A Minnesota third-grade teacher donated her kidney to the school’s custodian — who had a life-saving operation thanks to his guardian “angel.”
Kimball Elementary School teacher Erin Durga learned that Patrick Mertens, 64, was searching for a donor for a kidney transplant from a post on his daughter’s Facebook page, the Washington Post reported.
The pair had grown close from their talks in the evenings as Durga finished her work while Mertens cleaned the classroom, the outlet reported.
Feeling compelled to help, Durga, 38, underwent tests that confirmed she was a match.
“I felt in my heart, from the very beginning, that this was my thing,” Durga told the outlet.
“Once I decided that, yes, I’m going to donate to Pat, I felt really good about it, and I was at peace with it throughout the entire thing.”
Mertens’ family was overjoyed by the news.
“Who expects a teacher to give their kidney to a custodian?” his wife, Lynda, told the newspaper.
Then less than a month later, on July 3, the pair each underwent surgery at M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis.
“I told Erin, when I first woke up out of surgery, it was nothing I’ve ever felt before,” Mertens said. “It was a new life.”
They both recovered in time to return to their jobs when classes resumed in August.
Mertens said he can never fully describe his gratitude to the teacher, whom his wife refers to as their guardian angel.
“She’s our miracle, our angel,” Lynda said. “We’ll forever be grateful for her.”
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