Transplant Milestone: 5 Most Uplifting Stories

Some unique kidney donors and two unique moms make the list of the week's most uplifting stories:

• Woman Gives Kidney to Stranger, Triggers Reaction: In a rare series of interlinked operations, six patients got kidney transplants from six donors at a San Francisco hospital. It's all thanks to a woman who started a chain of donations and a computer program that matches donors to recipients. The last of the six operations took place Friday, and so far, so good.
• Mom, Daughter Give Birth 34 Minutes Apart: At 6:29pm on Feb. 19, Angela Patram gave birth to her fifth child. Just 34 minutes later, she became a grandma. The unusual occurrence happened at Tampa General Hospital, when Patram's daughter gave birth after her mom, in the room next door, no less. It was a talker, even for a veteran doctor.
• Survivor to Tsarnaev: You Don't Scare Me Anymore: Rebekah Gregory lost a leg after the Boston Marathon bombing and faced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in court this week as she testified about her ordeal. In an open letter to him afterward, she wrote, "I looked at you right in the face....and realized I wasn't afraid anymore." She also wanted to make sure he saw how she entered the courtroom.

• Man, 101, Gets Paid to Eat Breakfast: If you live long enough, the Belmont Restaurant in Manchester, NH, will end up paying you to eat breakfast, 101-year-old Joseph Nelson discovered. The restaurant gives customers celebrating their birthdays a discount based on their age, meaning the World War II vet, who would have eaten for free last year, received a 7-cent refund after his meal of scrambled eggs, ham, and chocolate cake. He knew just who to thank, and it wasn't the chef.
• Scientists Replay Call, Long-Lost Bird Surfaces: Good news courtesy of the Wildlife Conservation Society: An apparently "extinct" bird last seen in Burma almost 75 years ago has flown back into view. A recorded bird call helped confirm the news about the Jerdon's babbler, initially discovered in 1862.

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