Couple Adopts Friend's 4 Daughters After She Dies

There's keeping a promise to a friend, and there's this: A couple in suburban Buffalo has adopted the four daughters of a friend who died of cancer, reports WKBW. “She said if anything ever happens to me I want you to take my girls and I instantly said OK,” Laura Ruffino tells the TV station. She's referring to Elizabeth Diamond, a single 40-year-old mom who died in April of brain cancer, just months after her diagnosis. Diamond left behind four girls ages 5 to 12, who have since been adopted by Ruffino and her husband, Rico. They already had two daughters, so the move instantly made them a family of eight.

"If something gets thrown at you, just accept the challenge and do the best you can,” says Rico Ruffino. Supporters have set up a fundraising page for the family, which hopes to make some modest changes to the house to make room for everyone. The story is picking up some major exposure now, with People weighing in that it's "defining the meaning of true friendship." (More uplifting news stories.)