Students Help Ill Teacher Feel Appreciated

POSTED: 6:21 pm EST November 8, 2007
UPDATED: 6:58 pm EST November 8, 2007

Video: Teacher With ALS Gets Letters From Former Students

MONROE, Ohio -- A teacher who has touched many lives needs a miracle to save hers.

Friends and family want repay math teacher Mary Jo Hyatt, who was diagnosed with cancer six years ago and developed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis during chemotherapy, for all she's done for them.

“She's completely selfless, totally giving,” said one student.


“She's one in a million,” said another student. “I’m incredibly fortunate to have her in my life.”

Hyatt, a teacher at Middletown and Monroe high schools, has become paralyzed by the disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, but her husband said she remains as sharp as ever.

Bill Hyatt, said he wanted his wife of 38 years to know how much she’s admired, rather than wait for a memorial service she can’t appreciate.

“In circumstances like this, I think it's helpful and important to know that,” he said.

Letters from friends, family and students have poured in, and the Hyatts sit together to read them.

To share your thoughts, send a letter to Mary Jo Hyatt, PO Box 111, Monroe, OH 45050.