Top feel-good news stories from 2023 - Good Morning America

Ann Johnson lost her ability to speak nearly 20 years ago after suffering a paralyzing stroke at the age of 30. She is now able to talk again through an avatar thanks to artificial intelligence in what experts say is a medical milestone.

A team of doctors and researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and UC Berkeley discovered a way to use Johnson's brain signals and translate them into words and avatar movements using AI. They used a clip from her wedding video to restore her voice to the way it sounded.

\"Seeing her reaction to the work is really I think what motivates all of us,\" Sean Metzger, a Ph.D. student who worked on the research, told ABC News in August. \"She described that it was an emotional moment to hear her voice again.\"

This type of technology has been in the works for decades, according to Dr. Leah Croll, a neurologist and stroke specialist.

\"This is the first time that it's starting to feel like a real medical miracle is potentially in our grasp in the future,\" Croll, who didn't work on this particular case, told ABC News Live. \"We could really restore neurologic function in patients who have lost it.\"

7. American caver rescued from Turkish cave

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Umit Bektas/Reuters

PHOTO: U.S. caver Mark Dickey, on a stretcher, is carried out of the Morca cave as his rescue operation comes to a successful end near Anamur in Mersin province, southern Turkey, Sept. 12, 2023.

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American caver Mark Dickey was more than 3,400 feet below the surface when he fell ill while on an expedition inside the Morca Cave in southern Turkey's Taurus Mountains on Aug. 31.

Too sick to climb out and suffering from life-threatening bleeding and vomiting, what followed was a complex rescue operation that began with his fiancée -- Jessica Van Ord, a fellow caver and paramedic -- making the difficult decision to leave Dickey and make the hourslong climb to the surface to alert authorities on Sept. 2.

The call to help him went out from the European Cave Rescue Association that same day and hundreds of aid workers from various countries responded. After days of prep, Dickey was safely extracted from the cave at around 12:37 a.m. local time on Sept. 12.

While recuperating in the hospital following his rescue, Dickey told ABC News that he's \"alive because of the rescuers,\" whom he called \"heroes,\" but also credited his fiancée with \"initially\" saving his life.

\"She saved my life, period,\" he said. \"She is one hell of a woman, one hell of a caver, one hell of a rescuer, one hell of a paramedic.\"

8. NASA astronaut breaks record for longest trip to space by an American

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NASA

PHOTO: Astronaut Frank Rubio set a new U.S. spaceflight record, eclipsing the previous record of 355 consecutive days aboard the Space Station.

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NASA astronaut Frank Rubio spent most of 2023 in space -- for a record-breaking feat. He became the longest-serving NASA U.S. astronaut in space and the first American to spend more than a year in space after orbiting the Earth for a total of 371 days.

The record wasn't intentional; his original six-month mission at the International Space Station was extended after a leak was detected from the spacecraft that was to return the crew back to Earth and they had to wait for a replacement.

In an interview with \"Good Morning America\" prior to breaking the record, Rubio said he felt honored to hold the title and that he expected the record would be broken again in the future.

\"I think this is really significant in the sense that it teaches us that the human body can endure, it can adapt and as we prepare to push back to the moon and then from then onward onto hopefully Mars and further on in the solar system,\" he said. \"I think it's really important that we learn just how the human body learns to adapt and how we can optimize that process so that we can improve our performance as we explore further and further out from Earth.\"

The current record for most consecutive days spent in space overall belongs to Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who spent 437 days in space.

9. Construction workers rescued in India

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Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images

PHOTO: National Disaster Response Force personnel and rescue operatives gather at the entrance of the Silkyara during a rescue operation for trapped workers after a section of the tunnel collapsed, in the Uttarkashi district of India on Nov. 28, 2023.

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The year saw another complex, dramatic rescue in India, when dozens of construction workers became trapped in a collapsed tunnel under the Himalayas.

Forty-one workers became trapped early on Nov. 12 when a landslide in Uttarakhand state caused a portion of the tunnel they were building to collapse about 650 feet from the entrance.

Rescuers used pipes to send food, water and oxygen to the trapped workers. Heavy machines and hand-held drilling tools were used to help dig them out.

After more than two weeks trapped in the collapsed tunnel, all 41 construction workers were rescued in good health on Nov. 28.

A rescuer told the New Delhi Television channel that “the trapped workers were overjoyed when they spotted us in the tunnel. Some rushed toward me and hugged me,” The Associated Press reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the successful rescue operation emotional and said the workers' patience and courage were inspiring.

10. Hiker survives 1,000-foot tumble from Hawaii hiking trail

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KITV

PHOTO: Ian Snyder, 34, speaks at a news conference in Hawaii on Dec. 12, 2023, about surviving a 1,000-foot topple from a hiking trail in Hawaii.

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A California father of three was hiking alone on the Ko'olau Summit Trail in Hawaii earlier this month when his outing went from routine to treacherous.

Ian Snyder told reporters during a news conference this month that he was hiking along the peaks of the trail and doesn't remember exactly when happened when he toppled and fell 1,000 feet, breaking his arm in the process.

When he never returned from his hike, his family reported him missing to police. Snyder spent three days stranded at the bottom of a waterfall before he was found by a rescue crew.

Snyder said it was a \"miracle\" he survived.

\"I'm glad to be here, incredibly glad to be here and glad to be in mostly one piece,\" he said.

Amber Fonte, a member of the Oahu Hiking Community, also said at the news conference that she was resigned to just returning Snyder's body to his family.

\"When we found a whole human living and breathing and waving at the sky, I was like, 'Merry Christmas,'\" Fonte said.

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