
Aย preschool teacherย donated a kidney to her five-year-old student to help her experience a normal life.
A beautiful little girl
When Kayleigh Kulage was born at 26 weeks, she weighed less than a pound and was just 11.25 inches tall. She spent the next 158 days relying on tubes in the NICU and ended up leaving desperate for a new kidney.
But Desiree, Kayleighโs mother, said herย daughterย โย whoโs now five โ has grown to be a perfect little girl.
โIf she didnโt have like these tubes on her or anything you wouldnโt really know anythingโs wrong with her,โ Desiree toldย Fox 2. โShe never cries. She never complains about pain. Sheโs a happy kid. I couldnโt have been any luckier to have her.โ
Every night, Kayleighโs parents set up peritoneal dialysis to pump excess fluid from her body โย but thanks to theย extreme kindnessย of Kayleighโs pre-kindergarten teacher, they wonโt have to any longer.
โWe were telling Kayleigh because we were giving her a bath that you wonโt have your catheter anymore, you wonโt have to do dialysis anymore,โ said Josh Kulage, Kayleighโs father, to Fox 2. โA whole new chapter.โ
A guardian angel
Robin Mach, Kayleighโs preschool teacher, only met her in 2019, but had little hesitation aboutย donating her kidneyย to the young girl.
โShe was a student at our school. And then she had to receive some home services so I got to do that. So, Iโve been working with Kayleigh for about a year and a half,โ Robin told Fox 2. โShe needed it. I wanted her to have a normal life and go to school. And this is how we can help her get there.โ
For the first 24 hours, Kayleighโs family was terrified she wouldnโt make it through. But a week post-op, sheโs doing great.
โSheโs come out of it like a trooper.ย I had the PICU doctor yesterday say that he canโt believe she just had major surgery less than a week ago. And that sheโs probablyย the happiest childย in the hospital,โ Desiree said.
After going through surgery, Mach wasnโt worried about herself. Rather, her focus was on making sure little Kayleigh was doing alright.
โSheโs incredible. She was offering to do our laundry. And take me back and forth. And Iโm like, โyou just had major surgery. You need to go home and rest,โโ Desiree said of Mach.ย โI donโt know how to thank her. So, all I keep on saying isย thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.โย
Sheโll be able to swim in the ocean one day
Desiree hopes that now that Kayleigh has a kidney sheโll be able to lead a normal life.
โShe has never had a bath, like a normal bath. Sheโll be able to swim, maybe experience the ocean. So, sheโs going to be able to experience stuff sheโs never been able to experience,โ she said.
The power of kindness
Kayleigh did nothing wrong to get into her health situation; she was simply born in need of a kidney. But there was a chance her life could get better, and that glimmer ofย hopeย is all Mach needed to help her get there.
Not everyone can, or is willing to, donate a kidney โ that is truly an angelic act. But we all can be kind to one another and do the little things that make peopleโs lives around us that much better.