ST. LOUIS, Missouri (First Alert 4) – A fourth-grader in the Granite City School District is happy to be back in school eight months after a life-saving liver transplant.
Orlando Bairfield, 9, is a fourth-grader at Frohardt Elementary School. After a transplant, illnesses and setbacks, it has been a long year for the nine-year-old.
First Alert 4 first met Orlando in March, when classmates held a drive-thru parade for him down the school’s circle drive. Still recovering from his transplant in January, Orlando became closer to his school friends than ever before.
After months in the hospital and recovering at home, Orlando walked into Frohardt Elementary School on Monday morning, maskless and without social distancing, excited to see his friends again.
“I don’t have to wear a mask anymore and I still have to take my medication. I think my recovery is going really well now,” he said.
Although he still takes medication daily, the opportunity to be in the classroom with his friends and teachers is a highlight of his tumultuous year.
“I’m looking forward to physical education and being back in school and in class. I like my teacher and my friends,” he said.
Julie Matarelli begins her first year as principal of Frohardt Elementary, but already knows Orlando well.
“He’s kind of like the ‘Mr. Mayor of the School’ of the Frohardt School,” she laughed. “He knows everyone, he loves to dance, he loves to sing, so he brings so much joy to our school culture.”
She wants to focus on continuing to create a positive school climate where students feel safe and secure. Many of Orlando’s friends, now in his fourth grade class, helped decorate for his parade last spring.
These efforts are an example of the friendly and attentive students and staff who walk the halls, Matarelli said.
“I think a positive culture and a positive school climate are important. It’s a feeling,” she said. “You might be able to see it, but it’s really about students and staff feeling it.”
It is a feeling that Orlando has not forgotten, even five months later.
“I enjoyed the parade because it was the best day,” he said. “It was the best day ever.”
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