This winter was very harsh as far as extreme weather is concerned. People know how hard it was to make it through the snow and cold to reach their school or workplace. While it is hard for people who have work to do in this weather, imagine what it must be like for someone who depends on travel for their health and life.
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As reported by ABC, this was the case for Natalie Blair, a citizen of New Jersey, who depends on dialysis treatment every day to keep her alive. The snow in her driveway was an obstacle for her traveling to the hospital to receive her life-saving procedure.
For her help came her neighbors. One of them is Brian Lanigan, an EMT who regularly shoveled her driveway from snow to make sure that she can make it to the hospital. When there was the next heavy snowstorm, Brian was away working and knew that he wouldn’t be able to make it this time.
This time, Brian turned to his younger brother, Patrick Lanigan. Patrick is a student at Parsippany High School as a senior. He is already known as a community guy and a ‘peer buddy’ who is always ready to help out his neighbors in time of trouble. A boy that is actively involved in church activities, he serves as a role model for autistic children in his school.
Patrick figured out that it would be hard for him to clean the driveway on his own. That is why he called on his friends to help him in cleaning the driveway early in the morning when lair was supposed to go to the hospital. They all spend the night at Patrick’s house and woke up early in the morning to do the job.
It is a big deal for a teenager to wake up at 4:30 am, especially in the freezing cold to shovel snow. It was the boy’s hope that their school would be closed the same day because of the snowstorm so they can rest, but it was not. Luckily for them, they had a two-hour block before waking up for school in which they could sleep.
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Peter Lanigan, Patrick’s dad, was proud of his son and his friends and posted their pictures on the internet calling them “Snow Angels”. Many people were totally impressed with the heroic act of teenagers.
What are some acts of heroism that you have seen in your own community or elsewhere? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to pass this act of kindness along to your friends and family to make them smile today!
