Jan. 1, 2026

Hedgehog Haven, rescuing over 500 hedgehogs

Show Notes
Transcript

Johnny Mac presents five heartwarming stories. A European study shows that multilingualism may slow aging. In St. Paul, Zach and Isabel, both recovering from traumatic brain injuries, found love seven years later. Andy and Sharon converted their home into Hedgehog Haven, rescuing over 500 hedgehogs. Women's Weekly readers knitted 46,506 woolen mice for rescue cats, setting a Guinness World Record. Lastly, Seoul introduced fitness hubs in subway stations for commuters seeking to stay active.

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Calaroga Shark Media Happy New Year of Johnny Mack with

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five good news stories. A major European study has found

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that speaking multiple languages may help people age more slowly.

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Researchers analyze data from more than eighty thousand adults ages

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fifty one to ninety across twenty seven European countries and

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compared their biological aging rates with health and lifestyle factors.

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The results show that people who speak only one language

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were significantly more likely to experience accelerated aging. That's where

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a person's biological age is higher than their actual age.

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Each additional language a person spoke offered additional measurable protection. Boy,

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that's interesting, huh. Previous research connected bilingualism to slower cognitive decline.

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This study is the first one to show broader health

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and aging effects. Three quarters of working age adults in

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the EU speak more than one language. To order, country's

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rank highest Southern Europe. In the UK leg behind love

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works in Mysterious ways. Let's talk about Zach and Isabelle.

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Seven years ago, Zach was rushed to the hospital in

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Saint Paul in a coma. He had suffered a traumatic

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brain injury on the high school football field. He was

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eighteen years old. Nine days later Isabelle, she was sixteen.

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She arrived in a coma after car crash. Both families

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were told prepare for the worst. Isabelle had to have

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her right skullpiece removed, Zach had to have his left

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skull piece removed. Zach woke up. He came downstairs for

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a hospital news conference, which was broadcast in Isabel's room,

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where her father and aunt saw it and suggested they

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go down to speak with Zach. After Isabelle woke up

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and recovered, the mothers organized a dinner together. Seven years later,

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they are partners in life. A couple has converted their

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home into hedgehog Haven to help over five hundred spiky hedgehogs.

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Andy and Sharon have helped heal and rehabilitate over five

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hundred hedgehogs over a new nearly three years. They're not vets.

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They can't help when someone brings them a hedgehog. They

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started this in twenty twenty three. They had seven hedgehogs

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in the upstairs bedroom. Word got out that they were

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the people to bring when you have an injured hedgehog.

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They had to convert their garage. Now two years later,

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after fundraising, they've built a treatment ward in their garden,

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installed an ICU, and over four hundred rehab cages. They've

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taken on eighteen volunteers. They explained, we were out in

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the car one day and we saw a hedgehog out

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collapsed on a grass verge. We contacted the SSPCA and

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they weren't able to collect the hedgehog, so we drove

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the hedgehog all the way to the SSPCA Wildlife Center,

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which was fifty miles. We learned there was a guy

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near there that had been doing hedgehog rescue for twenty

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five plus years and was looking for someone to take

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it over. We went and had a chat with some people.

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They gave us the equipment to get us started. Sharon says,

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if there's a hedgehog out there that needs help and

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it's in pain, I can't say no and we have

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to help. We always say we have to draw a line,

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we can't take any more. But then you got that

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phone call and we're like, all right, bring it in.

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Andy and Sharon can out care for up to forty

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hedgehogs at any one time and have a team of

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volunteers to help cleaning, weighing, and checking the hedgehogs on

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a daily basis. The readers of Women's Weekly have a

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long tradition of coming together through knitting. This year they

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decided to break a Guinness World record. The magazine invited

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readers to create woolen mice for rescue cats and shelters. Collectively,

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the readers stitched forty six, five hundred and six woolen

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rats for donation to cats awaiting families. Editor Jeff says

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every mouse was handmade with care. And if you like

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working out during your commute, move to Soul. There are

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opining dedicated fitness and running hubs inside three subway stations.

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Sure why not. Each site includes changing rooms, personal lockers,

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powder rooms, vending machines stock with runner essentials such as headbands,

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socks andee supports, wipes, pain relief patches, and massage oil.

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Access is free. Lockers can be reserved using the app.

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One station will offer pre work runs for office workers,

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another will provide walking and light jogging programs, and the

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World Cup Stadium station will serve intermediate advance runners with

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fifteen ks. Nowhere in there did I hear anything about

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a shower? So maybe work out on the way home.

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Those are five good news stories for today. Have a

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great day.