Teacher who donated kidney to student returns to work

Timothy Mind
Warroad eighth-grader Timothy Mindl sits with teacher Sherri Harder in his undated photo. Harder, a business teacher at Warroad High School, donated a kidney to Mindl on Nov. 18
Photo Courtesy of Sherri Harder

A high school business teacher in Warroad will return to work Thursday, nearly a month after donating one of her kidneys to an eighth-grade student at the school.

Eighth-grader Timothy Mindl was born with several medical problems that led to a dire need for a new kidney this year. When teacher Sherri Harder read about Mindl's plight in the local paper, she immediately signed up to see if she was a match. Harder knew Mindl's mother pretty well, but had never had Timothy as a student.

"I think they purposely made the actual surgery later than what we wanted it to be; I think they just wanted me to have time to completely process it," Harder said. "But I've never had a moment where I thought of turning back."

For Harder, Thursday will be her first day back in the classroom since the surgery about a month ago. Mindl is still recovering in Rochester, but could be home in Warroad by week's end.

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