A Connecticut elementary school teacher is caring for a student's infant brother while the family recovers from COVID-19
- Luciana Lira, a bilingual /ESL teacher in Stamford, Connecticut, became a temporary guardian for the baby brother of one of her 7-year-old students at the beginning of April.
- The boy's mother, Zully, had called her on April 1 telling her she was experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
- Zully, who was eight months pregnant at the time, later tested positive for the virus, and was told she'd need an emergency C-section.
- Her husband and son later tested positive for COVID-19, but the newborn tested negative.
- Lira has been taking care of the baby for a month, and plans on continuing to do so until the family tests negative for COVID-19.
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An elementary school teacher in Connecticut is caring for her 7-year-old student's infant brother while the boy's family recovers from COVID-19.
Luciana Lira, a bilingual /ESL teacher at Hart Magnet Elementary in Stamford, Connecticut, became a temporary guardian for the baby at the beginning of April, according to NBC News.
Lira was contacted by her student Junior's mother, Zully, on April 1. Zully, a Guatemalan asylum seeker who asked media organizations not to reveal her last name, was eight months pregnant at the time. She had called Lira to tell her she had COVID-19 symptoms, and asked her to call her husband.
Upon going to the hospital, Zully tested positive for COVID-19 and was told she would need an emergency C-section.
Lira only knew Zully and her husband, Marvin, through parent-teacher conferences, but jumped to help in any way she could.
"I did not think twice about it. ... When that mom called me asking for help, it did not even come across my mind not to say 'yes,'" she told NBC News.
The baby, named Neysel, was born five weeks early on April 2. Days later, Marvin and Junior also tested positive for COVID-19, ABC New York reported.
Lira stayed by the family's side and worked as a translator between them and the doctors. When the baby was ready to go home, she offered to take care of him while the family recovered.
The family agreed, and now Lira has been caring for the baby at home for more than a month, alongside her husband and son. She is in regular contact with Zully, Marvin, and the child's grandmother in Guatemala.
Lira told CNN that she's in contact with the family "a thousand times a day," and they can't wait to have Neysel home.
"The family is amazing. I mean, amazing. They love their baby, they can't wait to be reunited," she said.
Zully was in critical condition at Stamford Hospital for several weeks, and is now recovering at home. She and her husband have yet to test negative for COVID-19, and Lira plans on caring for Neysel until they do.
Lira also set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to help the family, and so far it has raised more than $26,000.
"We care about our students we care about their families and everybody needs to know we're here for them and just want to help," Lira told ABC New York.