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After the women’s 200-meter qualifying heat at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games, Manuel Antonio Vaz da Vega got down on one knee to surprise Keula Nidreia Pereira Semedo with a marriage proposal. Vaz de Vega is Semedo’s running guide, and he popped the question just as the visually-impaired sprinter crossed the finish line. She finished fourth in the race, but is not leaving Tokyo empty-handed.  Semedo was overjoyed and accepted the proposal, and her fellow competitors gathered to congratulate the happy couple. "I really have no words. There are so many emotions all together. Just the fact of being here at the Paralympic Games, I hardly felt my legs actually because I was so nervous," she told reporters. "Now, with the proposal, there are just too many emotions going on right now. I don't have words to explain how I feel at this moment. “I always had the dream of getting married but we hadn’t planned anything so far,” she continued. “We haven’t spoken about it and I wasn’t expecting it at all.” Semedo lives and trains in Lisbon, Portugal but competes for her home country of Cape Verde. On her Olympic profile, she lists Vaz de Vega as the biggest influence on her career. "I am sure my mom will be very happy because she always wanted me to get married," said Semedo. The couple has been together for 11 years and Vaz da Veiga was eager to pop the question — he had been planning to propose in Tokyo ever since she made the list at the end of July. "My two brothers and a friend of mine already knew of this. I am sure they will be very happy. My family will be thrilled. They will all love the idea," he said. Image source: TODAY

Dontez Williams was getting ready to marry Myshella Burton when he stopped to ask her two daughters if he could become their father. “I never knew you really do become a man when you have children,” said Williams, 33. “Having someone to teach, protect and provide for them, discipline them, learn from them and support them. For all of those reasons, you have helped me become a better person. I know that I’m a father figure to you both,” he told 9-year old Abigail and 8-year-old Natalie. Williams has been in the girls’ lives since they were just one and two years old. The emotional moment when he got down on one knee was shared in a video to Instagram. In the caption, Williams wrote, “Just the thought of me writing the vows for them, it made me want to tear up. When I felt that emotion just thinking about it, I was like, ‘I got to do this. This is the right decision. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it.’” Williams kept his plan a secret and only shared it with the officiant at the rehearsal. “Myshella was really shocked, but she was happy and just thankful for me stepping up,” Williams told Fox News. “She was really happy that I feel that way for them and said she’s grateful to have me in their lives.” Image source: Fox News

In the thick of the pandemic, 11-year-old Nandi Bushell challenged Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl to an “epic” online drum duel — and she won. Although the musicians are decades apart in age, they have formed an unlikely friendship and Grohl even wrote a song about Bushell in Sept. 2020. The pair met for a virtual conversation, and Bushell was accompanied by her mom and dad. During the conversation, she got the invitation to join the band on stage. "But it has to be at the end of the set, because you're going to steal the show," Grohl told Bushell. Bushell said she began playing drums with her dad when she was just five years old. “Then, I got too good for him,” she said. So, the family hired a proper teacher for her. Bushell, who is from the U.K., also plays bass, guitar and piano. On Aug. 26, Bushell was invited to join the band’s live performance at The Forum in Inglewood, California. She played the drums during the 1997 hit, “Everlong.” "It happened!!! It was #EPIC!!! Thank you so much @foofighters!!! I had the best night ever jamming with you at @TheForum! Thank you so much Mr. Grohl and Taylor!" Nandi tweeted. Following her live performance with the Foo Fighters, Bushell has since linked up with Tom Morello and his son, Roman, to write a song together that is set to be released soon. She thanked the Rage Against the Machine guitarist for “welcoming us into your beautiful family.” Morello connected with the young musician after she covered his band’s “Guerrilla Radio” as a Black Lives Matters tribute. He then gifted her a special guitar and said, “I’d like you to have this guitar as a gift from me to you because you rock so great, and to see someone rocking so great who is so young, it really gives me hope for the future.” Image source: Teen Vogue

Houston’s legendary philanthropist and businessman Jim McIngvale — better known as “Mattress Mack” — is helping those impacted by Hurricane Ida in Louisiana. The Gallery Furniture owner has started a collection drive to aid relief efforts, and he has even turned his Houston store into a shelter, offering a safe, dry place to sleep to any evacuee with a Louisiana ID.  The store is currently housing more than “50 families and individuals,” with more expected to arrive as the week goes on. “You can see the stress and trauma on their faces when they come in,” he told The Washington Post. “They’ve had their lives turned upside down, and we’re going to do all we can to help them.” "We did it during Katrina and, you know, people need a place to stay. They've been disrupted from their homes by this terrible hurricane, so it's the least we can do. We've got lots of mattresses, lots of sofas, and anybody needs a place to stay, come out to Gallery Furniture," he told KPRC News. "It's just the right thing to do." Mattress Mack’s new High-Water Rescue Truck brought “much needed supplies and smiling faces” to the people of Louisiana on Tuesday, Aug. 31.  In addition to monetary contributions, Gallery Furniture is also asking Houston residents for the following items: non-perishable food, bottled water, toothpaste, toothbrushes, diapers, pet food, toiletries, books, games, puzzles and activities for families with children and socks. Mattress Mack is well known in the Houston community for his eccentric commercials, unique promotions and his philanthropy. Image source: Houston Chronicle

Paul Ellis, a 56-year-old man from Wales, had both legs amputated after a bad fall caused a devastating spinal injury in 1992. The father of two just climbed Wales’ highest mountain and raised over £3,000 to send amputee children on vacation. Crawling up the mountain on his hands and knees took about 13 hours total — and while the first three miles only took him about an hour each, the final two miles took almost nine. He wore thick gardening gloves and protective knee pads, but still ended up with blisters after the 3,560-foot climb.  “I’ve got a few blisters on my stumps, blisters on my hands, you’re putting your wrist down all the time so my wrists got quite sore,” Ellis told Wales Online. “But with all the support of the people on the mountain saying ‘come on you can do it,’ that spurs you on.” His fundraising efforts will help send six amputee children and their families on vacation to Tenerife. “It’s a challenge and that’s why I wanted to do it — to raise awareness and funds for the kids. It’s a hard challenge but one that’s worth doing,” said Ellis. Ellis had supporters cheering him on as he reached the summit, and people were passing him water throughout the climb. After reaching the top, he camped out at the peak overnight before heading back down the following day. Two members of the charity Amp Camp brought his prosthetic legs to him for the descent. “I went from not being able to walk at all and only being able to stand for about five minutes to going to climb mountains,” said Ellis. Image source: Daily Express

A family in Indian Hills, Ohio has raised over $77,000 this year for the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital by having a lemonade stand outside their home. Over the past several years, the stand has raised over $300,000 total for the hospital. Moms Amanda Zerbe and Hillary Weidner wanted to teach their kids about generosity by donating the money from a lemonade stand to the hospital. Then, it grew from there.  The Children’s Hospital holds a special place in the Weidner’s hearts because the oldest sibling, Beatrice, has spent a lot of time there after receiving a kidney transplant at just six months old. Her mom was her donor, and Beatrice is now in first grade and thriving.  The initial lemonade stand raised $148, and the moms asked social media for help matching the kids’ earnings. In a matter of days, they had raised over $200,000. During the pandemic, the kids were still able to raise $10,000 from their lemonade stand and social media fundraiser. This year, the kids hoped to reach $20,000, and they far exceeded it by raising over $77,000. "It's crazy," Hillary Weidner said to WLWT5. "I mean, it's just, there's no amount of money that we can ever raise to equate what we have received from the hospital. So, even if we could donate 45 million, it wouldn't even touch how much that we feel indebted to them." Image source: WLWT

Senior leadership at Nike has decided to give employees a full week off to prioritize their mental health. Matt Marrazzo, senior manager of global marketing science at Nike, wrote in a LinkedIn post, “Teams at Nike will start closing their laptops for our regular Summer Friday hours. But today is *extra* special. Nike HQ is also powering down for a full week off starting next Monday. Our senior leaders are all sending a clear message: take the time to unwind, destress and spend time with your loved ones. Do not work.” Marrazzo said that taking time to rest and recover is “key to performing well and staying sane.” He added that the past year has been rough due to the pandemic, but he is “hopeful that the empathy and grace we continue to show our teammates will have a positive impact on the culture of work moving forward.” Nike is following the lead of the dating app, Bumble, which implemented a company-wide, week-long vacation in June to help combat burnout.  LinkedIn also gave the majority of its employees a week’s paid vacation in April, which chief people officer, Teuila Hanson, said was “inspiring to see how our employees returned to work rejuvenated and recharged.” An anonymous Nike employee told KGW News that the week off is “not only a chance to recharge and keep us together, but also a thank you for an impressive year.” The week off, however, does not extend to Nike’s retail employees. Stores will remain open during the week. Image source: Yahoo Sports

Joel Boyers had just finished helping his fiancee earn her pilot’s license and the pair were headed to celebrate the achievement. Then, they received a call from a woman in Pennsylvania who asked if he could help rescue her brother, who was stranded on his roof – his home was underwater due to the floods in Tennessee. “I thought, ‘How would I feel if I told her I’m not even going to try?’” Boyers, who owns Helistar Aviation, told The Associated Press. “She just so happened to call the right person, because I’m the only person crazy enough to even try to do that.” Boyers has been a pilot for 16 years, but faced several new challenges as he rescued person after person. He had to work around power lines, balance the helicopter on slanted roofs and hover over raging flood waters. Boyers’ fiancee, Melody Among, was his co-pilot and helped spot people below.  The couple rescued four people from the roof of a farm supply store. A woman said her husband had just been swept away by the devastating waters, but her daughter was on the roof of a gas station nearby — and they were able to save her, too. “Every landing was pretty dangerous,” said Boyers. “I know the FAA can take my license away if they see me flying like that.” He said he has already reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration. The couple was able to save a total of 17 people from the floods. “I literally prayed just days before this that God would give me some meaning in my life, and then I end up getting this call,” said Boyers. Image source: ABC 11

A man who wished to remain unnamed paid for the funerals of all 20 people who died in the devastating floods in Tennessee, according to William Brown, the manager of Humphreys County Funeral Home. Brown told The Tennessean that a man walked into the funeral home and paid for all nine funerals that the funeral home is organizing. The man then went to other funeral homes in the area to pay for the other services as well. Floods took over the state last week as hundreds of homes were wiped out. After the 17 inches of rain crushed the area, hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from across the country have been pouring in to help those affected. Some notable donations include $50,000 from the Tennessee Titans, $50,000 from Regions Bank and $100,000 by local manufacturer Chemours. The man paying for the funerals of the flooding victims is said to be from out of town. “It brings tears to your eyes,” Brown told Fox News. But, we’re [going to] get through it because we’re a strong community.” Image source: Humphreys County Funeral Home

A former high school football player was paralyzed during a game 12 years ago and told he may never be able to walk again. This summer, he defied all odds when he walked across the stage to accept his college diploma at the University of North Texas at Dallas. “I WILL CONTINUE TO NEVER GIVE UP & INSPIRE THE WORLD WITH MY TESTIMONY. I WALKED AGAIN!” Corey Borner tweeted. “TOUGH TIMES DON’T LAST LONG TOUGH PEOPLE DO!” Borner has been in a wheelchair since 2009 when he made a tackle and never got up. His paralyzation never deterred his spirit, and he went on to become a motivational speaker.   “We all go through something. That’s one thing about life. But as long as you continue to stay focused and stay positive, anything is possible,” Borner told NBC DFW. Borner took his first steps at the Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation just months before his graduation. With the assistance of an exoskeleton suit, he was able to cross the graduation stage.  "It's just a dream come true. I haven't seen him take a step in 12 years,” his mother Charlotte Borner told NBC News. "Whether he was able to even do this or not, you know, I know he's going to do something that is positive. He's going to motivate people. He's here for a reason. God kept him here for a reason.” Image source: NBC News