Parents Reach Out To Their Son's Teacher, Asking Her To Take Care Of Newborn Baby As They Can't

Feb 07, 2022 by apost team

The year 2020 was filled with hardships and uncertainties for many people all over the world. With the pandemic first starting, people were unsure how to navigate their everyday lives, much less take on new responsibilities, like becoming a parent to a newborn. For Luciana Lira, her life completely changed in April 2020, when she took on the job of becoming a guardian for a baby that wasn’t hers.

Lira is a teacher who teaches English as a second language at Hart Magnet Elementary School in Stamford, Connecticut. Her student, seven-year-old Junior, was about to become an older brother, but there were some complications in the matter. 

His mother, Zully, had called Lira to ask for a huge favor, just one day before going into labor. She tested positive for the coronavirus and was extremely sick at the time she delivered her newborn baby, Neysel, on April 2, 2020. The baby was premature, and many tests were run to make sure that the baby boy was negative.

The baby was not able to go home with Zully since she had COVID-19, and the hardships didn’t end there. It turned out that Junior and his father Marvin also tested positive, making it extremely dangerous for them to take home a newborn baby and expose Neysel to the virus.

Fortunately for the family, Lira was more than willing to lend a helping hand. She first agreed to help before the baby was even born, and then took on the responsibility of caring for the boy while the family recovered. Read on to find out more about this kind-hearted teacher and how she helped one of her students’ families during their time of need.

Her New Responsibility

When a family was in need, their son's teacher happily lent a helping hand. WABC reported that Zully delivered Neysel prematurely by emergency C-section on April 2, 2020. According to Frontline, several tests were done to make sure that the newborn was healthy and didn't have the virus. Once it was confirmed that Neysel was negative – instead of going home with his family who were all positive with COVID-19 – the baby went home with Lira.

Zully, a Guatemalan immigrant seeking asylum, was very sick when she was taken to the hospital via ambulance, and was put on a ventilator for several weeks after giving birth. She returned home on April 25, 2020, according to WABC.

Frontline reported that Lira had spoken with Marvin prior to taking Neysel home, explaining that Zully had previously called her and asked her to care for the baby before he was even born. Marvin said, "She told me, 'Zully called me and asked me to take care of the baby.'"

Even though Lira did not know the family that well, she offered to help them. She continued to care for the newborn until everyone in the family tested negative and was fully recovered. "We care about our students, we care about their families and everybody needs to know we're here for them and just want to help," Lira said.

The family had explained to Lira that there was no one else in the country who could help them, and that she was their emergency contact. "It's an amazing experience, I'm so glad that mom called me and asked me for help and she was able to trust me," Lira explained.

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What do you think about this teacher's selfless act of kindness she performed to help one of her students and his family? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your loved ones, too.