• Home
  • Diocese
  • Bishop Burns
  • Synod
  • Columnists
  • Revista Catolica
  • Vatican
  • Subscribe
The Texas Catholic
The Texas Catholic

Dallas, Texas

Today is Sunday, March 26, 2023
  • Home
  • Diocese
  • Bishop Burns
  • Synod
  • Columnists
  • Revista Catolica
  • Vatican
  • Subscribe
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Instagram
Home
Diocese

Students offer hope, well-wishes for ailing classmate

Friday, March 3, 2017

Seth Gonzales
The Texas Catholic

RICHARDSON — With an air of celebration, anxiety and hope, St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School bid a temporary farewell to fifth-grader Nicole Hall during an all-school assembly on Feb. 17, as she began preparing for a kidney transplant set to take place on March 14. Her father, Aaron, will be the donor.

Principal Darbie Safford said news that a transplant had finally been scheduled was a relief for the entire school — and a cause for celebration.

“My first reaction was to ask Stephanie (Nicole’s mother) if we could do something in her honor to celebrate her as a part of our community and really recognize that we’re all in this together,” Safford said. “It’s been a long fight and we’re finally getting to the point where she’s about to have this procedure. Hopefully that opens up a new window in her life.”

Hall, a student at St. Paul since preschool, has been battling cystinosis, a rare genetic disorder in which an excess of the amino acid cystine causes the gradual breakdown of every major organ in the body. There is no cure for the disease but Hall is receiving treatments to help mitigate its symptoms and slow its progress, including the use of a feeding tube.

With Hall’s kidneys functioning somewhere around 20-25 percent, the hope is that a transplant will boost that number significantly and provide Hall with much greater stamina.

Speaking to more than 300 students, teachers and faculty clad in pink shirts and packed into the school’s gymnasium, Dallas Catholic Schools Superintendent Matthew Vereecke told the Halls they have the prayers of many in the diocese, including Bishop Edward J. Burns.

“We care about you and we love you,” Vereecke said. “We think about every one of our kids in Catholic schools every day and when you’re hurting we’re hurting which is why we’re here. This is a day for hope and it’s a day we’re so excited we can be a part of and share to tell you how much we love you and care about you.”

Hall’s mother said the school’s gesture, which included a music video featuring students and faculty, a singing performance by classmates and a teacher-led flash mob, was deeply moving for Hall, who appeared overwhelmed by the school’s support.

“Friday made it very real for her,” she said. “She is cognizant that the first week is behind her and knows that there are two left.”

The day was also poignant for the students, especially those who have known Hall since preschool. One of those students is fifth-grader Annie Sutton, whom Hall’s mother described as Hall’s “guardian angel” of seven years.

Sutton’s mother, Melissa, said her daughter is very protective of Hall and sometimes struggles to understand why she is suffering.

“The whole week before Nicole was leaving she would mention it to me,” Sutton said. “Every once in a while she would break down and start to cry and tell me, ‘Mom I just want her to be OK.’ ”

When the assembly ended and the crowd dispersed, Hall and her mother handed out a special gift to the school’s teachers — homemade cookies in the shape of a kidney. It was gesture of comfort from Hall to those who had long been comforting her.

“We’ve watched Nicole go through a lot of very difficult things since she’s been here,” Safford said. “But anytime something scary comes up you have two choices: you can worry or you can pray. We’ve chosen to pray.”

  • Tags
  • video
Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest
Next article Father Esposito: A journey through the Lenten season with Qoheleth
Previous article A Celebration of Hope at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School

Related Posts

Sharing faith through music Diocese
Friday, March 24, 2023

Sharing faith through music

Making wishes come true Diocese
Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Making wishes come true

Bishop offers dispensation for St. Patrick’s Day Diocese
Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Bishop offers dispensation for St. Patrick’s Day

Texas Catholic Classics

A look at the five Dallas law enforcement officers who gave their lives while protecting citizens during a mass shooting in downtown Dallas in July 2016.

 

How a child with special needs inspired a high school volleyball team, community and a family who heeded God’s call to protect life.

 

After a young runner collapsed at a Dallas marathon, grace and providence unfolded for those involved in the valiant effort to help her.

   

In the summer of 2016, 50 students and 25 chaperones from Dallas Catholic high schools traveled to Nicaragua for a 10-day mission trip.

 

Early on a November morning, Kenndrick Mendieta bounded from the gym at Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep toward the campus’ athletic fields as clouds lifted on a fresh new day.

 

Subscribe

Get the award-winning Texas Catholic delivered to your door. Use the menu below to subscribe now.


Subscription length




 

Photo Gallery

Click here to find your favorite Texas Catholic photographs.

The Texas Catholic Newspaper

Catholic Diocese of Dallas
Michael Gresham, Editor

3725 Blackburn Street
Dallas, Texas 75219
(214) 379-2800

Our Affiliated Sites

Texas Catholic Youth

Revista Católica

Legal and Other

Contact us

Terms of service

Privacy policy

Site map

Site powered by TexasCatholicMedia

© 2013-2019 The Texas Catholic Publishing Company. All rights reserved.