Teacher Cares For Newborn While Parents Recover From Coronavirus

STAMFORD, CT — While many teachers will often go above and beyond for their students, none have likely gone as far as Luciana Lira, a Stamford elementary school teacher who has been caring for her student's newborn baby brother. Lira works at Hart Magnet Elementary School, where she teaches English as a second language.

In a Facebook post, Lira's friend, Joy Colon, said the teacher received a call from the mother of one of her students in early April. The mother, identified in a GoFundMe for the family as Zully, told Lira she was going into labor and had tested positive for the new coronavirus.

According to the fundraiser, the mother was eight months pregnant when she tested positive for the virus, also referred to as COVID-19. After an emergency C-section, baby Neysel was born five weeks premature and his mom was put on a ventilator.

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On April 8, Lira was asked by the family to take Neysel home with her. Not long after, both the baby's father and brother, Lira's 7-year-old student, also tested for positive for the virus.

"[Lira] had only known this family since the beginning of the school year," Colon's Facebook post reads. "They were virtually strangers to one another, and yet my friend did what truly good people do; she said yes."

As Lira brought the baby home with her, his mother remained in the intensive care unit at Stamford Hospital.

"Zully's survival is a miracle," the GoFundMe reads. "The highly professional and caring doctors at Stamford Hospital worked around the clock to save her life. She spent three weeks fighting for her life, and it was only after she received the experimental plasma treatment that her situation started to change."

In a subsequent Facebook post on April 26, Lira said the mother was being discharged from the hospital and returning home to continue her recovery.

"My heart almost exploded with happiness and anxiety," Lira said on Facebook. "I could not believe the day we've been praying for was finally here!"

She also said she could not wait for the three family members to test negative so they could welcome their nearly 1-month old baby boy home.

The GoFundMe was organized to help the family with healthcare and living expenses as they continue their their "long road to recovery." As of Thursday afternoon, the page has raised over $26,000 toward a $35,000 goal thanks to contributions from over 500 donors. Those who wish to donate to the campaign can do so here.

"We're all at home, working and groping for an understanding of this new normal that caught all of us off guard, but this unselfish act reminds us that our humanity makes us all essential to each other," Colon's Facebook post reads.

Colon also noted that Lira was asked by nurses at the hospital how she was related to the baby, as she had been listed as a primary contact. Lira responded with a few simple words:

"I'm just a teacher."

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