “very highest standards.’”

   “We were just making sure the kids were far away enough so that they wouldn’t get hurt,” Zarco said. “The bus caught fire right away, probably within like two minutes, three minutes. It all happened right away.”

   “California Fire Division Chief Larry Pendarvis said simply that buses can be replaced, but lives cannot.”

   “We can’t thank you enough for assisting prior to our resources arriving,” he said live on ABC30 Action News.

   “Perea said he believes the Good Lord had put them at that intersection that morning to save those kids, and that seeing his daughter among the onlookers at the board meeting when he was honored by their community was one of the best feelings he could imagine.”