Sad
Via wensenrijders
The 54-year-old keeper, Mario, has worked at the zoo for almost 25 years and now has terminal cancer. He asked to be taken to the giraffe enclosure one last time to say goodbye to the animals.
Via VancityReynolds
Ryan Reynolds' dear friend, 13-year-old Connor McGrath just passed away after battling cancer for multiple years. The following was posted by Reynolds on his Facebook page, following McGrath's passing:
For three straight years, my friend, Connor McGrath drop-kicked cancer... Not sure how... Maybe the cancer cheated... But the fight came to an end two nights ago.
In my wildest dreams, I can't imagine how hard this is for his parents Kim and Gerald - along with his extended family in Newfoundland.
Connor was 13. But this kid... He was smart. He was funny. And not just funny 'for a kid' - or funny 'for a person battling something awful'. He was unqualified funny. He had that... thing.
That thing you see in great performers or comedy writers. A running commentary/observational skill people are just lucky to be born with.
He went way too early and it's impossible to reconcile. Connor was a great friend, a great son, and a light to the people lucky enough to know him. While repeatedly punching cancer in the balls, he made everyone laugh. Including the entire staff who cared for him at Edmonton's Stollery Children's Hospital.
It was the Make-A-Wish Foundation that brought us together. I can't thank them enough. Seriously. Thank you. Because of his wish, Connor was the first person to see Deadpool. I traveled up to Edmonton, Alberta to surprise him with a rough cut of the film. There were still huge sections with wires we hadn't yet painted out, jokes which weren't working (and still aren't) and green screens. Connor didn't seem to mind. And I'd never felt luckier to get to be Wade Wilson.
***Before you jump down my throat for showing a 13 year old an R-Rated film, please know this kid knew more swear words than a British chef.
I went back to Edmonton 6 weeks later and I wish I could say things were looking up. After my visit, I didn't know if I was saying goodbye or see ya later. Sitting here now, I realize it was both.
I'm grateful I got to orbit Connor's world for a brief time. Grateful for the pages and pages of hilarious texts between us. Grateful to his parents for allowing Connor to spend time with a foul-mouthed child in the body of a 39 year old.
I called Connor, "Bubba". And he called me "Bubba2". We met because he loved Deadpool. In a certain sense he WAS Deadpool. Or, at least everything Deadpool aspires to be; balancing pain, fearlessness, love and a filthy (filthy!) sense of humor in one body. I wish he could've stuck around a lot longer.
If you'd like to donate to The Make-A-Wish Foundation, I can pretty much guarantee, your money's going to a damn good place. These people do not suck. They are heroic. Full stop. http://makeawishna.ca/wishes/donate
My deepest condolences and thanks to Kim, Gerald and the entire clan McGrath -- who loved this little boy so very well. And thankfully, Connor knew it.
See ya down the road, Bubba.
- r
Via globalnews
As if we needed more reasons to love Ryan Reynolds, right? Ryan Reynolds took to his Facebook page to honor the late Connor McGrath, who Reynolds met at Edmonton hospital when McGrath was still battling cancer. The two enjoyed an advanced screening of Deadpool together. McGrath has since passed away, and Reynolds honors him in a truly moving way. RIP Connor.
Josh Kelly suffered from epilepsy, a brain disorder that forced him to drop out of high school nine days before graduation. For nearly a decade, Kelly attended Idaho State University working toward a degree in geology, with his service dog, a black pit bull named Cletus, by his side. The pair would dutifully walk two miles both ways to catch the bus to campus.
Unfortunately, Kelly passed away in February just two classes shy of his degree. Nonetheless, ISU granted him a posthumous degree on May 10. In the young man's place, Kelly's tearful father, Terrell, walked across the stage with Cletus by his side and accepted the diploma.
Via Mark Ross
On Sunday at 3 in the morning Mark Ross was notified that his sister, Eliza Fletcher (15 years old) had been killed in a car crash. Inside Edition reports that Trooper J. Davis ended up pulling their car over for speeding over 100mph; and that when Davis determined that Ross had an outstanding warrant and that his license had been suspended, he ended up towing their car.
Fast forward a bit, and Ohio State Highway Patrol Sergeant David Robinson showed up and saved the day!
Ross also went on to share some texts he'd exchanged with his sister mere weeks ago. May she rest in peace.
Garth Callaghan is 44 years old and has been diagnosed with cancer three times since November 2011. Prostate cancer once. Kidney cancer twice. Although he appears healthy today, statistics say he has an 8% chance of living past 5 years.
Since his daughter, Emma, has been in the second grade, he has written her a napkin note for each lunch he's packed. It may be a quote or a simple word of encouragement but it is a time when the two can connect.
Garth may die, but he will not let Emma eat lunch without a napkin note. His promise to her is to write one napkin note for every day of class Emma has until she graduates from high school.
