Some of us are lucky enough to have co-workers that we consider a part of our "work family", but one 3rd grade teacher in Minnesota is taking the definition of "work family" to a whole new level, showing all of us up. Patrick Mertens is the custodian at Kimball Elementary and he needed a kidney. His daughter posted a request on Facebook, and third grade teacher Erin Durga saw he was in need and immediately started getting tested.
When she found out she was a match, there was no question that she was ready to help. Erin says that when she was a kid, her father was a school band director and the advice he gave her was to always befriend the building workers. She really took that advice to heart. When she found out she was a match, she showed up at his front door with a tank top on that read "donor." She even set up a Go Fund Me page to help support his dialysis treatments. Thankfully, the transplant was a success! And Patrick and Erin were able to recover and return to school welcomed by each of their students and a poster that they had all signed.
Patricks says Erin has given him a new life, and will forever call her his angel. Our challenge to you today is to build relationships in your life like Patrick and Erins, one that shows you unconditional support no matter what the cost is to them.
