With his nine-year-old daughter receiving warning after warning from school, Phillip was desperate to do something. He had no idea what his daughter, Isabella was up to and why she wasn’t going to school on time.
So, one day he decided to follow her- everything was going smoothly, he saw his daughter get on the school bus on time and arrive at school right on time but as all the kids left the bus – his daughter was nowhere to be found and that is when the dad began to panic!
A Happy Family
Philip and Patrica Pieri always wanted to have a family and when the couple was blessed with a daughter, Isabella, they felt complete. The two of them were devoted parents to their little girl and tried their best to give Isabella the best life, despite struggling financially.
The family lived in Utah in a small town where they had a strong network of friends and family. Phillip spent his days and sometimes even nights working, trying to provide for his family while Patricia spent her time taking care of the home and of course, Isabella.
A Sad Twist
Life was tough but manageable for the couple but that was all about to change. When Isabella was only three years old, Patricia received a dire diagnosis which shook the family to the core.
The strong mother was determined to fight back and she did just that for six years but sadly, she ended up losing her battled and passed away. This was a loss that broke Phillip and changed Isabella forever.
The Dark Reality
Phillip had lost his rock, his best friend and his support system. His whole understanding and expectation of his life shifted and worst of all, he didn’t know how to be a dad anymore and felt like he was “failing” his daughter!
Isabella herself went on a journey, full of grief and confusion. The young girl had lost her mother before she had even gotten to know her and now was living with a father who she didn’t even recognise anymore.
Fighting Back
After a year lost to grief, Phillip knew he had to change. He had to get stronger – not for himself but for Isabella. The single dad forced himself to forget about his own pain to be there for his daughter.
He now had to learn how to be both a mother and father to Isabella and to say it was a challenge would be an understatement. As we mentioned above, the family was already struggling financially and now Phillip had to deal with the crippling cost of his late wife’s hospital bills while discovering how to be a better parent to his daughter.
Adapting
Of course, Phillip wasn’t the only one who had to change and adapt. Isabella losing her mother at such a tender age, forced the young girl to mature faster. She became independent and at times, even helped her father deal with their loss.
After two years, the two of them had managed to finally find a rhythm. Phillip had found a better job but his hours were tight and this meant that he wasn’t able to be there while Isabella went to school in the morning.
New Routine
Most kids her age would have buckled at being alone in the morning but not Isabella, she quietly accepted the responsibility of getting herself ready for school every day without any help.
The independent little girl woke herself up every morning, made her own breakfast and got ready alone. Things weren’t easy but she soldiered on and Phillip couldn’t have been prouder of his daughter!
The First Warning
Just as the father was finally learning how to be happy, the first warning slip arrived. Initially, he didn’t think much about it. It was a simple Late Slip issued by Isabella’s school and he thought it was okay to not give his daughter a hard time about it since it was the first one she had ever received.
However, the first warning was soon followed by another and another! Two weeks in a row, Isabella had gotten late slips! And when Phillip asked her about it, Isabella had no explanation – she actually refused to explain what was even happening!
The Next Step
The father was getting worried. Not only was Isabella not acting like herself, but the school warnings also were rather insistent that his daughter could not be late anymore for school or she might be suspended!
Things were getting worst every day and Phillip unsuccessfully tried to change his work hours to drive Isabella to school himself. With his young daughter’s changing moods, Phillip was stumped. What to do next?
Following Her
Phillip decided to take a day off work without telling Isabella and decided to follow her to school! He wasn’t really proud of himself for doing this but with his daughter a blank wall and suspension hanging over her head, the desperate father had to do something.
He wanted to see if Isabella really did follow the routine Phillip had set out for her and to his complete surprise, she did! She was on the bus exactly at the right time. Phillip wondered if somehow, Isabella knew he was watching her?
Confusion
He followed the school bus, all the way to the school and as the bus arrived with plenty of time to spare with his daughter, Phillip was getting more and more confused. What was happening?
He saw the school kids disembark the bus and yet his daughter was nowhere to be seen! What in the world? He had seen her get on the bus but she wasn’t getting off it? What was happening?!
Lost
Phillip waited in his car and as he spotted all of Isabella’s friends walk into school without his daughter, the father was getting worried by the minute. What had happened to his daughter and where was she?
He knew the last couple of years weren’t easy for Isabella but she was always so open with him and told him everything. This new chain of events was something completely unlike her and Phillip felt lost as to how to handle things.
Confronting Her
Phillip drove to work huffing and puffing at Isabella and knew he had to confront her and that evening, he did just that. He sat the nine-year-old down and started the conversation off gently.
He asked her if she was having problems sleeping or had made any new friends. Isabella answered no to both the questions and when he asked her if she was keeping up with her morning routine properly, he saw a glimmer of hesitation.
The Answer
This was all Phillip needed. He recounted to Isabella how he had followed her to the school and how she never left the bus! Losing his temper, he demanded an explanation and finally, Isabella broke down and told her father everything!
The young girl revealed that she stayed inside the bus with the driver after all the kids had left. Alarm bells were going off in Phillip’s head at that statement but when Isabella explained why the father got teary-eyed.
A Big Problem
Ever since Patricia had passed away, Isabella was forced to do everything alone. Where once she had her mother to guide her in all things, now the nine-year-old had to learn everything on her own.
While Phillip tried his best, there were some things that he just didn’t know how to do and that was Isabella’s hair! A topic which father-daughter had always fought about! “She’d get mad at me for pulling her hair. I didn’t know how to do it,” he admitted.
Drastic Step
At one point in time, Phillip was so frustrated with Isabella’s hair that he had decided to give her an impromptu haircut with his own shaver at home! The little girl loathed the new short hair but knew that complaining would only make her father feel worst!
So, she put her head down and went along with it! And after two years, her hair had finally gotten long again and with that, the daily battle of managing them had also begun. And that is where the bus driver comes into the story.
She Noticed
Tracy Dean loved her job as a bus driver and the kids loved her. She was funny and charming and made the dreary mornings a little warmer with her kind and warm personality.
So when Tracy noticed poor Isabella, slumped in one of the back seats trying to hide her hair under a cap. She knew that kids could be rather cruel and Isabella would have been an easy target with that unsightly haircut.
She Screamed Yes!
So, one day she had asked Isabella if she could stay back for a few minutes on the bus and when she had pulled out her hairstyling kit, the little girl’s eyes lit up! Before Tracy could even finish her sentence, Isabella excitedly screamed yes!
“I could tell she was struggling with her hair.” and Tracy wanted to help. She asked how Isabella would like to style her hair for school and the little girl knew exactly what she wanted” We usually do two French braids first and once in a while she just wants one braid,” Tracy admitted in an interview.
New Routine
This had become Isabella’s new morning routine and the reason why she was getting late from school. The first time Tracy had done Isabella’s hair, it had taken her nearly 30 minutes just to brush out all the tangles!
But what took most of the time was talking! Isabella opened up to Tracy and told her all about how her dad tried to help her with her hair but he never quite got it right and this only made Tracy want to help the little girl further.
Bonding Together
Tracy was a mother to four her self and when Isabella told her that her mother had died because of cancer, a diagnosis Tracy herself had been given but had remarkably fought back and recovered from – the bus driver started crying!
The two had developed a strong bond during their daily hairstyling sessions and Isabella would tell Tracy about her day and more, making her get late from school! And now, Phillip finally knew what was happening!
Grateful
The father was teary-eyed himself and he vowed to tell everyone about Tracy, the bus driver and the kindness she had shown his daughter. The story soon spread across the community and made Tracy, Phillip and Isabella into local celebrities!
And soon the three of them were asked to do interviews to recount their stories! Tracy explained “I didn’t just survive for my husband or my children. I survived for these kids on the bus that need somebody to talk to or do their hair or whatever,”
New Support System
“I also taught (Isabella) how to brush her hair. She’d get on the bus and she’d say, ‘I brushed my hair. Does it look good? I’ll say, ‘You did awesomely.’” and now that Phillip and the whole community knew what was going on, the father couldn’t have been more grateful.
He said “One day [Isabella] came home and it looked beautiful. I call her my princess and she looks the part, she plays the part and her confidence is way up, which is what I’ve been intending,” Philip said.
A Hero
Tracy was hailed as a hero but the bus driver doesn’t like giving this label. All she did was help a little girl in need and knew that it was the “right thing” to do. “It’s just the way my mom raised me, to be nice to everyone—people who need a little love in their life.
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She joked ” I like to give all of the kids a chance—even the naughty kids.” And despite Tracy’s reluctance on accepting behind called a hero, we will go ahead and call her just that because what she did for Isabella and Phillip was nothing short of heroic and life-changing.