Kelly Klein has taught at Falcon Heights elementary school for the past 30 years. Even now battling her second round of Cancer she continues to teach her kindergarten class over Zoom in between her chemotherapy treatments.

This past Tuesday Klein got a surprise visit from Ellen DeGeneres appearing on her show virtually. Kelly explained five years ago, she was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer, and on the five-year anniversary of being initially diagnosed she found out the ovarian cancer had returned. Her oncologist has given her 10 to 15 years to live.

Klein went on to say:

It's been devastating to my family and, you know, I try to make every day that I have special. I thought, I can do this. I go to the hospital and it's kind of a depressing place ... I just thought I want to make the most of my time while I'm there. And what better way than to spend four or five hours than with 5 year olds.

After being diagnosed again Klein begged the principal to let her keep teaching so she would not have to take a leave of absence this year and the district granted her the distance teaching position for kindergarten.

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Word has spread around the Falcon Heights community about Klein's cancer fight and parents and some former students from 20 years ago have reached out to her. Besides being on the Ellen show and given a platform to spread the word about cancer awareness, she was also given something by Ellen at the end of the show.

In reading this story and watching her interview with Ellen, Kelly sure shows the kindness and strength that I think so many of us would find hard to muster given her circumstances. And the fact that every bit of energy she has left she devotes to these little kids. Being a teacher is hard work, but one thing that is for sure is that the group of kids she is working with right now are learning some life lessons that no average teacher in any classroom could help them learn. Click on the video below to watch her interview with Ellen.

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