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SALT LAKE CITY — Slow down and take some time to enjoy fall favorites like homecoming dances and little league football games.
The KSL.com "Make Your Week" column features uplifting stories sent in from people outside the newsroom.
This edition features fun facts on the world's slowest animals for their special day, a West Jordan teen who thought she would have to miss her homecoming dance, and a little league football team paid a special tribute to one of their teammates during Spina Bifida Awareness month.
To share the stories that have made your day better, email them, preferably in 100 words or less, to jriess@ksl.com. Photos and videos are encouraged. Stories may be edited for clarity.
International Sloth Day
October 20th is a day to celebrate the world's slowest animal, the humble sloth.
Loveland Living Planet Aquarium is celebrating with its two Linnaeus' two-toed sloths.
"They were rescued from Guyana after their habitat was destroyed from deforestation," read a statement from the aquarium. "The male and female sloths sleep 16 to 20 hours a day. The male’s favorite foods include hard-boiled egg, zucchini, and yellow squash. The female likes fruit of any kind."
"Sloths do everything upside down – eating, sleeping, mating, and even giving birth. Two-toed sloths live 10 to 15 years in the wild and can live over 30 years under human care. The Aquarium’s pair are five years old."
Hospital homecoming
"When caregivers from the Primary Children’s Hospital unit at Intermountain Riverton Hospital learned Hailey Winn, a high school senior from West Jordan, Utah, would be missing her homecoming dance because she was in the hospital, they decided to bring the dance to her," read an Intermountain Healthcare press release.
"Hailey attends Copper Hills High School and she had planned to attend the homecoming football game and dance until she ended up in the hospital."
“I was really frustrated to be back in the hospital,” said Hailey, who was recently diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and spent much of her summer being sick.
Hailey got sick again the day before her homecoming dance.
“I wasn’t expecting it at all,” Hailey said. “I had my shoes picked out, my dress hemmed, and then I had to call my date and let him know I couldn’t make it. My date was nice about it, but I was sad. This wasn’t at all how I had pictured this night happening.”
The Intermountain Riverton Hospital team wanted to make sure she still had a special night.
"My date came to visit me, and my parents and the nurses were taking photos of us in my hospital room,” said Hailey. “Then they asked us to come to the room next door.”
"When the door opened, the room was decorated with green and blue streamers all over the walls and ceiling. The nurses had also included other little touches like candles and pictures of tourist attractions from around the world to go with the dance’s theme," read the statement. "Hailey and her date, Logan Christensen, watched the movie Tangled together in the specially decorated room."
“They made something that was really awful into a good and positive experience,” said Hailey. “These nurses took such good care of me not just physically, but emotionally too. I feel like they’re my friends and I trust them.”
“It was awesome,” said Holly Winn, Hailey’s mom. “They made it perfect. It was so kind and a very memorable experience.”
“This was such a great evening for the patient and her family,” said Karee Nicholson, RN, nurse manager for the unit at Intermountain Riverton Hospital. “The parents were so appreciative and tearful at the effort my team put in to make this night memorable. I visited them days later and Hailey was still talking about it. I’m so proud of my team for going above and beyond to help our patients heal.”
Little league football honors teammate
"I have a daughter who is 13 years old and has spina bifida. The past couple years have been really hard on her in school and with making friends until this year when she was asked to join a little league football team, The West Jordan Jaguars," said Cindy in a Facebook messgage.
"This team has been so amazing to her. Not only did they make her their teammate but they have made her their friend," said CIndy.
More Make Your Week:
Make Your Week: Rescuers save 'Owl Pacino' and a lucky dog named Jerome
A few animals found themselves in hairy situations this week, but luckily the right people were there to help."These boys wait for her to get to school every morning and walk her to her classes and eat lunch with her every day. They have invited her to their houeses, pool parties, etc."
"This last Saturday the boys got together and decided to honor Missy due to it being Spina Bifida Awareness month by wearing blue tape around their ankles and her sign it, ran her through their team sign and got down on one knee and gave her flowers. She was elated to say the least. She has not stopped talking about it."
