Teacher Receives Kidney from Student's Mother
By: Jil Galus, KOB
Updated: February 27, 2013
A teacher suffering from kidney disease is set to receive a kidney from her kindergarten student's mother.
It is common for children to become attached to their teachers.
But as a parent, let's face it, you typically only get to know them through scheduled conferences.
That is far from the case for Kindergarten teacher Diane List who will be spending weeks in the hospital with the mother of one of her students.
List has suffered from kidney disease since she was 12, but is now getting a new lease on life.
For 22 years, preparing lesson plans inside her classroom and influencing the lives of young students has brought her joy.
Now she is learning, it is sometimes the other way around - what you cannot prepare for that can change your life forever.
"I just happened to be talking with one of my student's mothers and she immediately offered to give me a kidney," List said.
Julia Rivera said she wanted to help List, her child's teacher, in any way she could.
"I think she probably thought I was crazy," Rivera said.
List's kidneys started failing about two years ago.
"When she said, 'Well, I'm eligible for a donor now,' and I just looked at her and I just said, 'Well, you can have my kidney,'" River said.
List goes in for surgery next week.
Doctors will remove both of her failing kidneys and she will spend a few weeks on dialysis.
If all goes as well as planned, the transplant will be performed in April or May.
"She's just awesome, stepped up to the plate, both she and her husband," List said. "The kids even offered to give me their kidneys. Words are not enough to say how grateful I am to her."
Read more at: http://bit.ly/15QtkvD
It is common for children to become attached to their teachers.
But as a parent, let's face it, you typically only get to know them through scheduled conferences.
That is far from the case for Kindergarten teacher Diane List who will be spending weeks in the hospital with the mother of one of her students.
List has suffered from kidney disease since she was 12, but is now getting a new lease on life.
For 22 years, preparing lesson plans inside her classroom and influencing the lives of young students has brought her joy.
Now she is learning, it is sometimes the other way around - what you cannot prepare for that can change your life forever.
"I just happened to be talking with one of my student's mothers and she immediately offered to give me a kidney," List said.
Julia Rivera said she wanted to help List, her child's teacher, in any way she could.
"I think she probably thought I was crazy," Rivera said.
List's kidneys started failing about two years ago.
"When she said, 'Well, I'm eligible for a donor now,' and I just looked at her and I just said, 'Well, you can have my kidney,'" River said.
List goes in for surgery next week.
Doctors will remove both of her failing kidneys and she will spend a few weeks on dialysis.
If all goes as well as planned, the transplant will be performed in April or May.
"She's just awesome, stepped up to the plate, both she and her husband," List said. "The kids even offered to give me their kidneys. Words are not enough to say how grateful I am to her."
Read more at: http://bit.ly/15QtkvD
