Sam Goddard was full of life when, at 23 years old, a series of debilitating strokes left him in a coma and later a vegetative state.  Goddard's fiancee, Sally Nielsen, researched his condition and found that a common sleeping drug, Ambien, might help awaken the man she loves. The full report, ‘I’m here,’ airs Monday, Dec. 26, at 10pm/9c on NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams.

By Rachel Bass
Rock Center

Somewhere in your Inbox between the unopened e-mails about unicorns and angels that your mom forwarded, and the Facebook friend request from that neighbor down the hall that you've intentionally ignored, is likely an e-mail from a friend or relative about a website called Kickstarter. Maybe you've heard about it in passing. Maybe you’ve come across it on the Internet. But what exactly is Kickstarter?

Founded in April 2009 by Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler and Charles Adler, Kickstarter is the largest online fundraising platform. Using a model called “crowd-funding,” Kickstarter encourages filmmakers, musicians, designers, writers and other creative artists to bring their ideas to life by posting projects on the site.

Sam Goddard's family grappled with whether to end life support when he fell into a coma after experiencing several strokes in 2010. Goddard eventually came out of the coma, but was left in a vegetative state. The fiancée who never left his side, Sally Nielsen, thinks she has found a cure to awaken the man she loves.  NBC’s Sara James previews her report airing Monday, Dec. 26, at 10pm/9c on Rock Center.

Dean Obeidallah, a Muslim American, is tackling prejudice with punchlines. In this online exclusive, Obeidallah tackles stereotypes by poking fun at himself. The comedian recently performed with a group of Muslim comedians on a tour they've dubbed, "The Muslims Are Coming!"

By Cristina Boado
Rock Center

One thing I've always loved about my job is getting "the next assignment," finding out what I'm going to spend my days and nights thinking about as we cover a new story. We spend so much time and energy on our work that these stories often become a part of our life, even if just temporarily. The first thing I heard about this assignment was that it would have to do with Spain. "Great!." I thought. I love Spain. In fact, my father is from Spain as is my husband. I grew up spending summers there. I studied there. I got married there and all of my extended family is there. I know the culture, the people, the way of life so well.

So when my colleague first began explaining this phenomenon to me about "stolen babies," I was incredulous.

By Kristin Wilson
Rock Center

Looking around the city of San Jose, and in particular on the wrists of the people who live there, you get a sense of the impact that Bryan Stow has left on this community. Bryan’s mother, Ann, was talking to me on my cell phone, trying to navigate me through the vast parking lot at the rehab facility where Bryan is currently living. It probably didn’t help that I’m terrible at directions, so I just decided to ask for some help from the people I passed along the way. The first two people I met were two paramedics getting into an ambulance. I asked them for directions to the building I was looking for, and as they both pointed to their rights, I caught a glimpse of a black and orange bracelet on both their wrists, much like the yellow LiveSTRONG bracelets we all know.

Two nurses, one orderly and one very kind Samaritan later, I had made my way to the Stows, led from one to the next by an unbroken chain of black and orange bracelets. They are the colors of the San Francisco Giants, Bryan’s favorite team. One side reads “STOW” and on the other, “P21732” – Bryan’s paramedic number. It’s a silent tribute to the man who, until recently, has been mostly silent himself. The first day I met him, he only said two words to me, “Hi Kristin” after being prompted by his mom. Ann is the indefatigable matriarch of this ever-growing family of paramedics, and hospital staff, who have become a part of her life since Bryan’s injury last March.

By Ronnie Polidoro
Rock Center

Nearly nine months after being viciously beaten while leaving a Los Angeles Dodger home opener, San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow has only recovered enough to barely speak and he is still unable to walk.

NBC News Chief Medical Editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman visited Stow at a rehabilitation center in San Jose, Calif. The 42-year-old paramedic and father of two is relearning basic things like walking, brushing his teeth, swallowing, and even how to speak.  His recovery has been a slow process but he was able to greet Snyderman as part of an exclusive look at his life since the attack.

Two of the men who attended the fateful baseball game in Los Angeles with Stow, Corey Maciel and Jeff Bradford also spoke to Rock Center in an exclusive interview discussing one of the worst episodes of fan violence in American sports history.

It was opening day in March at Dodger Stadium.  The Dodgers were playing the defending World Series champion team, the San Francisco Giants.  San Francisco fans Maciel, Bradford, and Stow, along with their friend Matt Lee, had taken a road trip to Los Angeles to root for their team.

Proudly wearing their orange and black uniforms, they stuck out in the blue sea of Dodger fans, and soon the heckling began.  

“Nobody's off limits for heckling at a game, especially when it's friendly banter,” Maciel told Dr. Nancy Snyderman. 

By Kate Snow and Jessica Hopper
Rock Center

Luis Vega is on a mission to meet every man born in Madrid, Spain on Nov. 20, 1977.  That's the day doctors told him that his baby son was stillborn, but he and his wife, Ines, believe their child was in fact stolen from the hospital.

“We have a son somewhere out there,” Luis Vega said.

The Vega family isn’t alone in believing their child was stolen.  This year, more than a thousand families have come forward with claims that they were victims of baby trafficking committed by a variety of networks from the 1940s until as recently as the early 1990s.

Armed with a list of the 61 names of boys born in Madrid on the same day he lost his son, Vega is making calls and knocking on doors because he is convinced his son is alive.

“What we just want only, is to tell him, ‘You have not been abandoned,’” Vega said.

By Sharaf Mowjood
Rock Center

Jihad, homegrown-terrorism, Sharia law, and mosques. Mention any of these terms and most people in America will associate it with Islam and Muslims. Say the word "Muslim Comedian" and most will think it is an oxy-moron. Can Muslims really be funny? Dean Obeidallah, and Negin Farsad are not only professional comics, they are also Muslim and are quite funny.

"It could be more challenging for us, they could give us hurricane names," says Dean Obeidallah. "Turn on the news, ‘Hurricane Mahmoud is coming! Run for your life, Mahmoud’s a killer’".

Born in New Jersey and living in New York City, Obeidallah, a former attorney, has found his calling as comedian. Addressing controversial issues and stereotypes through the lens of comedy, he has created a niche as an Arab-American comedian, working both the west and east coasts.

Not everything has been funny though. According to Obeidallah, and fellow comedian Negin Farsad have both felt a rise of Islamophobia.

According to recent polling, nearly half of all Americans admit to feeling some prejudice towards Muslims. Both comics felt inspired to do something about it. They figured that the best way to deal with intolerance is to make fun of it.

"We realized that most people who are against Muslims had probably never met a Muslim before," says Farsad. "So we thought we go to them and introduce ourselves."

By Jessica Hopper
Rock Center

When U.S. military forces finish their withdrawal from Iraq at the end of December, thousands of Americans will remain in the country carrying out a diplomatic mission aimed in part at curbing the influence of Iran on its neighbor.

“Cumulatively looking at both the Iranian interests and the Iranian influenced groups, the threat which they pose to this installation and to the U.S. interest in Iraq is clear,” said Consul General Piper Campbell.

Campbell is one of over a thousand people who will remain at the consulate in Basra after the military withdrawal.  The U.S. consulate in Basra is strategically located at the center of Iraq’s economic wealth: its oil fields.  It’s also just miles from Iraq’s border with Iran. 

“There’s a real recognition that I hear from many people here of Iran watching, of Iran looking at what’s going on here, of Iran looking for opportunities to influence both here in the Shia south, but throughout Iraq,” Campbell said.