A five-year-old girl will no longer have to endure daily dialysis after her preschool teacher agreed to donate one of their own kidneys to her.
As reported by Good Morning America, Kayleigh Kulage, who hails from Pacific in Missouri, has been on dialysis for the past four years due to kidney failure.
Little Kayleigh was born prematurely at 26 weeks and treated in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for more than 150 days after her birth.
Since then, the girl has faced a number of serious health complications, including partial blindness, a compromised immune system, and failing kidneys.
Related: This woman gave a kidney to the cop who arrested her:However, Kayleigh soon found her perfect donor match in her early childhood special education teacher Robin Mach, who has been traveling to the family's home to teach Kayleigh for two years, since she was too ill to attend school.
Robin and Kayleigh quickly bonded, and in October of 2020, when Kayleigh finally became eligible for a Kidney transplant, her teacher decided to help.
After three months of tests, doctors determined that Robin would be a suitable match for a donor, and on February 3, 2021, the teacher and student underwent a six-hour-long kidney transplant at a hospital in St. Louis, which was a success.
Commenting on the teacher's inspiring act of kindness in a later interview, Kayleigh's mother, Desiree, stated: "[Kayleigh's] whole life has been a lot of hospital visits, surgeries, and doctors' appointments."
She continued: "She’s been around doctors and nurses and adults her whole life, that’s all she really knows.
"Kayleigh used to have dark circles under eyes and was kind of pale and now she has these rosy cheeks. She is the most resilient kid. And she has a better quality of life now. She can be ‘normal’ and not feel so sick.
"[Robin] acts like she just took her to the spa and painted her toes. She acts like it’s nothing. I just don’t know how to thank somebody like her. All I keep on saying is: 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.'"
Meanwhile, Robin herself told GMA: "One day Desiree and I were just talking and I asked her: 'Can the kidney be from an adult?,' and she said: 'Yes. I said: 'what do I need to do to check it out? Maybe I’m small enough.'
"When they gave us a surgery date, that’s when it got real that we were doing this. I wasn't nervous about the surgery, but I was more nervous that something was going to happen that would keep us from being able to have the surgery, especially with COVID.
"I was sore and I was tired but it wasn't bad. I would always just think about all of the stuff Kayleigh has gone through over the years."
A truly wonderful story, and all thanks to a truly wonderful teacher. We wish them both the very best for their futures.
