Jan 14, 2008 4:50 pm US/Central
Mansfield School Grants Mom's Last Wish
MANSFIELD (CBS 11 News) ―
Mary Jo Sheppard
Elementary School in Mansfield was changed by one woman. And for one day, the school changed for
her.
Despite a deadly illness, Machele
Jones spends a lot of time at her children's school. And even though she has battled her cancer for
five years she brings energy and smiles to the campus.
"She, at this
point, has a brain tumor," said faculty member Nikki Wright. "But I think it's also in her breasts
again. And so, as her "Make-a-Wish"
she decided she would like to go to Italy.
Her husband's job was going to pay for her to go somewhere so there was
no charge. But her doctors declined and
said she couldn't go. So we decided upon
hearing that that if she couldn't go to Italy we were going to bring italy to
her."
The main office of the
school was transformed into what looked like it might be an Italian Chamber of
Commerce. Hand-drawn maps of various
regions of the country lined the walls.
Each map was lined with photos of landmarks from the region. There was a wicker wrapped bottle of Cianti
wine -- empty, of course -- next to photo books of Italy. A long table in a hallway was full of various
types of Italian food, all donated by restaurants or made by teachers. Nearby, a small office was transformed into a
cozy Italian restaurant complete with Italian art on the walls, a candle
centerpiece and red and white checkered place settings.
Machele Jones arrived
at the school with no idea of what was about to happen.
"Hey, welcome to
Italy!" Wright said as she embraced Jones at the office door. "You couldn't go to Italy so we brought
it to you."
Jones began crying as
she saw the handmade Italian flag on the door and group of faculty waiting
inside with grins on their faces.
"I'm so happy to
see you smiling!" said one staff member as she clicked a picture.
"Oh my God. This
is just unbelievable! I'm just blown
away," Jones said, still crying.
"Don't cry! It's a good thing," Wright said as she led
Jones into the office. "You make us happy, so we're going to make you
happy! These are all the different
places you wanted visit but couldn't.
Well, you're here today. All in
one room."
Italian music played
as they led Jones and her family into the "Bistro" and served plates
of spaghetti.
"I'm
speechless. I didn't realize I did so
much," Jones said, with tears streaming down her face. "I just tried to be myself. I didn't realize I'd touched so many
people."
It wasn't her dream
trip to Italy.
"This is
better," Jones said. "This is so much better."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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