Buzz
10. Chris Thomas
On July 15, 2015, Chris Thomas, a 28-year-old Army veteran suffering from limb-girdle muscular dystrophy and reliant on a wheelchair, was heading to the bathroom in his Pittsburgh home. As he maneuvered, his wheelchair collided with the edge of a box, causing a heavy shelving unit to topple onto his legs. The impact caused the wheelchair to tip over, and Thomas crashed to the floor, slamming his head against the linoleum, which briefly knocked him unconscious.
When he regained consciousness a few minutes later, his calls for help went unheard at the assisted living facility where he resided. He was also unable to activate the emergency alarm to notify the facility's guard. Even under the best of circumstances, it would have been challenging for him to get up from the floor (as shown in the video above).
9. Rylee Taylor
Following her friends' advice, Tara took her daughter, Rylee, to their pediatrician, who referred her to a retina specialist. The specialist discovered that Rylee had a rare eye condition known as “Coats’ disease,” which could lead to vision loss or blindness in one eye. As with many conditions, early treatment can significantly improve the chances of a positive outcome.
However, diagnosing Coats’ disease in children can be tricky because young kids often don’t recognize they’re losing their vision. The condition is usually identified only after vision loss in both eyes occurs. At that point, either the child or the parents realize something is wrong. In Rylee's case, Tara didn’t notice any issues with her daughter’s vision, as Rylee was actively involved in gymnastics and didn’t sit too close to the TV.
8. Lois Shelton
On February 26, 2015, 75-year-old Lois Shelton was walking in her kitchen when she tripped on some steps and fell hard to the floor. Once on the ground, she couldn’t use her arm to help her get back up. Unfortunately, her cell phone was in a different room, leaving her unable to call for help.
7. 16-Year-Old Boy In Oxfordshire, England
In a swift response, her mother immediately contacted the local police department in Maryland for assistance. The Maryland police then reached out to a contact at the White House, who helped them connect with the British Embassy in Washington. From there, Scotland Yard was alerted, followed by the police in charge of Oxfordshire.
Armed with just the young man's name and the information that he attended school in Oxfordshire, local authorities narrowed down his possible location to eight different houses. At the fourth residence they visited, the police found the boy barely conscious from a drug overdose. He was rushed to the hospital, and just three hours after he sent his distress message, the teenage boy was revived and made a full recovery.
6. Rick Fosnot
Rick Fosnot, from North Wales, Pennsylvania, was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease and had to undergo emergency surgery to have both of his kidneys removed. He was placed on dialysis and added to the transplant waiting list, with an expected wait time of six years.
Upon learning about Fosnot’s health struggles, Pape-Sansom underwent testing and found that she was a match. Though she hadn't seen Fosnot in over 20 years, she surprised him by offering to donate one of her kidneys. In June 2011, both underwent surgery, which was successful. When asked why she chose to donate her kidney, Pape-Sansom told her local NBC affiliate, 'I just remember thinking, if my husband needed a kidney, I hoped someone else would come forward. And I figured I had an extra one. I didn’t need it.'
5. Gregory Vance
On June 10, 2014, during a thunderstorm, Gregory Vance was sitting on his porch in Henlawson, West Virginia, with two friends when a lightning strike caused a large tree to fall on them. Gregory’s 10-year-old daughter, Brianna, tried to call for help, but the storm prevented her from getting any cell reception, and the family did not have a landline.
In her distress, Brianna filmed a short video in which she urgently pleaded for help. 'The lightning struck a tree near our porch and my dad’s almost dead,' she said in the video. 'He needs an ambulance, please. Please call one for us if you have a signal. We live in a yellow house.'
4. Arianna Moore
In 2012, when Arianna Moore was just seven weeks old, she developed a high fever and was hospitalized in Pine City, Minnesota. After performing several tests, doctors discovered she had a rare condition that caused scarring on her kidneys, leading to their failure. Arianna was placed on dialysis for 10 hours a day, though this was only a temporary fix. Despite both parents wanting to donate a kidney, neither was a suitable match.
Though she was a complete stranger to the family, Harding reached out and offered to donate her kidney. On June 18, 2014, both Arianna and Harding underwent surgery, and the transplant was a success.
3. Victoria Boisclair
On May 26, 2014, Melissa McMahon gave birth to her daughter, Victoria Boisclair, at a hospital in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. Just 16 hours later, a woman dressed as a nurse took Victoria from the hospital to her car, which had a 'Baby on Board' sticker on the window, and drove off. It wasn’t long before hospital staff realized the baby had disappeared, and an Amber Alert was issued with the description of the vehicle. The alert quickly spread across social media.
Within minutes, officers forcibly entered Poulin-Collins’s home, found Victoria safe inside, and returned her to her relieved parents just hours after the abduction. Poulin-Collins was arrested and pled guilty to kidnapping, receiving a sentence of two years less a day in prison.
2. The Captive In Sandy, Utah
After a friend in South Carolina posted the woman’s address in the comments, a Utah firefighter who was on vacation contacted the Sandy police. Officers were immediately dispatched to the location. At first, 33-year-old Troy Critchfield refused to allow the officers to see his girlfriend. When they were eventually able to check on her, they asked if she was okay, and she shook her head. It was clear she had several bruises on her face.
1. Leo Kogan
On the morning of Mother’s Day in 2011, Deborah Kogan noticed that her four-year-old son, Leo, had developed a rash and a mild fever. She took him to a clinic where he was tested for strep. Although the results came back negative, the doctor believed Leo might have strep throat. Instead of waiting for more precise results from a throat culture, the doctor prescribed an antibiotic as a precaution and sent Leo home. The following day, Leo’s fever worsened, and his face became swollen. His family doctor suspected it might be scarlet fever, but was unsure. He also decided to send Leo home.
This prompted Deborah to take Leo to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease and received the necessary treatment. After being discharged, Leo was also diagnosed with liver disease triggered by Kawasaki, but fortunately, he made a full recovery from that as well.
