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Friday, July 18, 2014

Priceless Act of Kindness

Jeff Leeland had just accepted a teaching position at Kamiakin Junior High in Seattle, Washington. The family had endured months of Dad’s driving to and from work before the family could relocate from their previous home.

As winter struggled toward spring in 1992, Jeff and his wife, Kristi, heard the devastating news: “Your baby boy has cancer. Michael needs a bone marrow transplant.” The good news was that Michael’s six-year-old sister, Amy, was a perfect match for the transplant. But Jeff’s insurance company wouldn’t pay for it. A tiny clause in the contract stated that Jeff had to be on the job for at least a year before insurance would cover a transplant. He had only been teaching in the new job for six months.

By March, Michael’s need for a transplant became urgent. If he couldn’t receive the new marrow soon, he would die. The Leelands needed to raise $200,000 by May.

Fellow teacher Joe Kennedy told his class about Leeland’s situation. Dameon, a seventh-grade boy who walked with a limp and struggled in special education classes, heard about Mr. Leeland’s son, Michael, and made a visit to Jeff’s house. “Mr. Leeland, if your baby is in trouble, I want to help,” he said. The kid others teased then stuffed twelve five-dollar bills into the hand of a teacher who had made a difference in his life. It was the boy’s life savings.

Word got out about Dameon’s gift. Some kids organized a walk-a-thon. Others called a local newspaper with the story. Some held a car wash.

The Kamiakin kids’ wave of compassion poured out across Seattle. On Friday, May 22, a man walked into the bank with a check for $10,000. One week after Dameon’s gift, Michael’s fund grew to $16,000. By late May, area TV stations picked up the story. By May 29, Michael’s fund grew to $62,000. The Leelands were boosted with hope when the hospital moved Michael’s transplant back by two weeks. By June 5, the fund had grown to $143,000; by June 8, $160,000; by June 9, $185,000. Only four weeks after Dameon’s gift of $60, the Michael Leeland Fund contained more than $220,000.

Michael got the marrow transplant and lived. Dameon accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior, partially due to his interaction with Michael’s family. Soon after that, Dameon died from complications following an infection in one of his legs.

Dameon, the unlikely hero, gave all his saving to save the life of another. But in all of these, he received life everlasting.

 — Based on a phone interview and 
Jeff Leeland’s account in One Small Sparrow 
(Multnomah, 2000)

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