JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Time now for "My Unsung Hero," our series from the team at Hidden Brain. "My Unsung Hero" tells the stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone else. Today's story comes from Janet Kahn-Scolaro. In 2013, Kahn-Scolaro's sister, Susan Kahn, was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. And about a year later, she was admitted to a hospital in Bronxville, N.Y.
JANET KAHN-SCOLARO: It was at that time that her 17-year-old daughter was getting ready to graduate from high school. We realized that my sister was probably not going to make it to her graduation. It was at that time that the hospital staff and a few of my sister's friends decided that they would get together and host a high school graduation from my niece in the hospital. At first, I thought I could not bear to stand there and watch this happen in front of me, but I realized that the hospital staff was giving us the greatest gift ever. So a week before the real graduation, the hospital staff cleared out a room, created a walkway. The school staff came, gave my niece her cap and gown, diploma and flowers, just as it would be for the typical graduation and preceded a commencement in the middle of the hospital. They even had a snack room for us.
My sister rallied that day, and so did the rest of us. Sadly, she did die before the full high school graduation. But she was able to see and experience her joy of watching her daughter graduate and going on to her dream college. I'm not sure that the hospital administration or staff could fathom what it meant to my family to give this gift to my sister and her daughter. But I'm forever grateful.
SUMMERS: Janet Kahn-Scolaro of Rockville Centre, N.Y. You can find more stories like this one on the "My Unsung Hero" podcast.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.