Shirley Geibel's co-workers pour cement steps at the Summit Township woman's home. The group pitched in to help Geibel who, while pregnant, discovered she had a serious kidney disorder.

SUMMIT TWP — Shirley Geibel, a 32-year-old first-time mother, learned she had a serious kidney disorder only after she became pregnant.

Health complications that accompanied the pregnancy intensified with each day the baby grew in her womb, ultimately reaching a point where they destroyed her kidneys and threatened her life as well as her unborn son.

Still, she continued the pregnancy long enough for her son, Logan, to be born healthy — if only weighing in at just over 2 pounds at birth.

Shirley’s struggles didn’t go unnoticed by her co-workers at the Butler County Area Vocational Technical School, who pitched in their time and money, hoping to take just a little stress off Shirley and her husband, Jeff.

Shirley, a culinary arts instructor, has worked at the school for more than a decade.

“We’re like a family,” said fellow culinary arts instructor and friend Mike Barczak of Evans City. “Someone was in trouble, so we all got together in hopes of making her life a little easier. ... We just want her to get better so she can come back.”

Barczak was one of about two dozen employees of the vo-tech school to spend a Saturday in September doing needed household chores at the Geibels’ Summit Township home.

At the group’s request, Jeff put together a list of tasks that had been put on the back burner as he tended to his ailing wife in a Pittsburgh hospital.

The to-do list ranged from minor items like cleaning the windows to finishing off a concrete sidewalk Jeff started before Shirley became hospitalized 23 weeks into her pregnancy.

“We had to pry the list off Jeff because he felt like he was asking too much,” Barczak said.

Barczak said the group was so ambitious they quickly finished off Jeff’s list and performed other needed housework. They mowed grass, cleaned the gutters and replaced a piece of trim.

“We even washed their car,” Barczak said.

In addition to the personalized day of caring, the group noted that Jeff’s tires had gone bald with his daily trips to visit his wife. So the group chipped in cash for Jeff to buy new tires.

“We wanted him to be safe as he drove back and forth,” Barczak said.

Logan, born Aug. 23, is healthy and has since about tripled his weight. Still, he is hospitalized at Magee-Womens Hospital of Pittsburgh.

“I can’t wait until he is able to come home,” said Shirley, who was transferred to UPMC Presbyterian before returning home last week.

“Everything they did looks so beautiful,” said Shirley. “I have the best co-workers in the world.”

Shirley, battling the kidney disease and other health issues brought on by the ongoing procedures, must have dialysis three times a week and wear an external heart defibrillator.

She will eventually need a kidney transplant.

Jeff said he spoke for both he and his wife when expressing extreme gratitude to her co-workers.

“This just demonstrates the quality of people who work there,” Jeff said.