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Marty O’Connor was a former competitive athlete who had a promising career in sales at the time of his accident. After spending nearly two years focused on his physical recovery, Marty O’Connor said he was ready for a new challenge.
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When Marty O’Connor decided to pursue an MBA degree at Chapman University, in Orange, California, his mom was right by his side.
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(Courtesy Judy O'Connor) Marty O'Connor, 29, received his MBA from Chapman University.
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Judy O’Connor attended every class, tutoring session, group study session and more with her son over the course of his two-year MBA program. When Marty O’Connor had a question in class, it was his mother who raised her hand for him.
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Judy O’Connor also took notes and wrote test answers for her son, who uses an iPad, laptop, voice recognition software and a mouth stick to communicate.
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Judy O’Connor said she watched a “total transformation” of her son as he redefined his future through his education. Marty O’Connor excelled in the MBA program, making it into the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society and receiving the business school’s nomination for Chapman’s outstanding graduate student award.
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While being recognized for his accomplishments earlier this year, Marty O’Connor had the chance to meet with Chapman University president Daniele Struppa. During that meeting, he made a formal nomination for his mom to receive an honorary MBA.
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After months of planning in secret with school officials, Marty O’Connor watched as his mom was surprised at his graduation last Saturday.
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O’Connor stood behind her son’s wheelchair until a school official pulled her to the front and handed her an honorary degree.
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The graduation announcer choked up while describing why O'Connor deserved the award. Afterward Judy O’Connor blew a kiss to the crowd that gave her a standing ovation.
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Marty O’Connor has already secured a job as the head of corporate sponsorships for a youth action sports startup called DIVERTcity. He is still working out the logistics but plans to have a professional assistant help him in his new career.
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O’Connor will continue as her son’s primary caregiver and may start tutoring again.
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Both mother and son say their graduate school journey changed their lives for the better.
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What does Saudi Arabia’s mega project ‘NEOM’ actually stand for?
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From the moment Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the launch of NEOM project on Tuesday, a project representing the next generation city and global center for innovation, trade and creativity in the kingdom, people wondered what does the project’s name stand for.
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According to Al Arabiya the first three characters "NEO" comes from the Latin word which means “new”.
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NEOM’s land mass will extend across the Egyptian and Jordanian borders, rendering NEOM the first private zone to span three countries. The project will be backed by more than $500 billion over the coming years by Saudi Arabia.
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NEOM is born from the ambition of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to see the country develop into a pioneering and thriving model of excellence in various and important areas of life.
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Saudi crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appointed Dr. Klaus Kleinfeld, the former Chairman and CEO of Alcoa and Arconic Inc. as CEO of NEOM.
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NEOM aims to thrive the transformation of the Kingdom into a leading global hub through the introduction of value chains of industry and technology.
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New Jersey’s largest mall has found a brilliant way to cash in on the crush of holiday shoppers — offer reserved parking for those willing to cough up $10.
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Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus rolled out the revolutionary “MyPark” system this week with 33 reserved, individually numbered spaces on the second level of the mall’s Parking Deck B, according to NorthJersey.com.
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The Bergen County shopping center is the first major mall to test the app, created by a Miami-based company of the same name.
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The system is expected to be implemented in several areas across the country in 2017, including California. It is not clear whether New York will be receiving any.
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All users are required to buy at least four hours of parking at a time for $10 – and are charged $5 for every additional hour, NorthJersey.com reports.
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The app also offers directions to other nearby parking lots that use the reserve system, as well.
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“The number one reason why people don’t go to the mall in the fourth quarter, if you survey them, is ‘I can’t find a place to park’ or ‘I don’t want to walk all the way from where I have to park at the mall,’” explained Jan R. Kniffen, chief executive officer of the retail consulting firm J. Rogers Kniffen Worldwide Enterprises LLC.
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While the MyPark system is ultimately designed to be fully automated, an attendant will be on hand in the lot to assist first-time users.
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A giant barrier, which basically serves as “a robot with a metal arm” — will be positioned in each of the reserved parking spots and will fold down when a user activates the app. It then lifts back up once they leave in order to prevent non-users from pulling in.
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A teenage girl left disabled by the swine flu treatment Tamiflu did not even have the virus, it was revealed today.
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Samantha Millard, 19, became critically ill after suffering a severe allergic reaction to the tablets, which she took on the advice of the controversial NHS helpline.
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Within 72 hours of taking three pills, doctors put her on life support.
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Samantha spent a month in hospital after developing the life-threatening Stevens Johnson syndrome, which causes the skin to peel off, and later developed toxic epidermal necrolysis syndrome, which has damaged her sight.
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But tests at the hospital have since revealed that she never even contracted the swine flu virus.
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Her devastated mother Debbie Van Horenbeeck is now seeking legal advice about the information given out by the NHS swine flu helpline. She believes that Tamiflu has not been tested thoroughly enough.
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‘They have disabled my daughter from that helpline,’ said the 42-year-old, who is now her daughter's full-time carer.
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Doctors believe it will take up to two years for Samantha - who has lost a stone in weight - to recover and do not know if her eyesight will ever be restored.
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She said: ‘It’s hard. I can’t bathe myself, I can’t dress myself, I can’t watch films and I can’t read books.
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‘I sit in my bedroom with my sunglasses on, curtains closed and the TV on so I can hear it. I don’t know how long it will take for my eyes to heal.
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Samantha, of Bicester in Oxfordshire, had taken just three of the 10 tablets when she broke out in a red rash.
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Within hours, her body was covered in painful blisters which were so severe her long hair had to be shaved off.
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She was rushed to hospital, where tests later revealed that she never actually contracted the swine flu virus.
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The student at Bicester Community College now needs to use eye-drops every hour and wear sunglasses and a hat whenever she leaves her house.
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Last year the Mail revealed some of the call centres speaking to people with suspected swine flu were manned by 16-year-olds with just three hours training.
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A leading health expert also claimed last week that the swine flu outbreak was a 'false pandemic' driven by drug companies that stood to make billions of pounds from a worldwide scare.
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Wolfgang Wodarg, head of health at the Council of Europe, accused the makers of flu drugs and vaccines of influencing the World Health Organisation's decision to declare a pandemic.
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This led to the pharmaceutical firms ensuring 'enormous gains', while countries, including the UK, 'squandered' their meagre health budgets, with millions being vaccinated against a relatively mild disease.
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Sitting at her daughter's bedside last year, Debbie said: 'It shouldn't be the case that people with no medical background can make these decisions.
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'These people are just Joe Bloggs off the street. My daughter could die because of this. Her condition is getting worse.
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Stevens Johnson syndrome affects just three in a million people and is usually triggered by an adverse reaction to medication. The mortality rate is around 15 per cent.
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Victims develop terrible scarring all over their bodies as well as severe conjunctivitis which can lead to blindness and mouth infections which can stop them eating.
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A Roche spokeswoman said the incident would be investigated and could not rule out the role of Tamiflu in triggering the syndrome.
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She said: 'While it is difficult to determine the role of Tamiflu in Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, the prescribing information for doctors carries information regarding single cases of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome that have been reported.
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A Department of Health spokesman said: 'We are sorry to hear about this young woman's illness and hope she recovers quickly.
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'Stevens Johnson Syndrome can happen after medicines or infections and it is very difficult to pinpoint the cause. Serious reactions to Tamiflu are extremely rare and it should still be taken as soon as possible, especially for very serious swine flu cases.
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'The National Pandemic Flu Service has been informed by the best clinical expertise including specialist UK Royal Colleges. It includes questions so that potential signs of serious conditions are picked up and referred for immediate medical advice.
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Labour has launched its manifesto, For the Many, Not the Few. The full document is available online. Here are the main things you need to know.
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A programme providing a "stark choice" at the election - to stop the system being "rigged against" the many and to "build a country where we invest our wealth to give everyone the best chance".
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Jeremy Corbyn's foreword says: "Let's build a fairer Britain where no one is held back. A country where everybody is able to get on in life, to have security at work and at home, to be decently paid for the work they do, and to live their lives with the dignity they deserve."
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Nationalisation of England's nine water companies.
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Deliver rail electrification "including in Wales and the South West".
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Reverse the privatisation of Royal Mail "at the earliest opportunity"
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Create at least one publicly-owned energy company in every region of the UK, with public control of the transmission and distribution grids.
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Chris Cook, BBC Newsnight policy editor, says: "Capping rail fares (through public ownership); that has a very simple consequence - it costs you money - but that money isn't mentioned in the document.
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"It's important to point out, though, that it's hard to be in Opposition, especially in the case of a snap election. Labour doesn't have the civil service to do the sums for them and it shows."
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Scrap quarterly reporting for businesses with a turnover of under £85,000.
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An end to zero-hours contracts to guarantee workers a "number of hours each week"
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Raise minimum wage to "at least £10 per hour by 2020"
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Shifting the burden of proof, so the law assumes a worker is an employee unless the employer can prove otherwise.
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Free school meals for all primary school children, paid for by removing the VAT exemption on private school fees.
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Branwen Jeffreys, BBC News education editor, says: "Increasing entitlement to childcare as set out in the Labour manifesto would cost an additional £5.3bn - this is based on research published last year by the Joseph Rowntree Trust on what an "anti-poverty childcare system would look like".
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"The manifesto suggests moving away from a complex system of tax and benefit subsidies to parents and towards direct subsidies to childcare providers.
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"There are plenty of questions, though, including whether Labour intends to provide free childcare for even the wealthiest children - the Conservative promise of 30 hours free a week doesn't apply to families where one parent earns more than £100,000."
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One million people will be taken off NHS waiting lists by "guaranteeing access to treatment within 18 weeks"
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Mental health budgets will be ring-fenced, and Labour will ensure all children in secondary schools have access to a counselling service.
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Cuts to bereavement support payment will be scrapped, as will the bedroom tax and the "punitive sanctions regime"
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A commitment to "protect the pensions of UK citizens living overseas in the EU or further afield".
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Martha Kearney, presenter, The World At One, says: "The pension age is due to rise to 66 by the end of 2020. Labour rejects the Conservatives' proposal to increase the state pension age even further.
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"On The World at One the shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey told me that there would be a review of that.
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"That could be an expensive one. The former pensions minister Steve Webb wrote in a recent article that assuming a flat rate pension of £8,000 per year in today's money, that would cost £93.6 bn."
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Nuclear power "will continue to be part of the UK energy supply"
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Maintaining access to the EU's internal energy market and retaining access to nuclear research programme Euratom will be a priority in Brexit negotiations.
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Guarantee help to buy funding until 2027 and give locals buying their first home "first dibs on new homes built in their area"
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Legislate to ban letting agency fees for tenants, and look at giving the Mayor of London power to give London renters "additional security"
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Make 4,000 additional homes available for rough sleepers to end homelessness.
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Build Crossrail 2 - to run north-south through London between Hertfordshire and Surrey - "to ensure our capital continues to prosper"
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Recognise the need for additional airport capacity in the South East (but there's no mention of Heathrow).
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A national review of local pubs to examine the causes for their large-scale demise, as well as establishing a joint taskforce that will consider future sustainability.
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Work with international partners and the UN on multilateral disarmament "to create a nuclear-free world"
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Insulate the homes of disabled veterans for free.
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Labour will not "scapegoat migrants" and will not set a cap on immigration, describing targets as "bogus"
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International students will not be included in immigration numbers, but the party will crack down on "fake colleges".
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Labour believes in the "reasonable management of migration" but "will not make false promises on immigration numbers".
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Reject no deal as a viable option and if needs be negotiate transitional arrangements "to avoid a cliff-edge for the UK economy"
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Will not allow Brexit to be used as an excuse to undercut UK farmers and flood Britain's food chain with cheap and inferior produce.
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Media captionJeremy Corbyn: "This is a manifesto for all generations. We are providing hope and genuine opportunity for everybody"
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Labour chose Bradford University to launch its 2017 manifesto. The Farm's 1990s anthem All Together Now - popular at football grounds over recent years - played out as Jeremy Corbyn and his team were brought to the platform amid a standing ovation chanting "Corbyn".
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Shadow cabinet minister Sarah Champion introduced the event, describing the Labour leader as "Britain's next prime minister".
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Speaking in front of a banner that read "For the many, not the few", surrounded by his shadow cabinet, Mr Corbyn said: "Our country will only work for the many not the few if opportunity is in the hands of the many. So our manifesto is a plan for everyone to have a fair chance to get on in life, because our country will only succeed when everyone succeeds."
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Jeremy Corbyn told the lively audience at Bradford: "This manifesto is a draft for a better future for our country - it's a blueprint of what Britain can be and a pledge for the difference Labour can and will make.
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