Most of us will remember moments from our quarantine challenge with the coronavirus pandemic. They could include an act of kindness or a chance to give.

For one reading teacher in Newark, one such moment is a lesson to remember.

Mikey Davanzo has been a reading teacher for almost 13 years and is using video conferences to stay in touch with her students, like first-grader Josyah Fagner.

“We do words,” said Josyah, “…and it’s very, very fun.”

Mikey enjoys checking in with her students – but one recent call with Josyah came with a bit of a shock. On that call, Mikey saw what she thought was a shower curtain.

“And I was like, please no, tell me you’re not calling from a bathroom,” she recalled. “And so, All of a sudden, I’m like, ‘Where are you exactly?’ I see a doctor come from behind, and he had raised his hand and I had seen his hospital bracelets. And I was like, ‘Are you in the hospital?’”

Josyah was at Golisano Children’s Hospital, undergoing treatment for leukemia – which he was diagnosed with when he was just four-years-old. He is six now, and the added challenge of coronavirus has complicated his young life.

“Now, you have a little boy who’s going through treatment for leukemia, and he’s still making every single attempt to come on and meet with us every single lesson,” said Davanzo, “and every single lesson he’s smiling and puts forth a lot of effort. So, there’s lots of giggles and lots of laughs, but still lots of hard work.”

It’s hard work that comes from a boy who loves to make faces and has a smile that can capture your heart – a smile that reminds us that the challenges we face each day don’t seem so bad, and that a smile can carry us through the day. That smile, from a little boy in Newark, is a lesson to remember.

— 13WHAM