This past year, KNX 1070 News Radio shared stories of some extraordinary people in Southern California, who are making a difference in people's lives.
We take a look back at some of the most memorable "Heroes of the Week" for 2019:
Rio Vista Elementary school teacher, Alex Fabbro, became a real-life superhero when she donated one of her kidneys to a fellow co-worker. The recipient, Shirley Chan, had been suffering from Lupus and her kidneys were compromised to the point that she needed daily dialysis.
When the call was made for a donor, Alex stepped-up.
"I mean, not everybody can donate a part of themselves to another person," says Shirley. "It was just really humbling. And amazing."
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Sometimes, saving a life is the result of quick thinking and a gut feeling. Melissa Bell runs a home daycare in Lakewood. One day, one of her kids had a life-threatening seizure. Melissa's instincts and training kicked-in to save his life.
"I performed CPR for about five minutes," explains Melissa.
Melissa then made a chain of decisions that kept the boy from suffering any serious medical concerns.
The little boy's mother, Betsy Lawler, says Melissa saved his life. "I don't know what would have happened if she wasn't there."
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A hero can also change a person's life, like KNX Hero of the Week Anthony Badalian.
"I love him!" exclaims Lorenzo Igayac, about Anthony. "He's always my hero!"
Anthony is a gym manager in Orange County. One of the members is Lorenzo, who was born with special needs. Lorenzo uses a bicycle to get around, and when his bike was stolen one day, Anthony immediately reached out to buy him a new one.
"I just automatically knew I had to help him out," says Anthony. "I love him very dearly, he's a part of my life, and my family. We just care about him a lot. I care about him a lot."
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Heroes can also inspire us to do great things. When Anthony McClaren's father passed away from Parkinson's disease, Anthony decided to do something in his honor.
So, he embarked on the "Seven Summits Challenge" to raise money for Parkinson's research at Keck Medicine of USC. In less than two years, Anthony climbed the tallest mountain peak on every continent. In fact, just a few weeks ago, he climbed his final summit: Vinson Massif, in Antarctica.
Anthony completed a feat that less than a thousand people in world have ever done.
"I know my dad would have been very touched about it," says the Los Angeles County native.
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