Given Just 8 Months to Live, Teen Graduates Cancer-Free 4 Years Later Thanks to Doctor’s Promise

At the age of 14, Dylan Mwaniki was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer, and doctors gave him just 8 months to live. Today he’s alive, thanks to Dr. Mary Austin, who not only treated his disease, but transformed his thinking through friendship and a solemn promise. She urged him to persevere through 52 weeks of chemotherapy so she could attend his high school graduation. Dr. Austin, who often made time for lunch with Dylan, was there for the young boy, checking in during his darkest days, when there was serious doubt that he would live long enough to get that diploma. “She just hyped him up,” said Lucy Mwaniki, Dylan's mother. Dylan even referred to Dr. Austin as his “second mom.” Today, Dylan is cancer-free and a high school graduate. Unfortunately, Dr. Austin now works at Seattle Children’s Hospital, some 1,500 miles away from Kansas City, Missouri. Nevertheless, she wouldn’t miss Dylan’s high school graduation. Dylan’s parents kept her visit a surprise until the day of the graduation. Although little was said in the moment Dr. Austin and Dylan embraced, the firmness of their hug and the length of their embrace showed how much it meant to Dylan. It was, after all, literally what he lived for. 

 

Dylan with parents Paul and Lucy

 

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Raccoons May Be On Their Way To Becoming America's Next Pets

Raccoons may be inching closer to becoming America’s next pets. Affectionately referred to as “trash pandas,” the masked mammals, known for rummaging through trashcans for food, are evolving based on their proximity to humans, even starting to look cuter. The backyard bandits are widespread across the U.S., and their ability to thrive in both wild and urban settings has left them occupying an unusual place in American life. In some neighborhoods, they're beloved pets; in others, persistent pests. The proximity to humans could signal that the creatures are growing more comfortable around humans, dampening their innate flight responses. Trash is the key — wherever humans go, there’s trash. However, to take advantage of this endless buffet, raccoons must strike a delicate balance: bold enough to root through trashcans in human environments, but not so bold as to pose a threat. Scientists say raccoons are showing a physical shift in their features that's consistent with the early stages of domestication. Those traits are seen among dogs that evolved from wolves and cats that evolved from wildcats. Who knows, before long raccoons could be wearing the latest pet fashions and being toted around in a handbag.

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The Peculiar Story of the World’s Greatest Miser

They say that power corrupts, but in the case of Henrietta “Hetty” Green, a female financier who won on Wall Street, the story is a bit more complex. Green, who was born into a wealthy Massachusetts Quaker family, took her family’s talent for making money to a whole new level. In her day, Green’s fortune was linked to the likes of JP Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and other tycoons. By the time she was 13, Green had taken over the family’s shipping business, and when she was 20 her father bought her a wardrobe full of the finest dresses of the season in order to attract a wealthy suitor. Green sold her new wardrobe and bought government bonds with the proceeds. At a time when women were expected to align themselves with their homes and families, Green had other priorities. She relocated to New York and began trading heavily on Wall Street, leveraging her inheritance into a fortune exceeding $100 million (billions in today’s money). During the Panic of 1907, she personally bailed out the city of New York by lending millions of dollars when major banks refused. She was notorious for not turning on heat, wearing the same tattered, unwashed black mourning dress for years, and even traveling to free clinics to treat her ailments. Green managed her wealth and investments right up until her death in 1916. Despite her immense success, she became the undisputed icon of extreme thrift, being named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's greatest miser.

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A Bit of a Racket?

There’s nothing quite like the smell of freshly cut grass, and now Wimbledon has sought to package England’s favorite summertime aroma, with a £55 ($72) price tag. The championship organizers have released grass-scented candles on their website as part of their “Wimbledon at Home” collection, with prices ranging from £35 ($46) for a diffuser up to £55 ($72) for a candle with three wicks. Prices of the tournament’s gifts may seem a bit of a racket, but the players’ prize pool has also risen substantially. The prize money purse increased to £64.2 million ($84.8 million), a 20% increase over last year and the largest annual increase in the event’s history. The championship starts on Monday, June 29.

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