Selfless Mom, Thoughtful Cop Make Headlines

Life-saving and life-shaping gestures by Good Samaritans highlight this week's list of the most uplifting stories:

• Mom Breaks Back in 3-Story Jump to Save Baby: When a fire trapped Christina Simoes in a bedroom of her third-story apartment with her 18-month-old son, she did the only thing she could: She cradled her boy and jumped from the balcony. Her son is fine, but Simoes broke her back and may never walk again. And she says it was worth it.
• Teen Calls Cops on Family; Cop Buys Him a Bed: Few calls to police go quite as well as the one 13-year-old Cameron Simmons placed a few weeks ago. After an argument with his mom, the teen in Sumter, SC, called the police to say he was done living with his family. Officer Gaetano Acerra arrived and told Simmons to stick it out, but he saw that the teen lacked some necessities. Weeks later he showed up in a truck bearing a bed, a TV, a desk, a chair, and even a not-so-necessary Wii.

• Oregon Governor Stops Cars to Aid Woman: On his way to dinner in Portland this week, Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber spotted a woman unconscious along the roadside—so he halted his driver, jumped out, and made use of his skills as an ER doctor to give her CPR. The woman survived.
• #RedBalloonsforRyan Goes Viral: An outpouring of love has stunned the parents of a 3-year-old Ryan Saldana, who was struck and killed by a car while playing Frisbee. Family friend and blogger Alissa Circle then started the hashtag #redballoonsforryan so people could share thoughts and images of the boy with flaming red hair. It quickly exceeded all expectations.
• Loyal Dog Stays by Owner's Body: A search team in Colorado found the body of a missing 81-year-old skier, but they had to get by his loyal golden retriever Buddy first. The dog was described in the sheriff's report as being in a "protective state," guarding the body of Robert Blake from scavengers, particularly coyotes seen in the area the previous night.

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