Over the Hump: 6 Items to Help You Through Wednesday

Are Wednesdays really so tough?

Well, yes, they can be.

Here, though, is to keeping things in perspective. For more than a month now, Patch and Grape-Nuts have teamed up to present stories about your neighbors, neighbors who have faced challenges that would seem insurmountable to many of us. 

But not to the people we've featured in this series, Journeys.

Not surprisingly, the stories have generated dozens of comments on Patch and on Facebook: "Great story..." "Thanks for sharing..." "So wonderfully inspiring..." 

And, so, here they are again. Great stories shared to inspire. Take a look at what these people have faced. Then click on the story to see their responses. And feel better about your tough Wednesday.

___

Cancer Inspires Virginia Mom to Start Bra Business: So one day you’re walking into Disney’s Animal Kingdom with your family when you get a call. The news is so disturbing you hand the phone to your husband. It is August 2010, you have just turned 35 and discovered you have breast cancer.

You are Kara Gorski.

___

Turning a Hair-Pulling Disorder into Compassion: 'The Courage to Try': Denise Webster spent years hiding because of hair loss. Then came a life-changing experience, which motivated her and her daughter to open TrichWig Co., a Fredericksburg boutique dedicated to helping others.

"My mom has suffered from Trichotillomania, a hair pulling disorder, for over 40 years," Heather Lease, Denise's daughter, said.  "She had tried every resource under the sun to no avail, until one day she got the courage to try a wig."

___

: One nice spring afternoon or evening, you might spot West End Alexandria residents Bob Hartt and Bonnie O’Day on a bicycle built for two — or, in their case, on two bicycles built for four.

Hartt and O’Day, who live in Seminary Heights, are legally blind, but that hasn’t stopped them from enjoying cycling and cross-country skiing. 

___

: Mark McGinly had a smile that could “charm the hell out of anyone.” On Sept. 7, 2001, Bill McGinly saw this in his son as he hugged him and told him he loved him at a lunch date in Manhattan, where Mark worked as a trader. The two were planning to meet in Chicago the following week, Bill on a business trip, Mark to meet friends and explore the city with his father.

Bill climbed into a cab to catch a plane back to Vienna, glancing over his shoulder as he drove away. Mark was waving from the sidewalk. Bill returned the wide, dimpled grin the two shared, waving back.

“And that was it.” 

___

Health and a Good Attitude Give Heart Surgery Patient New Lease on Life: Just because you can't do something today, doesn't mean you can't do it some day.

Ask Sue Bowers.

Bowers, a fitness and health buff, has a bicuspid aortic valve disease she inherited from her father. She had always wondered if she carried that potentially debilitating trait.

___

'At Least I Know Where I'll Sleep Tonight' — Homeless Vet Gets Apartment: A 61-year-old U.S. Navy veteran who has survived on the streets of Arlington for at least the past two years has a lot to be thankful for today. With the help of the Arlington Street People's Assistance Network and others, Ernie Maas now has a home.

"It's great to know there are so many good people in the world," Maas said in his new bedroom Wednesday. "Since I served my country, I feel good about that — I was serving for good people."