Good News of the Week: Survivor Leaves Hospital, Students Build Dominican School

As a local news organization, Patch covers stories of all kinds, from heartbreaking tragedies to nitty-gritty breakdowns of government and school district issues. But some stories are simply inspiring, often showing that at the heart of our communities is a desire to do good. Here are some of the touching headlines from the past seven days.

Dr. Jerome Nadler, whose story of survival while being lost and disoriented in Smithtown's Caleb Smith Park for three days captivated the region, left the hospital this week.

Doctors said the East Setauket man was in shock and covered in millions of bug bites when rescuers found him a few days after he disappeared. He also suffered from extreme dehydration that caused his muscles to begin to break down as well as kidney damage. Luckily, his recovery in Stony Brook University Hospital was so good that doctors agreed to discharge him so that he can undergo rehabilitation at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson.

"This is [an] incredibly wonderful moment," Dr. Frederick Schiavone said. "I was asked the first time, 'Is this a miracle?' I can now say with much more assurance that the miracle was that he was found when he was found. Had he been out there longer, even hours, it would have been a much different outcome."

A pair of students are trying to raise cash so they might help build a school in the Dominican Republic.

Two eighth grade students, Shelby Pierson and Olivia Bruyn, will head to the Caribbean country  with their principal and mothers in November to add a second story to a school in the small town of Constanza, 30 minutes into the mountains from Santo Domingo.

Last year, Wright was part of the Lifetouch Memory Mission, which brought more than 30 people from the United States to Constanza to build the first story of the school. Prior to that mission the community had no school for the children, so kids were not attending school at all.

To donate, click this link and fill in the name Shelby Pierson or Olivia Bruyn under "participant name."

It's always good news when local Long Island products get attention outside of our region. That was the case this week when wines from , , and other local wineries were featured during the 11th annual New York Farm Day in Washington, D.C.

Chef Tom Schaudel of restaurant in Mattituck and Steve Bate were also on hand to promote the region in our nation's capitol.

Mt. Sinai Middle School was name of National Blue Ribbon School, one of only 269 schools to achieve the honor in the nation. The award was based on “overall academic excellence or for making progress in improving student academic achievement levels,” according to a statement released by the district.