The first day of school is supposed to be an exciting experience. For many students, however, it is also a scary one because of all the new things they are about to discover and all those new people they are about to meet.
As most of the parents of preschoolers and first graders can’t wait for their little ones to start a new chapter in their life, one mom named Brittany Denison had her concerns for her son’s first day of kindergarten.
Her boy, 5-year-old Michael Murphey is born with a condition known as Treacher Collins syndrome characterized by distinctive abnormalities of the head and face. It affects people’s breathing, hearing, and eating, but it doesn’t in any way affect their mental capabilities. Speaking of Michael, Brittany says he’s very clever, maybe even more clever than most children his age.
As Michael was getting ready to start kindergarten, Brittany decided to share a plea on Facebook. She started her post with a quote from the 2017 movie Wonder; “Dear God, please make them be nice to him.”
She asked parents to teach their kids to be accepting and kind towards those that are somehow different. Instead of using words as “weird or scary,” she asked them to teach their little ones to use words such “different and unique.”
However, little did she know that her message would reach to so many people.
On August 16, as Michael was about to leave his home and embark on the adventure called kindergarten, a group of special people who had gathered in front of his house were waiting to make his day one of the most memorable ones.
Police officers and fire fighters were there to accompany Michael to schools. But they weren’t alone. Inside the huge fire truck, there were two of Michael’s favorite superheroes, Batman and Captain America.
Michael was overwhelmed and couldn’t hide his excitement. He and his sister Alison climbed into the fire truck and got to sound the sirens.
The moment they got to Mountain Peak Elementary, the principal and a group of teachers and students were waiting to greet the firefighters and the officers. As the superheroes were giving high-fives to the kids, Michael’s teacher, Mrs. Pearson, welcomed him with a hug.
“Then we walked him inside and I wiped a few tears from my eyes before dropping him off with his classmates,” Brittany wrote on Facebook. She was extremely thankful to everyone involved in making her son’s day the best ever.
Midlothian firefighter Andrew Gatlind was the one who stumbled upon Brittany’s post and organized everything after he shared his plans with Fire Chief Dale McCaskill who contacted the family.
“You don’t know what everyone’s going through,” he told NBC5. “So if you see somebody struggling, or if you see an opportunity to step in and be that hero for somebody, do it. You never know whose life you’re gonna touch or change.”
What an incredible thing to do. Thank you!
