Deaf students create quilt for teacher fighting
February 6, 2015
By LAUREN LEA News 4 San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO — Two Marshall High School students created a beautiful hand-made gift for one of their teachers who has endured so much heartache, and Thursday was the perfect day to give her the heartwarming present.
Senior Mercedes Mendoza is meticulous, carefully sewing the very last seams into place, while Nayeli Teran studies every stitch to make sure their project is perfect. “I’m really proud of myself because we made it.
I’m really proud that we were able to make this quilt for her,” Mendoza signed. She and Teran are both deaf and both love their former teacher who inspired this quilt.
“We really hope that she feels that we love her and we really support her and it’s kinda like we’re going to give her a big hug,” Teran signed.
Amber Peterson had no idea what was happening.
“We made this because we love you and we want to show how much we support you,” the girls’ interpreter said. With their quilt finally finished, they surprised Peterson this morning.
“I love you both so much,” Peterson said. The girls hope this quilt comforts her during her fight against Stage IV metastatic melanoma.
“It’s definitely something that I need going through treatment, because it’s a scary time. And as much as you’re surrounded by people, it’s still a lonely feeling,” Peterson said.
A sign of that support is the t-shirts other teachers donated for the quilt, but among all the Marshall maroon is another color and a hint of another heartache.
“The blue means so much,” Peterson said. “It represents my little angel Harry who passed away from SUDS [Sudden Unexplained Death Syndrome].”
Wearing blue is a sign of how she always carries Harry in her heart, and today’s the best day for this gift.
“It’s perfect timing because on the fourth of every month, we do, we ask that people do acts of kindness in his honor,” Peterson said. “Being given this on the fourth is amazing to receive an act of kindness.”
It’s an act of kindness she’ll carry with her, straight from the heart of two beloved students.
Students in Cristina Encina’s fashion class started the project but Mendoza and Teran took over because they both had Peterson as a teacher. She discovered she had cancer after the birth of her son William, who was born in October, a year after Harry passed away. “At the time I was given six months and a ten percent chance at ten years,”
Peterson explained. “I have decided that’s not going to be me. I am going to raise the odds. I am not going to be one of the 90 percent. I am going to be one of the ten percent.” Peterson is a Marshall High School graduate and has been a teacher there for seven years. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help her family with medical expenses, and you can donate by clicking here. You can also follow her journey through her Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/AmbersJourneyForLife
http://www.gofundme.com/petersonamber
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