A Wisconsin teacher is donating a kidney to a student at her school who was born with a syndrome that has left her sick for most of her life, and the selfless gesture is warming the hearts of the Internet this week.
If Natasha Fuller, a first grader at Oakfield Elementary School, can overcome an infection by March 21, she will be scheduled for a long-awaited kidney transplant, courtesy of third-grade teacher
Jodi Schmidt, according to the Fond du Lac Reporter.
Fuller, who was born with a condition called prune belly syndrome which led to her being on dialysis, is currently in renal failure and in need of a transplant as soon as possible.
According to the National Organization of Rare Disorders, some children require surgery to the bladder while others require a complete bladder reconstruction. The organization stated that, in rare circumstances, such as in Fuller's case, a kidney transplant is necessary to help the child.
"You could never tell this little girl has three tubes in her, she doesn't let it faze her," Chris Burleton, the girl's grandmother, told the newspaper. "She is happy and sassy, and she just wants to lead a normal life, and do things like go swimming."
After learning the condition of the plucky little 8-year-old, Schmidt did something out of the blue: She tested herself to see if she would be a match, even though she didn't know the girl more than just her sunny disposition.
"It truly just came to me after I did a lot of thinking and praying," Schmidt said. "I told [my husband] Rich, I want to give a student one of my kidneys."
Schmidt recently discovered that she was a match and surprised Fuller's grandparents by calling them to the school to
share the news, ABC News reported.
There, Schmidt gave Burleton a pink present with a message inside that stated she was a match to be a kidney donor for Natasha.
"You? Oh my gosh," Burleton says to Schmidt in the moment that was captured on video. "Here I thought she was coming to school because she was naughty."
The kind gesture was a little harder for Fuller to understand at her age, but she knows that the teacher is doing something that will make her feel better.
"I have had some really good days in my life, and that was probably one of the best days of my life," Schmidt said after seeing Burleton's reaction. "I think that life takes us on very different paths, and I now have no doubt I was brought to Oakfield for a reason."
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