A man who slipped and broke his neck while walking his dogs was kept alive overnight after his two pets cuddled up to him to keep him warm.
Father-of-two Michael Dyer, 66, fell down a 30ft slope at a remote beauty spot as he exercised Jack Russells, Mickey, three and Boz, five.
He fractured an elbow and broke his neck in the fall and lay unconscious in temperatures as low as 7C (44F).
But amazingly, Mr Dyer survived after his two dedicated dogs snuggled up to him for 16 hours and helped stave off hypothermia.
They stayed with him all through the night as he slipped in and out of consciousness and thereby kept his core temperature high to ensure his survival.
The retired lorry driver says at one point he let them off their leads to get help but they refused to leave him.
The brave dogs were given to Mr Dyer by his family after his wife Catherine died of cancer.
Friend Barry Robinson, 48, who is now looking after the dogs said: 'Since Michael lost his wife the dogs are his whole life. They are like family to him - his only companion.
'He loves those dogs and the fact they wouldn't leave him is amazing.'
Mr Dyer was spotted at 9.30am on Friday at Fishcombe Cove in Brixham, Devon, by another walker who thought he had stumbled across a body and called emergency services.
Emergency services airlifted Mr Dyer to hospital where he underwent surgery but is expected to make a full recovering.
Mr Robinson said: 'Michael slipped and fell down a steep bank and broke his wrist and his neck.
'He tried to let the dogs off the lead so they would go and get help but they wouldn't leave him. Instead they stayed with him and cuddled him, keeping him warm.
'He was virtually conscious the whole time, about 16 hours. It must have been horrendous.
'He broke his neck in two places and he is being operated on but he'll be okay. His dogs have saved his life.'
Mr Dyer left his home at 3pm on Thursday and fell down the wooded embankment shortly afterwards.
He was found halfway down the slope and was taken by Devon Air Ambulance to Torbay Hospital in Torquay.
Sgt Jacqui Rees, who attended the scene, said his dogs had saved his life.
She said: 'The man was not as cold as we expected after lying there all night.
'The dogs, who were still with him when we arrived, had cuddled up to him and kept him warm.
'He was very lucky. Once we arrived the shock of what happened started to affect him and he did get quite cold quite quickly.
'It was fortunate that the tree stopped him falling further, although he may have fractured his elbow when it happened.'
Daily Mail
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Woman marries in paper dress
A Chinese woman has got married in a wedding dress made entirely out of paper.
Sha Sha's dress was made for her by her best friend Zhu Zhu, a wedding dress designer, reports New Life Daily.
They have worked together at an advertising agency in Kunming, Yunnan province, for 12 years.
Zhu Zhu said: "When Sha Sha found her Mr Right I decided I would make her something very special.
"As a wedding dress designer I was a bit bored of making gowns out of fabric so I thought: 'Why not make a dress out of paper?' It took me two and a half months."
The dress is made entirely of cotton paper and decorated with silver lines, making it shine in the sunlight.
Sha Sha walked into the wedding venue, a local hotel, with six bridesmaids holding the long, paper lily flower-decorated tail for her.
"I felt very grand, and beautiful. It's super comfortable to wear," she said.
Her groom, Mr Li, agreed she looked beautiful: "We are very happy with the dress - but I daren't touch her in case I tear it," he added.
Ananova
Sha Sha's dress was made for her by her best friend Zhu Zhu, a wedding dress designer, reports New Life Daily.
They have worked together at an advertising agency in Kunming, Yunnan province, for 12 years.
Zhu Zhu said: "When Sha Sha found her Mr Right I decided I would make her something very special.
"As a wedding dress designer I was a bit bored of making gowns out of fabric so I thought: 'Why not make a dress out of paper?' It took me two and a half months."
The dress is made entirely of cotton paper and decorated with silver lines, making it shine in the sunlight.
Sha Sha walked into the wedding venue, a local hotel, with six bridesmaids holding the long, paper lily flower-decorated tail for her.
"I felt very grand, and beautiful. It's super comfortable to wear," she said.
Her groom, Mr Li, agreed she looked beautiful: "We are very happy with the dress - but I daren't touch her in case I tear it," he added.
Ananova
Teen chops off dad's hands
TAIPEI - A TAIWANESE teenager has been arrested after chopping off his father's hands, allegedly to avenge years of physical abuse, a report said on Tuesday.
The victim, identified only by his surname Fan, was in critical condition at a hospital in central Taiwan's Miaoli county after his son hacked at his wrists more than ten times while he slept early on Monday, the Apple Daily said.
The 17-year-old showed no remorse, saying he could not care less if his father survived the attack, according to the report.
'I don't feel a thing if he's going to die. It's like killing a chicken or a duck. I wanted to take him out two years ago,' he was quoted by the paper as saying.
According to the report, 37-year-old Fan, who was divorced, regularly yelled at his son and beat him. -- AFP
Source : The Straits Times
The victim, identified only by his surname Fan, was in critical condition at a hospital in central Taiwan's Miaoli county after his son hacked at his wrists more than ten times while he slept early on Monday, the Apple Daily said.
The 17-year-old showed no remorse, saying he could not care less if his father survived the attack, according to the report.
'I don't feel a thing if he's going to die. It's like killing a chicken or a duck. I wanted to take him out two years ago,' he was quoted by the paper as saying.
According to the report, 37-year-old Fan, who was divorced, regularly yelled at his son and beat him. -- AFP
Source : The Straits Times
Locked in closet for 4 years
OKLAHOMA CITY - A WOMAN was arrested after her 14-year-son told authorities he escaped from a home where he'd been kept for 4 1/2 years, spending most of his time locked in a bedroom closet, police said on Monday.
A security guard at a National Guard facility in Oklahoma City called police on Friday after the teen showed up malnourished and with numerous scars and other signs of abuse, police Sgt Gary Knight said.
'He was hungry. He was dirty. He had numerous scars on his body,' Mr Knight said. 'It was very sad.'
The boy was taken to a hospital to be examined and then turned over to the custody of the Department of Human Services, Mr Knight said.
After police interviews, officers on Saturday arrested the boy's mother, 37-year-old LaRhonda Marie McCall, and a friend, 38-year-old Steve Vern Hamilton, on 20 complaints each of child abuse and child neglect.
Formal charges have not been filed, and both were being held on US$400,000 (S$567,500) bond, according to jail records.
Jail officials were not sure if either had retained an attorney, and no one answered the phone at McCall's home.
The teen, wearing only a pair of oversized shorts held up by a belt, walked up to a security guard at the Guard facility Friday afternoon and asked where a police station was located so he could report being abused, according to a police report.
He told police that scars on his stomach and torso were from where alcohol had been poured on him and set on fire. Other scars were from being tied up, hit with an extension cord and choked, the boy told police.
'He had scars covering most of his body,' Mr Knight said. 'They were basically from head to foot.' -- AP
Source : The Straits Times
A security guard at a National Guard facility in Oklahoma City called police on Friday after the teen showed up malnourished and with numerous scars and other signs of abuse, police Sgt Gary Knight said.
'He was hungry. He was dirty. He had numerous scars on his body,' Mr Knight said. 'It was very sad.'
The boy was taken to a hospital to be examined and then turned over to the custody of the Department of Human Services, Mr Knight said.
After police interviews, officers on Saturday arrested the boy's mother, 37-year-old LaRhonda Marie McCall, and a friend, 38-year-old Steve Vern Hamilton, on 20 complaints each of child abuse and child neglect.
Formal charges have not been filed, and both were being held on US$400,000 (S$567,500) bond, according to jail records.
Jail officials were not sure if either had retained an attorney, and no one answered the phone at McCall's home.
The teen, wearing only a pair of oversized shorts held up by a belt, walked up to a security guard at the Guard facility Friday afternoon and asked where a police station was located so he could report being abused, according to a police report.
He told police that scars on his stomach and torso were from where alcohol had been poured on him and set on fire. Other scars were from being tied up, hit with an extension cord and choked, the boy told police.
'He had scars covering most of his body,' Mr Knight said. 'They were basically from head to foot.' -- AP
Source : The Straits Times
Student dies after snatch theft
JOHOR BARU - ONE minute, 17-year-old Tan Shu Fang was talking to her mother about how she expected to do well in her examinations. The next, motorcycle louts snatched her handbag - and her life.
The snatch theft victim has died after being in a coma for a week.
Shu Fang, a straight As student of SMK Mutiara Rini 2, was walking with her mother Leong Akooi to a bank near their house in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah on Sept 17 when two men on a motorcycle snatched her handbag and caused both of them to fall.
Shu Fang suffered a severe head injury while her mother suffered minor bruises. She was in a coma and was warded at Sultanah Aminah Hospital before succumbing to her injuries at about 5pm on Friday.
Recalling the incident, Madam Leong, 52, said her daughter was describing how she expected to do well in her recent Form 5 examination just before the incident occurred.
'We were walking and she was talking about her exams when one of the men on the motorcycle snatched her handbag and both of us fell. When I got up, I saw that my daughter was unconscious,' she said at the Nirvana cemetery here yesterday.
Madam Leong said some passers-by who saw the incident took them to the hospital.
'I visited her every day and never gave up hope that she would recover,' she said, adding that she prayed for her daughter's recovery but it was not meant to be.
Madam Leong said her daughter was a good student and had many friends, although she was the quiet type.
"I only have another son and the house will definitely be quieter without my daughter," she added. Madam Leong hoped that the culprits responsible for her daughter's death would be brought to justice.
'They took my daughter away and I hope they will be caught,' she said. -- THE STAR/ ANN
Source : The Straits Times
The snatch theft victim has died after being in a coma for a week.
Shu Fang, a straight As student of SMK Mutiara Rini 2, was walking with her mother Leong Akooi to a bank near their house in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah on Sept 17 when two men on a motorcycle snatched her handbag and caused both of them to fall.
Shu Fang suffered a severe head injury while her mother suffered minor bruises. She was in a coma and was warded at Sultanah Aminah Hospital before succumbing to her injuries at about 5pm on Friday.
Recalling the incident, Madam Leong, 52, said her daughter was describing how she expected to do well in her recent Form 5 examination just before the incident occurred.
'We were walking and she was talking about her exams when one of the men on the motorcycle snatched her handbag and both of us fell. When I got up, I saw that my daughter was unconscious,' she said at the Nirvana cemetery here yesterday.
Madam Leong said some passers-by who saw the incident took them to the hospital.
'I visited her every day and never gave up hope that she would recover,' she said, adding that she prayed for her daughter's recovery but it was not meant to be.
Madam Leong said her daughter was a good student and had many friends, although she was the quiet type.
"I only have another son and the house will definitely be quieter without my daughter," she added. Madam Leong hoped that the culprits responsible for her daughter's death would be brought to justice.
'They took my daughter away and I hope they will be caught,' she said. -- THE STAR/ ANN
Source : The Straits Times
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Schoolboy, 12, becomes girl
LONDON - A BRITISH schoolboy has returned from his holidays with a new name and a new look; he's now a girl.
According to UK media outlets the 12-year-old is in the process of undergoing surgery that could make him the world's youngest sex-change patient.
Turning up at school on the first day back from holidays, the child wore a long dress and hair in pigtails, reported The Sun newspaper.
Parents and children at the school were shocked by the transformation, telling the media that there had been no warning in advance of the child's new identity.
Teachers exacerbated the problem by holding an emergency assembly and informing the students to treat the former boy as a girl.
They also outed the child publicly saying: 'You may notice one pupil is not present in this assembly - that is because the pupil is now a girl.'
The Sun reported that angry parents said their children were confused and in tears and said the school should have told them in advance.
The child's parents have reportedly changed his name by deed poll and are supporting him with his hormone treatment.
They apparently thought that his disguise of clothing and long hair would stop him from being bullied but he was immediately recognised.
The Sun reported that the child had been telling his friends 'for years' that he yearned to be a girl.
Source : The Straits Times
According to UK media outlets the 12-year-old is in the process of undergoing surgery that could make him the world's youngest sex-change patient.
Turning up at school on the first day back from holidays, the child wore a long dress and hair in pigtails, reported The Sun newspaper.
Parents and children at the school were shocked by the transformation, telling the media that there had been no warning in advance of the child's new identity.
Teachers exacerbated the problem by holding an emergency assembly and informing the students to treat the former boy as a girl.
They also outed the child publicly saying: 'You may notice one pupil is not present in this assembly - that is because the pupil is now a girl.'
The Sun reported that angry parents said their children were confused and in tears and said the school should have told them in advance.
The child's parents have reportedly changed his name by deed poll and are supporting him with his hormone treatment.
They apparently thought that his disguise of clothing and long hair would stop him from being bullied but he was immediately recognised.
The Sun reported that the child had been telling his friends 'for years' that he yearned to be a girl.
Source : The Straits Times
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