We LOVE a good story, especially when it’s a heartwarming one. Below, you’ll hear some amazing stories from incredible business owners, practitioners, and creatives and artists.

Tracy Slepcevic

After her son Noah had a severe regression after meeting all his milestones, Tracy spent years trying to figure out what was wrong with her little boy. Once given a diagnosis, doctors said Noah would never lead a normal functioning life, but Tracy knew this was not her son’s fate. After learning from her naturopathic doctor that there was hope for healing children with autism, Tracy decided to take charge of her son’s case and stop deferring to professionals who brushed off her questions, ignored her concerns, and insisted she accept a bleak future for Noah. Read more>>

Morgan Wright

I’m not sure that I have one specific heartwarming story honestly. My entire career is heartwarming and rewarding! Times when I’m drained, and just don’t have motivation to make it through the day, I’ll have a client who needs strength and my motivation magically appears. My clients are my driving force. Seeing them transition out of therapy, being their best selves is the best part. While they think it’s assistance from me, it’s really them! Read more>>

Ani Papazyan

One day I woke up to an email from a client: her 14 y/o son woke her up in the middle of the night with neck pain, She said, I remembered the self-help techniques you thought me, so I walked him through them and it worked. She was so proud of herself and so excited. Read more>>

Carlie Didericksen

As a doula, almost every birth story contains a heartwarming moment. From mom in shock and awe saying, “I did it” to watching the moment parents meet their brand new baby. Each experience warms my heart and the pride I feel for each family can’t be explained. My work is not about me at all, but about the parents working and striving towards a positive birth experience. It’s about the redemption, the healing, the empowerment that each woman feels as she brings her child earthside. I often look back on the births that held healing for my clients. The births that brough them peace and comfort after a previous experience that left them disappointed. Even when labor is hard and birth isn’t exactly how they expect or want it, I often hear the same sentiments expressed, that having support and education was a game changer in their birthing experience. It’s those moments that warm my heart and humble me. Women supporting women; it’s what has been the norm for centuries, and having doulas during pregnancy through postpartum, is what is bringing that village mentality back, especially the support. We need each other. Read more>>

Bianca SMITH

I am an International Social Worker, and my favorite place to serve is Kenya. In October 2023, I returned to Kenya to teach and learn from caregivers and educators. While at a school in Kenya, I learned about an 11-year-old student who was experiencing bullying, the most severe “symptoms” of poverty, and suicidal ideations. I had an opportunity to empower his school counselor to build rapport and create a safety plan while assessing for risk and protective factors. He agreed to meet with me, and I was really looking forward to learning more about him as an individual. We met, we talked, and we laughed. He was an artist, and he shared some of his drawings with me. Before, I departed Kenya, that 11-year-old student thanked me for my visit and asked for permission to pray for my safe return to the U.S. I couldn’t understand how someone so young, so innocent, but so burdened, would selflessly pray for me, consider me, and prioritize my safety and well-being. I immediately wished I could stay longer and do more to assist him, but I trust his resilience and his village. Read more>>

Naomi Clark Babcock

I began practicing psychotherapy in 1999 in Cleveland Ohio and worked with underprivileged youth in an inpatient setting. One young man had lost both of his parents and he and his sisters were separated and in foster care. He would often struggle with angry outbursts and at one point even destroyed my office by ripping down all of the paintings when I left for maternity leave to give birth to my oldest daughter (age 22 now). I knew that this just meant I was an important, safe person in his life. Fast forward, 25 years, this client is now a father and remembered how important our relationship had been during the turbulent times in his life. He wrote me a beautiful heartfelt note expressing his sentiments and I realized that even when we feel we only make a small impact on the young people we work with its often much greater to them. Read more>>

Carrie DeWolfe

I will never forget a patient I met a few years ago. She had been recently diagnosed by a specialist at a very busy office with an eye condition called Keratoconus. All she had been told was that this is a condition that would cause blindness and she was very scared. The specialist’s office is a very busy office and the specialist unfortunately did not have time to do an in depth explanation of her condition. She was very concerned because she had noticed a gradual decline in her vision, and she was even to the point of planning how she would be able to take care of her children and work without being able to see. I spent about 40 minutes talking with her about what Keratoconus is, what causes it, as well as specialized contact lenses that would be able to provide her with close to 20/20 vision. I also talked to her about new surgical procedures that could slow, or in some cases, halt the progression of Keratoconus. She was elated when I informed her that there was a very low likelihood of her going blind, and that I would be able to improve her vision. I gathered the parameters for fitting her with specialized contact lenses and ordered them that day. When the lenses came in and she inserted them, she started to cry because she could finally see clearly. She gave me a big hug and told me how much it meant to her that I took the time to talk with her and answer questions, and get her vision back. It’s really easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the clinic, but sometimes it means the world to a patient when you stop what you’re doing, listen to them, and provide individualized care. She went for months thinking she was going to go blind, and it only took 40 minutes of my time to alleviate her fears with quality patient education. Read more>>

Charlie Fuller

We were hosting our second annual Rhizome Roots Studio (RRS) Fusion Connection dance weekender, an event focused on cultivating community and bringing together dancers from diverse backgrounds (styles such as zouk, WCS, blues, latin), and we had made it successfully to the final Sunday evening sourire. I had been buzzing about all weekend, but found moments to sit down and connect with our attendees, some of whom had come from the East and West coasts of the US, and even internationally, from Canada. I was speaking with one of our Canadian volunteers, and they became teary-eyed, as they expressed how much this event meant to them. They had a rather unsettling experience at another US dance weekender, and were disheartened by how isolated and unwelcome they had felt at other events. They shared that the Fusion Connection was in such great contrast to their previous dance weekender experiences, that they were overwhelmed by emotion. I was absolutely in awe of this volunteer; to have the courage to continue to put themselves out there, and to travel across a border by themselves; not knowing what the experience would bring. And I was so moved that they felt welcome and appreciated in our Michigan RRS dance community. This is the foundational motivation of RRS, and my personal passion, to bring people together to cultivate wellbeing through movement and the building of community. It is the heart of who we are as people, to feel we belong; that we are accepted and appreciated just for being ourselves. This unexpected honesty from our volunteer was the absolute highlight of the event, and fortified my belief that the endless hours of planning, marketing, and managing events is worth it. Creating a shared space for people to connect, move, and be joyful, is the most humbling and fulfilling experience, and I’m grateful for everyone who is a part of it. Read more>>

Marisol Sanchez-Blesa

I had this awesome experience working with a teenager who was surprisingly well-versed in relationships and s*x education. Curious about where she got all this knowledge, I asked her, and she shared a cool approach her parents took. Whenever she had questions, she would have open conversations with them. They didn’t shy away from exploring topics like the structure of the clitoris or the intricacies of genital anatomy. It wasn’t just about the physical aspects, though; they also delved into the importance of consent and what makes a relationship healthy. The whole experience underscored for me how impactful and crucial those parent-child conversations can be in shaping a young person’s understanding of these vital aspects of life. Read more>>

 John Wenderlein

Working as a Hospice Chaplain, I have countless stories of patients coming to the end of their lives, and I am honored to be with them when they go. Here is one of the numerous stories. I work in visiting Nursing Homes primarily, and I had gone to visit one of my regular patients. The Nurses at all the homes I call know that if they have someone who might not be our my service but needs a cheerful greeting, they can tell me, and I will always take the time to visit. This would be one of those times. As I passed by the nurse in the hall of the care center, she called me over and explained to me about a sweet patient who wasn’t doing well and asked if I could visit. Of course, I said, and she directed me to her room. As I entered Mrs. Kathy’s room, she was setting slightly up in her bed with a big smile. Her eyes caught mine almost at once. And before I could even explain who I was, she said hello and how happy she was I was visiting. Please understand we had never met before. I reached out, took her hand, and as I held it, I told her there could be no better place to be than in her presence. While talking, I noticed she was falling back to sleep, which was expected, seeing sometimes the medications these patients are given cause them to sleep. So Mrs. Kathy and I spent the next twenty minutes talking about life things— children, careers, likes, dislikes. And again, all the time we were talking, she would slip into sleep. During this time, I never stopped holding her tiny, frail hand, and she still had a good grip for someone who was long a senior citizen. I was doing most of the talking, but that was not surprising because I like to talk. Realizing she had fallen asleep and was no longer waking up to respond. I told her I would leave her and would do so with a prayer. As it is with all my patients, my prayer was that the Lord be merciful to us. When I opened my eyes, something came over me that was always hard to explain. But I knew in my very spirit Mrs. Kathy was gone. Gone in that she had passed away. I remember laying her hand across her chest, stroking her hair, and then going out to get the nurse. Rhonda, I said. You know I’m not a doctor, but I think Mrs. Kathy has gone to be with the three children and her husband she had outlived. Following Rhonda back into Mrs. Kathy’s room, she checked her vitals and thus concluded that yes she was gone. How wonderful it was that, at that moment in time, I could come alongside someone so sweet and help her through that moment when she left us. This is just one of hundreds of stories I have lived. And in fact, my first book “Remember Me. End-of-life stories through the eyes of a hospice chaplain can be found on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Read more>>