A teacher can often be the third most important adult in a child’s life – behind two parents, that is.
Nancy Bleuer is a caring and thoughtful 54-year-old preschool teacher. She’s committed to her students and does everything in her power to make them feel looked after.
One day, she noticed that Camden, a 4-year-old in her class, was not behaving the same as he usually did. She decided to have a chat with him, to see if something had happened at home.
That’s when the little boy told Nancy about his father … and her heart dropped like a stone the moment the secret was revealed.
Nancy felt she had to do something – and so she acted quickly.
It turned out that Camden’s dad, 34-year-old Darreld Petersen, was very ill. When Nancy realised how serious things were, she became concerned; concerned because she understood just how much the illness was affecting Camden himself. She decided to call the dad straight away.
It had become apparent that there was something wrong with Darreld’s kidneys. Doctors had told him that they were only operating at 20 percent capacity, and, during his dialysis treatment, Darreld had looked so ill that poor Camden was afraid of seeing his dad for the last time.
Nancy decided that she wanted to help the family in anyway she could. But how? How does a teacher help a family struggling like that? The first thing that jumps to mind is something like offering to take care of Camden. Or, perhaps, helping him get to and from school.
But no – Nancy went much further than that.
Nancy offered Darreld one of her own kidneys.
Miraculously, she turned out to be a perfect match, meaning it was relatively straight forward for her to make good on her offer. All she had to do was fill in the necessary paperwork.
“I was really excited about it,” Bleuer said. “I was ecstatic. I don’t know what I would’ve done for closure if I wasn’t [a match].”
As was to be expected, Darrel was both delighted and shocked when he heard of Nancy’s extraordinary offer. For him, it was nothing short of a promise to save his life.
“It’s just amazing,” Petersen said. “There are people waiting every day for a kidney, for an organ in general. I wish there were more people like her. She’s giving me a second chance at life.”
When the family discovered that Nancy’s kidney matched Darreld’s, they decided to surprise her with flowers at school.
Camden, of course, could not be happier with the way things unfolded. Just imagine, his own teacher helping to save his father’s life!
The world is full of good people! If everyone was as selfless as Nancy, the world would be a far better place. Let us hope that the operation runs smoothly and both Nancy and Darreld have a swift recovery to health.
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