Feature Stories

Given a choice, Kevin Sargeant says he could do without all of the independence and opportunities that adulthood promises. But adulthood, it seems, is coming for him nonetheless.

From the beginning, and without hesitation, Katherine Wilkerson always offered her unwavering support of anything her son Taylor wanted to do. The thing is, though, until the age of 9, there was never much of anything the boy was too interested in trying.

Laying in a hospital bed on a Sunday night, Morgan Dunnigan believed her parents and physician when they said she would wake up the next morning for a surgery that promised to make the pain in her neck disappear, make the tumor hurting her spine go away, make everything better.

They couldn’t have been more wrong.

Weekday mornings are always a struggle in the Smith household. Like most preteens, Joseph likes to sleep. The 12-year-old is slow to start and has trouble shifting gears -especially before breakfast. Constant prompting from his mom Kathleen keeps him on track, and eventually, he gets himself bathed, dressed, fed, and out the door to school.

It was spring of 2007, and the town of Hastings, Nebraska, was looking forward to summer. Memorial Day weekend had come and gone, and Kirk and Jami Ortegren had just watched their son Jack crawl for the first time.

A faded piece of paper taped to her bathroom mirror lists the things that 20-year-old Amy Dykes needs to do each morning: take her medicine, brush her hair, wash her face, brush her teeth, apply her makeup. Today that piece of paper is seldom used, but just two years ago, it was a map that helped guide Amy through each morning.

A Mother’s Story

It's the dead of winter, but college junior Darin Ruark is spending much of his winter break afloat in a sparkling, penthouse-level pool. The air is warm and the sun shines through floor-to-ceiling windows. But while it may sound like a relaxed get-away, Darin isn't enjoying a winter vacation with friends or family.

It was a twisted ankle that finally brought Corinne down. After so many injuries-a broken hip, surgery on her knees and her shoulder-it was one small twist, something anyone would dismiss offhand, and Corinne was flat on her back, in absolutely unimaginable, intolerable pain.

It's a gorgeous day in late summer, and there's a crowd at the local putt-putt golf course. The sounds of waterfalls and laughter float on the breeze. At the sixth hole, a group of kids gather around their friend as he squares up and aims to sink a hole in one. With a sharp tap, the ball sails down the green, around a corner and under a windmill.