Teddy... The Boy Who Made a Difference

[FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I]

as she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. however, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named teddy stoddard.

mrs. thompson had watched teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. in addition, teddy could be unpleasant. it got to the point where mrs. thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold x's and then putting a big "f" at the top of his papers.

at the school where mrs. thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put teddy's off until last. however, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. he does his work neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be around.."

his second grade teacher wrote, "teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."

his third grade teacher wrote, "his mother's death has been hard on him. he tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest, and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."

teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. he doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class."

by now, mrs. thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. she felt even worse when her students brought her christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for teddy's. his present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. mrs. thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. but she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on he r wrist. teddy stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "mrs. thompson, today you smelled just like my mom used to."

after the children left, she cried for at least an hour. on that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. instead, she began to teach children. mrs. thompson paid particular attention to teddy. as she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. the more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. by the end of the year, teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, teddy became one of her "teacher's pets.."

a year later, she found a note under her door, from teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

six years went by before she got another note from teddy. he then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.

four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. he assured mrs. thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.

then four more years passed and yet another letter came. this time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. the letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. but now his name was a little longer.... the letter was signed, theodore f. stoddard, md.

the story does not end there. you see, there was yet another letter that spring. teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. he explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if mrs. thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. of course, mrs. thompson did. and guess what? she wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last christmas together.

they hugged each other, and dr. stoddard whispered in mrs. thompson's ear, "thank you mrs. thompson for believing in me. thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that i could make a difference."

mrs. thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. she said, "teddy, you have it all wrong. you were the one who taught me that i could make a difference. i didn't know how to teach until i met you."

(for you that don't know, teddy stoddard is the dr. at iowa methodist in des moines that has the stoddard cancer wing.)

[unknown99, BSN, RN]

Oh Fran....

Thank you for that very heartwarming story. I cried, smiled, and genuinely felt good after reading it!!

[truern]

Dang it, Fran....first a tearjerker on TV had me bawling, and now this

[lucky4timesover]

That was a beautiful story. Made me cry, but beautiful none the less. Thank you for sharing.:)

Sunny

[DianeS, RN]

Thank you Fran, I needed to cry tonight.

[HONEYBEAR]

I needed a good cry, thank you

[RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN]

Oh, this was soooo beautiful. Brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for sharing. :)

[Nathalie]

what a beautiful story....i can actually relate to it. this happened to me when i was in high school. i was a "teddy". My teachers didnt understand why i would not show up to class or why i would be withdrawn and seem not interested. Except i was a little older and therefor i was able to explain myself. My brother had just passed away that august 6th and I had to start school 22 days later. My brother was supposed to be graduating high school with me that year and he wasnt. So it was very hard for me. Luckily my teachers and the people around me understood and with a little patience and guidance, I was able to pull through my senior year!!!!!:)

[FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I]

what a beautiful story....i can actually relate to it. this happened to me when i was in high school. i was a "teddy". My teachers didnt understand why i would not show up to class or why i would be withdrawn and seem not interested. Except i was a little older and therefor i was able to explain myself. My brother had just passed away that august 6th and I had to start school 22 days later. My brother was supposed to be graduating high school with me that year and he wasnt. So it was very hard for me. Luckily my teachers and the people around me understood and with a little patience and guidance, I was able to pull through my senior year!!!!!:)

Thank you for sharing that with us sweetie. It is things like this that makes us nurses. We really do care.

[rn in 3 years]

I really shouldn't read these while at work Beautiful story. Thanks for sharing!

[Areinn]

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but unfortunately this is an urban legend.. I saw this story long ago... It is a beatiful story and I am sure there are teachers that have inspired big changes in a child's life. But, no specfic truth to this and no connection to the hospital mentioned in the story.

[aimeee, BSN, RN]

Yes, it is a heartwarming story, but complete fiction:

http://www.snopes.com/glurge/teddy.htm

There is no Dr. Teddy (or Theodore) Stoddard working at the John Stoddard Cancer Center at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. Moreover, that facility was named for John Stoddard, a real estate developer who donated money for the center after his own battle with cancer.

This work of fiction was penned by Elizabeth Silance Ballard in 1976 and published that year in Home Life magazine. The author's intent was far from unclear-the piece was clearly marked as fiction and was presented as such, not as an account of a personal experience.

During his 2001 interview with the author, Dennis Roddy uncovered the backstory.

A friend who was filling in as a Sunday School teacher received a gift of cheap perfume and a broken rhinestone bracelet from a grubby little boy one Christmas, and afterwards told Ungar about it. Ungar combined this incident with one from her own childhood: her Christmas gift of hand-picked pecans to her long-ago elementary school teacher. The box of the pecans had caused the other children to laugh derisively, but the teacher soon quelled them with the announcement she was making fruitcakes and these nuts were exactly what she'd been lacking. Her teacher's compassionate response coupled with her friend's story formed the basis for the work of fiction we now know as "Three Letters From Teddy." Teddy's last name came from this origin: The surname of the grandmother who urged young Elizabeth to bring pecans to her teacher (Stanley) was combined with the author's then surname (Ballard) to form "Stallard."