GOLD COAST WAR VETERAN’S SEARCH FOR TEENAGE HEROES

War veteran Rob Wiseman was rescued by teenage heroes who saved him after he became stuck in bushland. The wheelchair-bound 73-year-old has watched the sunset daily from a hill in Nerang since he was three years old, earning the nickname ‘the man on the hill’ by local residents. He often collects cans and plastic bottles on his journey for his grandchildren to exchange for money. But he found himself in trouble when he ventured into the bushland to collect bottles he had spotted.

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MUMS SEPARATED FROM KIDS FINALLY REUNITED

Layla Beech, 2, couldn’t wipe the smile off her face because she can now visit her mum in hospital. Layla’s mum B Goncalves is 32 weeks pregnant and has been bedridden at Gold Coast Private Maternity since May with a collapsed disc in her spine. COVID-19 hospital restrictions prevented her from seeing her 2-year-old daughter until last Tuesday.

I LIVE EVERY DAY AS IF IT’S MY LAST

Olivia Adorabella Catsoulis wants nothing more than a life free from dialysis and her growing fear of death. For 10 years the 23-year-old Merrimac woman has been waiting for a lifesaving kidney transplant that would give her a chance to see her next few birthdays. She has endured 17 operations, more than 2500 days in hospital, 589 blood tests, 13 years without a holiday, 10 years without a long weekend, 1651 dialysis treatments and three years without eating chocolate. She attended just five days of high school.

BAKERY PROVIDES EMPLOYMENT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

In her first week at work Ally Robinson would cry and run out the shop every day. Two months on, the autistic 22-year-old says Broadbeach’s 6729 bakery is her haven. And there are 81 students who work out the back at various times of the week who all agree. Aside from making dough, the Main Place store is changing lives.

WHY ASHA PECK IS ONE OF THE CITY’S MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE.

ASH’S WEDDING FUNDED BY GOLD COAST GIRLS IN BUSINESS

Much-loved Gold Coast melanoma campaigner Ashleigh Hale (nee Simrajh) spent the last few months of her life raising awareness about the importance of skin checks. The Gold Coast Girls in Business Facebook group rallied together and put on a wedding for her and fiance Jason. This story touched the heart of every Gold Coaster.

INCREDIBLE WAY MULTICULTURAL GOLD COASTERS WORK TOGETHER

ASHLEIGH’S DAD SENDS MONEY TO HELP VETERAN STUCK OVERSEAS

Just months after losing his beloved Ash to melanoma, a grieving Tony Simrajh has helped a fellow veteran stuck overseas by sending him money for food and a new passport. He’s helping to get the Broadbeach man home despite having never even met Ryan Hodson. The Gold Coast man is due to arrive back before the New Year.

MIRACLE TWIN BABIES BORN AT 31 WEEKS TO LEAVE HOSPITAL

Newborn twins Jessie and Sienna Symington couldn’t wait until 2021 to meet their sisters arriving nine weeks early at just 31 weeks of age. They were taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where they were given respiratory support. But now they’ve been sent home, thanks to procedures put in place at the NICU.

HOW AN HERO 11-YEAR-OLD SAVED HIS DAD

At just eleven years old Max has already had enough drama to last him a lifetime, after making the emergency call that saved his father’s life. The Biggera Waters State School student Max Potter was on Monday commended by the Queensland Ambulance Service for his quick thinking and calm head when he saw his father Leslie Potter gasping for air.

AFTER 214 DAYS IN HOSPITAL 81-YEAR-OLD COAST COVID PATIENT GOES HOME

Richard Misior, 81, caught COVID-19 on a cruise ship in early March and spent 77 days in ICU under the close watch of the Gold Coast University Hospital respiratory and infectious disease team. He’s undergone extensive rehabilitation to learn to walk again and is looking forward to a visit to the beach once he’s settled in his new home. But he had a cheeky tip or two for the health system’s chefs.

FOUR-YEAR-OLD GOLD COASTER GETS TREATMENT AT HOME

Fighting acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is scary, particularly if you’re only four and hate being “hooked up to the machine” for hours at a time. But during COVID-19 Scout Pedersen has had to stay at home and this means instead of the youngster having to visit the Gold Coast University Hospital for blood tests, clinical nurse Michelle Noyes comes to her house and takes blood from her port line.

DEVOTED COAST MUM HELPS BABY THROUGH 15 SURGERIES IN 10 MONTHS

Mother-of-three Kaila Stace watched her newborn son Colton fight for his life just hours after she nearly died in childbirth. Last Christmas he nearly died but the Gold Coast battler is on the mend thanks to lifesaving emergency surgery.

WEDDING WIN FOR CURRUMBIN WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

A global pandemic stopped Amaze Education owner Lucy Cook from travelling to Sierra Leone to do charity work — but it’s also the reason she met and married the man of her dreams. The couple were married at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) on November 28, the day of Ms Cook’s father’s 77th birthday.

COAST IDENTITIES RENEW VOWS WITH PRIEST WHO MARRIED THEM

Allan and Lois Cottrell have celebrated their 50-year marriage by renewing their vows at Emerald Lakes Golf Course with the same Minister who married them in 1970. Half a century ago on October 24 in Shepparton Victoria, Reverend Geoff Prentice made the young couple husband and wife. The Cottrells, now in their early 70s, have two children, five grandchildren and coincidentally live just 1km from Mr Prentice, who is now 82.

emily.toxward@news.com.au