It was summer 2019 in Aurora, Colorado, when CBS News first met Finn Lanning, a math teacher, and Damien, his student who always stood out.

Lanning was astonished when Damien told him he was not coming back to _______. He sat Damien down and found out what his story was. He learned that Damien had a _______ in heart and was in foster (寄养) care because social services couldn’t find a foster family willing and able to meet his medical needs. He was _______ to leave school and move into a hospital.

But the real _______ was that Damien needed a transplant desperately. A lot of times it’s _______ to get a transplant if someone doesn’t have a stable home to return to after surgery.

“It _______ me like a ton of bricks. I mean, you just can’t sit across from somebody you care about and hear them say something like that and know that you have room to help,” Lanning said. That’s how Lanning became a foster parent. He _______ Damien even though he’d been a confirmed bachelor (单身汉) who delighted in his childlessness.

They got along smoothly, although Damien refused to get too excited. “I’m afraid the bubbles will burst one day. It’s kind of bad thinking about that, but some people actually do that. Like, they’ll be happy with you one day and then just kick you out the next,” Damien said. Lanning told him he’s not going anywhere, _______ Damien believes it or not.

In the nearly two years since CBS News shared their story, Damien was able to get a transplant and he’s a much _______ 15-year-old. “It’s like a dream come true,” Damien said.

It’s proof that sometimes ________ do end happily ever after.

One night, when I was eight, my mother gently asked me a question I would never forget. “Sweetie, my company wants to _________ me but needs me to work in Brazil. This is like your teacher telling you that you’ve done _________ and allowing you to skip a grade, but you’ll have to _________ your friends. Would you say yes to your teacher?” She gave me a hug and asked me to think about it. I was puzzled. The question kept me _________ for the rest of the night. I had said “yes” but for the first time, I realized the _________ decisions adults had to make.

For almost four years, my mother would call us from Brazil every day. Every evening I’d _________ wait for the phone to ring and then tell her every detail of my day. A phone call, however, could never replace her _________ and it was difficult not to feel lonely at times.

During my fourth-grade Christmas break, we flew to Rio to visit her. Looking at her large _________ apartment, I became _________ how lonely my mother must have been in Brazil herself. It was then __________ I started to appreciate the tough choices she had to make on __________ family and work. __________ difficult decisions, she used to tell me, you wouldn’t know whether you made the right choice, but you could always make the best out of the situation, with passion and a __________ attitude.

Back home, I __________ myself that what my mother could do, I could, too. If she __________ to live in Rio all by herself, I, too, could learn to be independent. I learnt how to take care of myself and set high but achievable goals.

My mother is now back with us. But I will never forget what the experience has really taught me. Sacrifices pay off in the end. The separation between us has proved to be a blessing for me.

I still remember the day I was driving to the supermarket I own. When I came out, I found a boy cleaning my car with a brush. I went over and patted (拍) him _________ the shoulder, which surprised him very much. In no time he began to smile at me, so I was sure he _________ some money. From the shoes he was wearing I could hardly imagine how _________ he was. So I offered him a $100 bill. To my great surprise, he _________ to take it. When I was wondering what he was doing, he said, “I was waiting here for 4 hours, waiting for you. Your car is so beautiful and I like it, but I don’t need that.” I knew he was mentioning the _________.

As he had refused the money, I offered to drive him around the town. The boy became so _________ that he got into the car at once, “Would you please drive me home? It is only about 3 miles.” What the boy wanted to do was to show off to his friends and his family.

As soon as I stopped, he jumped out and ran into an old building, telling me to wait there for some time. Very soon he came out, saying to a little girl on his back, “Look at this beautiful car. I will buy you _________ some day.”

I noticed his sister had a pale face. What’s worse, her legs were too thin, and she was unable to _________.

After that day I went to his home several times. And I got to know more about him and his family. Poor as they were, the boy once again refused my money, and said, “I can _________ money by myself, thank you.” Soon I told my manager of the supermarket that a boy would go to work here the next day. No matter how poor we are, we would __________ give in (屈服) to ourselves.