More than two dozen students from Wisconsin reportedly gathered outside a hospital Nov. 3 to sing worship songs for their teacher who is diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer.
The Christian Headlines said 26 first and second-grade students were accompanied by their parents outside the entrance of the Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee to visit their teacher Carol Mack. The students stood at the entrance singing worship songs.
Mack, a teacher for 45 years at the Christ Lutheran School of Big Bend, was admitted at the Aurora Health Care due to cancer after she became too weak to continue teaching this year. The hospital posted about the visit in their Facebook page on Nov. 4.
"Yesterday, 26 students lined up outside the hospital entrance. Carol was there to greet her current and former students, including some of their parents whom she also taught, and hear the kids sing worship songs to her," Aurora Health said.
Aurora Health Care explained that Mack's fellow teachers and friends who wanted her to be reunited with her students again since she needs to be moved to a hospice due to her condition. The visit became a reality through the help of Aurora St. Luke, Mack's school, and Mack's care team.
Mack expressed gratitude for the visit that made her feel "very special." She raised hopes that people would see this as wonderful expression of love between students and teachers.
"It was overwhelming and very special. I hope people see how much these kids and their teacher loved each other and how our school community came together," Mack said.
The center's post on the students' visit included photos showing the students coming up to their teacher one after the other and their teacher embracing them back while wearing their masks. The heartwarming photos evoked positive responses from the Aurora Health Care online community while parents commented how they found it "such a sweet moment."
One of Mack's care team members, Luiza Campols, revealed in an interview with CBS 58 that they were very happy for aiding the students' visit. She said it was very "rewarding" and that it touched her a lot.
"When I saw her and the kids singing, it was the most rewarding thing. We were very lucky to be a part of that. It was the most beautiful, touching thing," Campols said.
Mack's occupational therapist from Aurora St. Luke, Nicole Bartnik, on the other hand disclosed that Mack had no kids and the scene she saw during the visit was a "true blessing."
"(She) didn't have children of her own but has more kids than she could ever count. To see so much love coming back to somebody that is so selfless and deserving...it is a true blessing," Bartnik said.
Mack, in her staff biography, indicated that she has always dreamed of being a teacher in a Lutheran School and regards being part of Christ In Big Bend a big part of her life. She said she went straight into teaching after graduating from DMLC and could easily recall the very first day she walked into her classroom.
"I still remember walking into "my" classroom for the very first time. My dream of teaching children in a Lutheran School was about to come true. This is what I went to college for and I was ready for the challenge," Mack said.
Readers are urged to pray for teacher Mack's healing and recovery.
