A California teen paralyzed nearly all his life lived up to his big promise this week and walked on stage to accept his high school diploma.
For the last three years, 17-year-old Patrick Ivison of San Diego has been going through intensive training for Tuesday’s ceremony, enduring six hours per day of physical therapy, according to KGTV in San Diego.
He vowed to everyone he knew that he was going to walk on stage during commencement.
"There's always that like, oh, I've got, you know, all of America expecting me to get through this," Ivison told KGTV.
The Scripps Ranch High School student suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident when he was only 14 months old.
When Ivison appeared on stage during commencement ceremonies, cheers and a standing ovation greeted him, encouraging him every step of the way. With the help of his trainer, a custom walker and his service dog, Ivison accepted his diploma. He graduated with a 4.0 grade-point average, according to KGTV.
"Graduation was fantastic and it was like I was in another time zone," Janice Kyler, Ivison's grandmother, told msnbc.com on Thursday. "He walked slow and it was the best walking he has ever done."
"We’re thrilled, proud and words can’t express the emotions. He's worked so hard to get to this point. He's a sweetheart,” Kyler said.
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She said the injury has done little to stop her spirited grandson.
Ivison was inspired to surf when he was 8 years old after seeing an adaptive surfer in the documentary "Step into Liquid," according to NBCSanDiego.com. By 13, he was competing in the U.S. Open of Surfing and Life Rolls On, a non-profit organization created to improve the lives of young people with spinal cord injuries, has been with all the way.
"We couldn’t be more proud of Patrick Ivison," said Kris Nakamura, executive director of Life Rolls On, in a statement. "Serving as an ambassador for Life Rolls On Foundation since he began surfing with us at 8-years-old, he has grown into an incredible young man who continues to be a shining example of how life truly rolls on after spinal cord injury. His first steps are just an example of even greater things to come."
These days, the teen is busy with college plans.
Ivison was unavailable for comment on Thursday because he was attending orientation at the University of Southern California, which he plans to attend in the fall to study film.
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Source: usnews.msnbc.msn.com
Old nappies turned into furniture under new recycling scheme - BBC News
Used nappies will be turned into garden furniture, roof tiles and railway sleepers under a new recycling scheme being trialled in Scotland.
Each year some 160 million nappies are sent to Scottish rubbish dumps.
But four councils are to trial a kerbside collection scheme for 36,000 homes across Fife, Stirling, Perth and Kinross and North Lanarkshire.
The pilot will run for an initial six months to establish whether it can be rolled out nationwide in the future.
As well as disposable nappies, incontinence products and other related items - like wet wipes, nappy sacks and cotton wool - will also be suitable for the recycling collection.
Jenny Sim of Zero Waste Scotland said babies used an average of 4.16 nappies per day, with more than 90% using disposables.
Reusable nappiesShe added: "The average child in Scotland goes through 4,000 nappies before they're potty trained, which is an awful lot going to landfill.
"The local authorities in the pilot areas will be collecting the waste, they'll send it to a big treatment unit where the waste is heated up to 125 degrees to sterilise it and clean it.
"The human waste is put to sewage, and the plastics and celluloids are then converted into useable products such as park benches, road signage, railway sleepers and decking.
"It does make it so much easier for parents in these trial areas to do their bit and help the environment and help recycling in Scotland."
Sheila Sangster, who has been a childminder in Stirling for 27 years, said it was "frightening" to think how many thousands of nappies she had sent to landfill over that period.
Mrs Sangster said she believed the recycling scheme could change the way people viewed the debate between disposable and reusable nappies.
'Step forward'"To use disposable nappies is so much more convenient for mums, so to have a scheme like this where they know that their nappies are not just going to lie in a landfill for hundreds of years - I think people will take up the opportunity to recycle them.
"You've got all these (recycling) boxes already, so one more is not going to make any difference.
"Also, it's going to be picked up weekly instead of lying in your bin for two weeks. As you can imagine, in the summertime that's not pleasant."
Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said: "Disposable nappies, although convenient, do have a huge impact on the environment with a staggering 450,000 ending up in landfill each day in Scotland.
"This innovative new scheme is a fantastic step forward for recycling and makes it easier for parents to do their bit for the environment.
"It's great that new technologies allow us to recycle even more materials. In this way, we can reuse our waste and treat it as a valuable resource with the potential to boost our economy."
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Cardi’s Furniture is Pleased to Introduce The Dr. Breus Bed™ - YAHOO!
Cardi’s Furniture Stores in MA and RI Announce the Addition of the Dr.Breus Bed to Their Product Line
Swansea, MA (PRWEB) June 14, 2012
Cardi's, the legendary Rhode Island and Massachusetts furniture and mattress provider, is proud to announce the addition of the unique and innovative Dr. Breus Bed to its line of top-quality furniture and bedding.Developed by sleep specialist Dr. Michael Breus, The Dr. Breus Bed™ has been specially designed to give you a perfect night of sleep, every time. The Dr. Breus Bed™ utilizes an exclusive proprietary layering system to achieve unbeatable comfort that leads to an ideal night of sleep. Up to 13 separate layers of pure Talalay latex and luxurious polyfoams are installed by hand into the beds by expert artisans during the sophisticated manufacturing process.
These exceptional beds are now available at all Cardi's Mattresses and Cardi's Furniture locations.
The unique system designed by Dr. Breus relies on his ingenious "Sleep Assessment" feature, which is based on his four tenets of better sleep: thermo-neutrality, a feeling of zero gravity that comes from superior pressure relief, complete relaxation and tranquil sleep that results from reduced movement.
In addition to The Dr. Breus Bed™, prospective buyers can experiment with the SleepMatch™ sleep assessment system to help you find the perfect bed for your body type. Thousands of volunteers of various body types assisted in the creation of this special SleepMatch™ system. Entering your SleepMatch™ information on the Cardi’s website will help Dr. Breus guide you to the right mattress for you: http://www.cardis.com/main/bodymatch.php
Dr. Breus is a sleep expert, best-selling author, clinical psychologist, Diplomat of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. He has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, the Dr. Oz Show, the Today Show and many other national TV programs and publications. He is a widely recognized leader in the field of sleep study.
The premier furniture and mattress store in MA and RI, Cardi's traces the roots of its operation back to the year 1901 in the town of Itri, Italy, with the first Cardi's in America opening as a general store in 1928. After undergoing several stages of expansion through the years, Cardi's now has multiple furniture, mattress, clearance and design locations throughout RI and MA, including Cape Cod. With an emphasis on flawless customer service, the Cardi's family is proud to guarantee the best furniture and mattress shopping experience in the business.
About Cardi’s Furniture:
As New England's leading home-grown furniture provider, Cardi's has been devoted to providing premium home furnishing for families across Southern New England for over 80 years. Cardi brothers Ron, Pete and Nick developed their famous "NiRoPe" philosophy around guaranteeing rock-bottom prices, sky-high quality and limitless customer service.
Cardi's Furniture
Cardi's Furniture
(508) 379-7510
Email Information
Source: news.yahoo.com
Furniture and Floor Coverings Retailing in United Arab Emirates: Databook to 2016 - new market research report - Transworld News
Furniture and Floor Coverings Retailing in United Arab Emirates: Databook to 2016 - new market research report
London 6/14/2012 07:11 PM GMT (TransWorldNews)
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Summary
This report is the result of Canadean's extensive market research covering the Furniture and Floor Coverings Retail market in United Arab Emirates. It provides detailed historic and forecast sales value, segmented at market and category level. "Furniture and Floor Coverings Retailing in United Arab Emirates: Databook to 2016" provides a top-level overview and detailed category insight into the operating environment of the retail industry in United Arab Emirates, making it an essential tool for companies active across United Arab Emirates retail value chain and for new players considering entering the market.
Scope
- Overview of the Furniture and Floor Coverings Retail market in United Arab Emirates
- Analysis of the Furniture and Floor Coverings Retail market and its categories including full year 2011 sales value and forecasts till 2016
- Historic and forecast sales value of the Furniture and Floor Coverings Retail market for the period 2006 through to 2016
- Individual category analysis of historic and forecast sales value for the period 2006 through to 2016
Reasons To Buy
- Provides you with important figures of Furniture and Floor Coverings Retail market in United Arab Emirates
- Allows you to analyze market as the report offers detailed historic and forecast retail sales value, segmented at a category level
- Provides you with information on sales segmentation by category in Furniture and Floor Coverings Retail market
- Enhance your knowledge of the market with key figures on sales value and segmentation by category for the historic period
- Allows you to plan future business decisions using the report's forecast figures for the market along with the segmentation
Click for Report details:Furniture and Floor Coverings Retailing in United Arab Emirates: Databook to 2016
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Source: www.transworldnews.com
California home sales, prices jump in May - AP - msnbc.com
SAN DIEGO — Demand for more expensive properties lifted California home prices to a nearly two-year high in May as sales across all pricing categories showed healthy gains, a research firm said Thursday.
The median price for new and existing houses and condos reached $270,000 last month, up 8.4 percent from $249,000 in the same period last year and matching the highest level since June 2010, DataQuick said. The median price is still well below a peak of $484,000 in early 2007 but up from $221,000 in April 2009.
The median price has risen three straight months from year-ago levels.
The number of homes sold in May rose 17.6 percent from last year to 41,790, the highest tally for that month since 2006, the San Diego-based research firm said.
Foreclosed homes, which tend to sell at a discount, made up a smaller part of overall sales, lifting the median price. DataQuick said properties that had been foreclosed upon in the previous year accounted for 28.3 percent of existing-home sales, down from 35.3 percent a year earlier and 58.5 percent in February 2009.
The San Francisco Bay area's median sales price was $400,000, up 7.5 percent from $372,000 a year earlier, DataQuick said. The median is still well below a peak of $665,000 reached in 2007 but up from $290,000 in March 2009.
Sales in the nine-county Bay area soared 26.1 percent from last year to 8,810, with the most significant gains in pricier categories. Sales of homes between $400,000 and $800,000 jumped 26.2 percent, while sales of homes less than $300,000 rose a more modest 12.5 percent.
"It's not exactly a stampede, but people are starting to move off the housing market sidelines in numbers we haven't seen in quite a while. And it's not just first-time buyers and investors," said DataQuick President John Walsh.
The lowest-priced homes, particularly foreclosed properties, have long been driving sales in California, but the latest figures show that all pricing categories are drawing more interest from buyers.
DataQuick reported Wednesday that the median sales price in Southern California reached $295,000 in May, up 5.4 percent from $280,000 the same period last year. It marked the second straight month that the prices increased from a year earlier in the six-county region, following 13 straight year-on-year declines. It was also the highest since September 2010.
The number of homes sold in Southern California jumped 20.6 percent from last year to 22,192. More expensive coastal regions accounted for a larger part of overall sales.
Alex Feliciano, 46, was saving for a house with his wife since 2005 and living in a rented apartment. They noticed prices climb in the San Francisco Bay area during April.
"When I saw that, it kind of scared me. I had a sense of urgency," said Feliciano, who delivers juice to supermarkets and whose wife works as a hospital lab technician. They bought a three-bedroom home in Hayward for $315,000 last month.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: www.msnbc.msn.com
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