Pre-school teacher donates her kidney to 5-yr-old student

• Kayleigh Kulage, five years old, was born with multiple health issues, one was having failing kidney which required 11 hours of dialysis every day.
• When Kayleigh reached the minimum height and weight requirement, a donor came: her own teacher.
• Robin Mach “didn’t think twice” donating her organ to her beloved student, hoping she’d inspire others to do the same.

Life has thrown many challenges to Kayleigh Kulage at an early age, but it has also surely provided ways out.

Since she was born, Kayleigh has undergone different surgeries, dialysis treatments, and doctor’s appointments. Born premature at 26 weeks, she spent more than 150 days in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Kayleigh was also diagnosed with partial blindness, a weak immune system and failing kidneys, which required 11 hours of dialysis treatment every day.

When Kayleigh, now five years old, reached the required minimum height and weight of the kidney transplant, a donor appeared — her very own teacher, Robin Mach.

Robin is an early childhood special education teacher who had been teaching the little girl for more than two years now. When she found out about Kayleigh’s condition, she “didn’t think twice” to offer up her organ.

Kayleigh’s parents, Josh and Desiree Kulage who had been so desperate to find their daughter a new kidney, were overjoyed over Robin’s kind offer.

“I just asked Desiree one day, because I knew Kayleigh really needed it, so I thought, ‘Why not try?’” 46-year-old Robin said.

It seemed that everything had been orchestrated for this thing to happen. Robin’s kidney matched Kayleigh’s need of a small kidney for her body, as Kayleigh is small for her age, only weighing in at 26 lbs and standing at about two feet and 10 inches tall, while Robin is under five feet.

“I was so relieved and excited when I found out because Kayleigh’s kidney was coming from someone we knew,” Desiree, 34, told PEOPLE.

The operation done in February was successful. Desiree said that her daughter had recovered fast and was “moving and grooving to go” right after she woke up, adding that Kayleigh is “an extremely resilient kid.”

Robin took no credit for what she did, and even wished that people will realize “how easy it is to donate” an organ, and that they will be inspired to do the same.

“If a kid needs a backpack or shoes at school, I get them the backpack or shoes,” she said. “It’s kind of the same thing … Kayleigh needed a kidney, and whatever she needs, I’m going to give it to her.”

And Kayleigh’s parents? They were so grateful to Robin they will “never find the right words” to thank her.

Source: PEOPLE.com