Health
From Stephanie Becker, TODAY producerI think I've been a fairly generous person to my friends. I have given them the usual stuff: birthday gifts, money, books, a ride to the airport, and probably too much unsolicited advice (you get what you pay for). But I'm pretty sure I'd never give a friend an organ from my body. So it’s a good thing I’m not Annamarie Ausnes’ friend.
Sandie Anderson, a Starbucks Barista from Tacoma, Wash.,
donated one of her kidneys to customer Annamarie Ausnes. The friendship had brewed over the three years that Annamarie's been ordering her daily double-cupped single drip. In that time the 50-something women would chit-chat about kids and grandkids and they realized they had a lot in common. More, apparently, than they'd expected. So, when Annamarie told Sandie her kidneys were failing, Sandy offered to donate one of hers. Turns out she was a match and on March 11 the transplant took place. Annamarie calls Sandie her angel.
It's all making me feel badly about my selfish self. I looked at my barista the other day, the one with the pierced tongue, and I just knew I would never give her a kidney. But that thought made me feel guilty enough to give her a $5 tip for a $1.95 coffee. (I wondered if she would have to share that with her supervisor.)
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Hello, I’m Jodi, a 41-year-old married mother of three.
I had been overweight since the age of 10 and tried numerous diets for 25 years. Losing a few pounds and then gaining those back plus more was a common occurrence. Add those extra pounds up over 25 years and that equals an obese person. I was at the point of believing that it was truly impossible for me to lose even 10 pounds, not to mention a miracle if I ever lost enough weight to reach my goal. When I read a magazine article or watched a television show that featured an individual who lost an enormous amount of weight, I thought that only happens to “other people;” it would never happen to me. I had given up hope.
Jodi, right, had given up hope of losing weight
Then “that” funeral – the one that made me realize that I had to find that hope again because not only was being overweight uncomfortable, it was life threatening, a thought I had avoided for my entire life. At the funeral I witnessed a 17-year-old boy looking into the casket of his mother. She was overweight too. I looked at myself and knew that I was carrying more extra weight on my body than she was. My heart felt fine, but I’m sure hers did too…until it was too late. Then I thought of my three children having to be in the same situation as her son. I realized a change had to be made, and soon.
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(From Samantha Vallejera)
Samantha Vallejera joined us this morning to share her experience of living with alopecia areata, an autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair, and how Locks of Love has changed her life. Here, Samantha, 15, speaks in her own words...
When I first lost my hair 6 years ago, other kids would tease or bully me because I was different and it really hurt me. I think that when we were little, kids judged people by their appearances. We don't realize that even though my appearance is different, I was still the same person I always was. I lost my confidence and self esteem. When I got my hair prosthesis from Locks of Love, it really changed my feelings and I was able to regain my confidence and self esteem. Now that I am in high school, I don't want what happened to me in the elementary school. I am older now and know that I'm the same person. I would like to be judged for who I am. I am very grateful and thankful to Locks of Love for their awesome services rendered to teenagers like me.
When we first got the call from Madonna, the president of Locks of Love, for me to be on The Today Show, I was really excited. I was just thinking "Oh my god! I'm going to be on TV!" My experience at the NBC studio was a once in a lifetime, memorable experience. In the beginning I really didn't know what to expect. I was just so excited and anxious about what I was going to say and do. But once we started taping, I relaxed and I felt more confident. And now I really can't wait for Thursday, when I'll be on live television. That's another experience I'm really looking forward to. I just want to go through with it. I think it's a once in a lifetime opportunity that I'll never be able to have again, a chance to show people who I am and gain confidence despite my condition.
(From Tammy Fine, TODAY Producer)
By now you've heard from many producers on the staff here about what great jobs we have. I add my voice to everything that has been said before, we work with a fantastic group of people, we meet the famous and the infamous.
But there is a story that I have been working on for weeks that aired on this morning's show that has meant a great deal to me. It's a story on what you should do when you suffer recurrent, unexplained miscarriages. WATCH VIDEO. It's part of a series called, "I Want a Baby, " where we are focusing on what to do if you can't get pregnant, can't carry a pregnancy to term or simply can't carry your own child and plan to adopt.
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(From Karen Trosset, TODAY Producer)
People always ask me the same question about my job. "You must meet a lot of celebrities, who is the coolest person you've ever met?"
Bruce Springsteen...let's just say I get why he's a legend.
Elizabeth Taylor...shockingly, she cursed like a truck driver.
Henry Kissinger? He pointed his finger at my chest and warned "don't edit this to make it sound like I am sympathetic to the Bosnians, I know where to find you" ...I was right out of college, feeling smart in my shoulder padded purple suit and my permed hair held in place by a big white lace hair bow; a look inspired by a woman we now call Madge.
Or Esther.
It's true, I have some great stories about celebrities and politicians but they're not close to being my favorite.
I liked the family I met in Virginia a few weeks ago.
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Click on the image below to watch Rappaport's report on TODAY
(From Jill Rappaport, TODAY Entertainment Correspondent)
Jack is my beautiful, soon to be 12-year-old, German Shepherd. I found him wandering the streets when he was only six weeks old. He was such a timid little guy, very scared from being abandoned as a puppy.
I already had two dogs, both strays, but could not resist rescuing him. I was in love the minute I saw those gentle eyes...and those ears (one was sticking up as it should and the other ear, still not developed, flopped over). He was so adorable and funny looking. And even though Jack found the most loving home for life, he always remained a rather shy and completely docile dog, which is quite uncharacteristic of his breed. My vet always jokes that Jack is a "Lab trapped in a Shepherd's body!” But Jack proved just how tough he really is, this past September, when he faced the fight of his life against cancer.
Soon after Labor Day, Jack came running over to me with a slight limp in his left front leg. At first I just thought he was getting a little arthritic, after all he was 11 and a half at the time. So I gave him an anti –inflammatory medication, at my vet's suggestion, because that had always helped with any lameness issues in the past. Well, almost two weeks went by and I could see he was getting worse. Then one night I looked at Jack's leg and my heart stopped. There was a slight bulge half way up. I immediately went on the Internet, which can be both a blessing and a curse, and all his symptoms pointed to bone cancer. The next day I took Jack to the vet, and the x-rays confirmed the devastating news. Jack had a tumor.
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