“I Was Meant to Do This”: Teacher’s Kidney Donation Saves a Father and Inspires a Community
At Crow Island Elementary School in Winnetka, Illinois, two teachers now share a bond that goes far beyond their profession. When social-emotional learning teacher Allie Szczecinski’s husband, Brad, went into kidney failure and urgently needed a transplant, her colleague—art teacher Lillian Johnston—didn’t hesitate.
“Allie, I filled out that form,” Lillian told her casually one morning at school. She was one of the first to volunteer.
But behind that simple sentence was a powerful story of empathy and calling. Years earlier, Johnston had faced her own health crisis and feared her children might grow up without a mom. That fear etched itself into her heart—and when she saw the chance to help another family avoid that pain, she knew what she had to do.
“The moment I filled out the form, I knew it was going to be me,” Johnston said. “I just had a really strong feeling like I was meant to do this.”
She had never even met Brad—but the connection felt spiritual. And in an extraordinary twist, Johnston turned out to be a perfect match.
“We don’t want our daughter and son to grow up without a dad,” said Brad. Now, with new energy and restored health, he has that chance.
This is more than a successful surgery—it’s a generational gift. A dad gets to raise his kids. A wife is no longer watching the clock. And a teacher, who once faced death herself, becomes a living example of selfless love.
“You can’t get through life by yourself; you need to lean on people,” Johnston said. “This is another example of that.”
One Thing Practice: Offer the Extraordinary
Not everyone can donate a kidney—but everyone can show up. Be bold in love. If your heart tugs you toward someone’s need, lean in. A life-giving moment may begin with a simple sentence: “I filled out the form.”
