What this 14-year-old boy did for his 7-year-old brother with Cerebral Palsy is really inspiring. I get tired of hearing about all the wrong things kids are doing these days. When a kid does something so self-sacrificing and loving toward his brother, we should take note and make a big deal of it. He isn’t just talking about it on Facebook or Twitter, he actually did something that took great courage and effort. Here is the story from Foxnews.com:

A Michigan teenager who wanted to raise awareness about cerebral palsy by walking 40 miles with his younger brother strapped to his back battled heat, rain, fatigue and more to finish the trek Sunday.

Hunter Gandee, 14, had been planning for weeks to pull off the walk, hoping to put a face on the muscular disorder that prevents his 7-year-old sibling, Braden, from being able to walk without help. But all his organizing couldn’t prepare him for the conditions he faced as he packed the 50-pound boy over two days.

He even thought about giving up along the way.

“Honestly, yes, there was a point that we did consider stopping,” Hunter said. “Braden’s legs — the chafing was getting pretty bad. We did have to consider stopping. It was at about the 30-mile point.”

A phone call changed all that.

Hunter reached out to a friend, who said a prayer for the brothers. That, combined with some rest and a change in how Braden was positioned on his brother’s back, helped the boys make it the final 10 miles. …. Read the full story here.

This story is also a great example of the blessing that physically and mentally handicapped people are to the people who live with them on a daily basis. If you read the full story you’ll see that 14-year-old Hunter Gandee was motivated to make the grueling walk completely out of love for his brother who has never been able to walk on his own. I’ve heard other stories from people I’ve known who live with handicapped people in their family, a few of them very severe. Every time it’s the same kind of sentiment; they have an overwhelming love for the challenged member of their family. I always hear how thankful they are for that person, even to the point that they feel like their lives are much richer and happier because of the handicapped person in their life. 

For Hunter Gandee and his brother Braden, and people everywhere with the same kind of sacrificial love, STARS and SPLATS give them a great big STAR!