The following story restores faith in humanity.
Marvin and Zully Flores, Guatemalan asylum seekers living in Stamford, Connecticut, found themselves in an unenviable situation. Zully was pregnant and about to give birth to a premature baby while battling COVID-19. The family’s financial situation was also bad because they lost their jobs due to the ongoing pandemic. With no family by their side and no one to turn to, Zully decided to contact her 7-year-old son’s school teacher, Luciana Lira, 42.
When Lira got a call from her student Junior Flores’ mother, she didn’t know what to expect. “‘Miss Lira?’ Zully whispered in Spanish. ‘I need help.’”
According to ABC7, “The family reportedly told Lira there was no one in the country who could help them and had listed her as their emergency contact.”
Sill unaware of what the family would ask from her, Lira listened carefully. Zully then explained how she had COVID-19, and her husband and son were probably infected as well. She then gave Lira Marvin’s phone number and asked her to call him so that he could explain what was going on in more detail.
The father explained how they were all concerned for the baby’s well being, having in mind the fact they had the virus, so he asked if Lira could take care of the little bundle of joy until his mother feels better.
According to The Hartford Courant reports, “At the time, Lira wouldn’t have known Marvin if she walked into him. Her only contact with him was seeing him in the distance on parent-teacher conference night, waving hello.”
Except for the fact she was their son’s teacher, Lira wasn’t in any other way related to the family. She wasn’t even close to them, yet, she was the closest thing to a family they had.
Although it seemed like a huge deal at first, Lira simply couldn’t say no to the Flores family.
When the baby was born, Marvin and Junior was told they did have the virus, so they proceeded with the plan to give the little one to Lira.
“All he could do is cry. And cry. And cry,” Lira said of baby Neysel who was born prematurely and was just five days old when she took him home from the hospital. “He said, ‘She was five weeks early. I’m just terrified. I don’t know what’s going on in my life.’”
Being bilingual, Lira also helped the family communicate with the doctors at the hospital.
This kindhearted teacher, along with her husband Alex, organized a GoFundMe page to help the Flores family.
Zully was critical at one point and doctors feared for her life, but she’s now home recovering. However, her baby is still not by her side because she’s still unable to take care of him, but she watches her precious jewel via Zoom. We hope she will be able to take Neysel home as soon as possible.
One of Lira’s friends, Joy Colon, wrote on Facebook:
“This unselfish act reminds us that 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. The nurses at the hospital asked my friend if she was the mother’s sister, or perhaps, a cousin as she was listed as the primary contact, Luciana Lira responded, ‘I’m just a teacher.’”
Well, to the Flores family, Lira is more than “just a teacher,” for them, she’s family.
It is true when they say that “it takes a village to raise a child,” don’t you agree?
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Bored Daddy
Love and Peace