Prepare for uncontrolable smiling as these are the most heartwarming stories of the year.
In a year filled with so much news and catastrophe, sometimes you just need to smile, so these are the most heartwarming tales of 2022.
In January, a Ring camera captured an older gentleman struggling as he made a DoorDash delivery. Annabelle Stephens posted video on social media, and the comments poured in. Annabelle also gave him a $30 tip on a $21 order, but that was only the beginning.
“So that's kind of why I started to go fund me also just because I wanted I want to help him. It started out very very slow. But then once the word got out, it just like skyrocketed,” she told Inside Edition.
She raised over $74,000 for 71-year-old Kerry Judd.
In February, a teddy bear brought a teen to tears. Taylor McCormack's sister Maddie gave her a stuffed bear that contained a voice recording of her best friend Rodney, who died in 2020. Maddie used video of Rodney’s voice to create the personal present. With this reminder, Taylor was comforted to know that a piece of Rodney was always with her.
In May, Sarah Kleinhans geared up to meet her birth mom and half-sister. She was anxious for the reunion, which was over 50 years in the making. Sarah was 1 when she and her half-brother were adopted by a family in New Hampshire from Korea. All they had was a locket with both their mom’s picture and their baby pictures inside. Sarah told KCBS’ Jasmine Viel she’d hoped to connect for 53 years.
“Every year on my birthday. I think of you like I every single year and I look out and I go, Are you alive? Are you wondering? Are you thinking about me?” she said.
After searching for 15 years, Sarah's half-sister, Linda, found her using 23andMe. She then used Facebook to connect. After meeting, Sarah showed her mother the locket she kept all these years. Sarah, a single mom, said she understands why her mom did what she did. After the reunion, the family worked on making new memories together.
In October, a photo of a coal miner covered in coal dust who took his son to his first University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball game went viral. The coach of the Wildcats was so struck by the photo he posted it online.
“That is pure love,” one social media comment said. “And this guy is what a real hero looks like.”
In November, an intelligent dog named Rosie found her way home with the help of police in the United Kingdom. The border collie got lost after being scared by an exploding firework. Rosie calmly entered the station’s automatic doors and waited for assistance. Thanks to Rosie’s collar, police knew exactly who to call. And they reunited her with her human family.
Also in November, a chimpanzee named Mahale gave birth via emergency C-section at Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas. Veterinarians determined a cesarean was best after natural labor stopped progressing. The baby had trouble getting enough oxygen at birth, so he got treatment. That meant separating mother and child for two days. When the pair were reintroduced, it took a few seconds before Mahale registered that her baby boy was waiting for her. But the baby knew. He reached his tiny arm out of the blanket and Mahale sprung into maternal action.
In December, two sisters were reunited with their parents after going missing in the woods. All that time, the girls had a brave buddy watching over them: Their golden retriever. Abigail and Cecilia Bourg disappeared after playing with their dog Artemis in their yard. For five agonizing hours, there was no trace of them. Police and volunteers scoured the woods and Artemis never left their side. Then good news arrived as cops brought the little girls home and the family was reunited. The sisters wandered over a mile from their house. Artemis had a starring role in the rescue. He started barking when he heard the searchers, making it much easier to find them.
