The teacher is still caring for the newborn.
A few weeks ago, Connecticut bilingual teacher Luciana Machado Lira received an unexpected phone call. Her 7-year-old student’s mother, whom she barely knew, was going into labor and urgently needed her help.
She asked Luciana, a mom herself, to call the student's mother's husband, who does not speak English. She also asked the teacher to visit her at the hospital. When Luciana met the spouse there, she learned of the family’s desperation: The mom was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus and had to have an emergency C-section to deliver her son prematurely. Her husband, although asymptomatic, guessed he had COVID-19 too.
Then came the biggest request of all. Afraid their newborn would contract the virus as well, the family asked Luciana if she would take the baby home with her, at least until the test results were ready.
Luciana accepted.
Joy Colon, Luciana’s friend, shared the story in a powerful Facebook post from April 17. It now has over 5.5K shares.
“My friend did what truly good people do. She said yes. I am certain, her answer would always have been yes. What went through her mind at that moment? Luciana went to that hospital that day to help and indeed, she did,” Joy wrote.
It was a good thing Luciana stepped up. A week later, the family’s test results revealed both the father and 7-year-old were also infected with the virus. “The newborn’s pediatrician praised her, noting that had the baby gone home the outcome could surely have been tragic,” Joy mentioned.
On her Facebook page, Luciana has been sharing updates on the baby, the mom, Zully, and the rest of their family.
In a post from yesterday, the teacher wrote that Zully, still COVID-19 positive, was discharged from the hospital that day after previously being in intensive care. Zully is now home.
“My heart almost exploded of happiness and anxiety. I could not believe the day we’ve been praying for was finally here!” Luciana wrote. “At the same time tears of happiness run down my face, I started worrying about the next steps... Was her house ready for her? Would she have what she needs? How would I be able to help her even more?... All I could think of was to help, but how could I help?”
As Joy explained, Luciana’s unselfish act serves as an important reminder. In this “new normal,” she wrote, our “humanity makes us all essential… to each other. How will each of us respond when we are asked to simply show up and help?”
Ending her post, Joy shared Luciana’s response when asked why she was listed as the mom’s primary contact at the hospital: “I’m just a teacher.”
But because of her kindness and altruism, Luciana proves that we are more than just our job titles. We can be a lifeline to others. According to Joy, “For Luciana, the role of teacher has been altered forever.”