When 4 Year Old Student Admits To Problems At Home, This Teacher Became His Hero

[Music] [Applause] down in mason city iowa there lives an incredible woman named nancy bluer at the age of 54 she's been teaching children aged three to five for over 25 years at washing charlie brown preschool even before she became famous for one of the world's greatest deeds ever parents of her students would comment constantly on her kindness and great behavior with kids the parents of her students felt like they would never hesitate to ask nancy for help with parenting but for one parent it was nancy who asked him to let her help when nancy decided to become a teacher she knew that helping kids learn about the world and realize their potential was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life and almost 30 years later she had quite a successful career doing just that her knack for understanding what life looks like through the eyes of a child is a gift that anyone who knows her can see plain as day but not everyone's child looks the same one thing's for sure life throws different curveballs at each person's life and some of these can be incredibly hard for children to deal with as a teacher nancy interacts with dozens of kids every day and different kids each year that means she's likely to deal with all kinds of their problems too most of the time these are things she can't help with except to offer love and empathy but every now and then the situation can be much more serious when camden came to school one day in somber spirits nancy had a feeling it was going to be one of those times camden is one of her students at just four years old she knew him to be usually bright and happy booming with energy all the time it's not uncommon for young boys at that age of course but camden had a special enthusiasm for life the kind that a teacher can't help but notice one day nancy noticed that he had begun to come in much less happy he hadn't quite been himself for a few weeks at that point but on this day he could barely hold it together nancy knew something was really wrong she stayed close to him during the day hoping he would open as strangers in uniforms attended to him their concern over daryl's health couldn't be hidden from even someone so young they were scared but camden was terrified even though he didn't know what any of it meant when they got to the hospital the doctor told daryl that his kidneys had failed yet this wasn't the first time daryl had been given news that his kidneys weren't in perfect condition his doctor had diagnosed him with burgers disease which causes kidney deterioration more than five years earlier when he was only 26 years old the disease is irreversible so after being diagnosed he understood that his condition would only get worse and it was just a matter of time before his kidneys would fail completely of course his biggest fear wasn't his kidney failure but his failure as a father cannon watching the progression of his dad's health into something that might ultimately make him disappear from camden's life had been unbearably painful and confusing for a while daryl had been receiving treatments in the hospital but they required him to spend hours there each day they were more than he could afford and worst of all it would only work temporarily what daryl really needed was a new kidney but he was placed on a waiting list with over 100 000 other names before his the treatment would only be able to keep him alive for so long and it was looking like the transplant he needed would take a lot longer daryl's family and friends were very supportive a great number of people volunteered their own kidneys went through tests and surrounded him with love and encouragement but in the end no one was a match the situation was looking worse by the day and the feeling couldn't be hidden from little camden he tried hard to be strong for his dad but after months went by with no good news it became too much for his young son to bear nancy couldn't have been more certain that something serious was going on that was causing little camden's spirit to break like this but she found herself at a difficult crossroads between her want to help and her professional responsibilities was it appropriate to pry into camden's personal life was she emotionally ready to handle the information he told her and worst of all what if something horrible was wrong and she couldn't help as she battled inside to make a decision she realized that her empathetic side had already won whether or not she could help she knew she needed to be there to support camden and whatever he was going through she would ask first and figure out what to do with the answer after sweet kid that he is camden was all too grateful to have someone invite him to share his story and feelings but nancy wasn't nearly as ready for his answer with his eyes on the ground camden told her that his dad was in trouble because of health and that he was worried he wouldn't have a father anymore soon knowing there was no easy solution had decided the best possible solution was managing the truth so that camden would be best prepared for the future nancy was amazed and horrified that such a young child was carrying such difficult information around on his shoulders every day camden went on to explain his father's diagnosis as best a little boy could essentially explaining that his kidney was broken and that he might not have a daddy for much longer nancy couldn't bear to think about him having to face the rest of his life without a father she knew that there was only one thing that she might be able to do to help so she probably began researching the options for a kidney donation what nancy found is that kidney donation is quite complicated and a successful transplant requires many health components to align she saw that in order to find out if her kidney was compatible with daryl's she'd have to undergo many blood tests and more but she was completely willing to do what she had to do for a sweet student to nancy a saved life was well worth the cost of a kidney and a bit of her time the process of testing was a long one and waiting for results wasn't easy for anyone daryl was getting used to waiting though he'd already had one transplant offer fall through but he was hesitant to let his family's hopes or even his own get high just to be crushed again but after months of waiting with daryl still standing strong nancy finally got the news that they were waiting for they were a perfect match even today nancy says that upon finding out that she would ultimately have the opportunity to donate her kidney to daryl she didn't second-guess her decision for even one moment it didn't feel like any kind of a burden to her or something beyond her means in fact she actually felt lucky to be able to help as she woke camden up from a nap to tell him the news he hugged her tighter than any student of hers had ever before began to cry his understanding was clearly much deeper than just his father's life being saved he even seemed to grasp the extraordinary kindness nancy was capable of it just goes to show that acts of kindness are about more than just what someone can do for other people they touch on a part of us that can believe in a better world but even though the light at the end of the tunnel was in sight the families wait for their solution wasn't over yet even though nancy had been cleared as a match for daryl she needed to go through more tests still this time the tests were of her own health to ensure that her body would be able to handle losing a kidney it's prohibited for people who aren't in healthy enough condition themselves to be organ donors so if nancy was determined unfit for any reason the transplant couldn't happen nancy couldn't bear the thought of the family having their hopes let down yet again nancy's eagerness to help may seem a bit extreme and the truth is there's a reason everybody has a bucket list and nancy's no exception at the top of that list donating in oregon as it turns out years ago nancy witnessed a transplant between two friends that saved one of their lives it was the single most inspiring moment of her life and she knew that she needed to pay it forward to someone else during her lifetime however she didn't know at the time how many different factors have to align for this deed to even be possible even after all the blood work determines a match and the health of both parties are stable enough to survive the operations there's no guarantee the transplant will be a success for kidney transplants in particular only 50 to 60 percent are successful but nancy truly hoped that this was her chance to save a life and daryl was willing to try anything after another long month both nancy and daryl were finally cleared by the hospital proceed with the transplant when the day rolled around their friends and family held their breaths as the operations began at the university of iowa hospitals and clinics miraculously the surgery was successful and the pair were allowed to return home after just one week of recovery with a whole new life ahead of him daryl was determined to make sure that nancy stayed in their lives for good it may have been years in advance but daryl invited nancy to be by their side at camden's eventual graduation as he put it how do you thank someone for saving your life but selfless acts like hers happen more often than many of us think with the rise of the internet altruistic stories have taken it by storm access to so much bad news has made people need more reassurance than ever that humanity is in fact good but why seeing the good in others helps people to see the good in themselves but people like nancy who see an opportunity to do something good and don't let anything or doubt get in her way are the warriors we need to lead us not everyone will have the chance to save a life like nancy did but even in the face of a problem this frightening she was fearless and her strength is an inspiration to us all to face life's opportunities the same way