Lily Woo has never been one to hesitate when someone is need of her help. Even when nothing is expected of her, she’s often the first person to step up in times of crisis. This can be seen in her 45 years as an educator. For 25 of those years, she was principal of P.S. 130, located in Lower Manhatten. This is the role she had when the 9/11 attacks happened.
During this time, Lily became a beacon of light for countless children. For students with parents who could not pick them up, Lily stayed by their side, helping to provide the care they needed. To do so, she stayed at the school overnight for three days. Still, if you ask Lily, she simply did what her role called her to do.
“I did what I thought was my responsibility, as a head of school, and as someone like a surrogate parent for the kids who were left in my charge,” Lily explains.
After so many years of showing genuine care for her students, it’s no wonder that those very kids, many of which are adults now, are taking the time to help her in return. In 2018, Lily was diagnosed with Stage 4 Chronic Kidney Disease. Eventually, she was upgraded to Stage 5 End Stage Renal Disease (ERSD).
During this time, she’d spend 10 hours on dialysis a day. Then, last May, she received a new kidney from a donor who had passed away. While this changed her life for the better for a while, this kidney is failing, too. Now, Lily is in desperate need of a kidney donation from a living donor.
“With a good kidney, it can extend my life for another 20 years,” Lilly says.
Beloved Educator Lily Woo Gets Much Needed Support From Her Community
This is the outcome Lily’s community is determined to make happen. To do so, the school has signage on display in hopes of locating a selfless donor. There’s also a Facebook page, Lily Woo got a Kidney, that’s dedicated to this cause. Here, you can find updates on this beloved teacher’s journey as well as images to help spread the word.
“It’s nice if they can help me — that would be great — but don’t think about just helping me,” Lily says. “Help anyone that you care for that needs something like this.”
To learn more about Lily, and to find out if your a qualified donor, check out her page on the National Kidney Registry.
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here!
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