Heidi Carston has spent the past decade bussing children safely to and from school in Minnesota. 

That all changed in December when she was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic gastric cancer. Carston had to tell her students that she wouldn't see them for a while because of health issues.

One boy just knew he had to help.

“When she announced it on the bus, I was sad,” 11-year-old Noah Webber told USA TODAY on Wednesday. “I was shocked … I didn't just want to stand there and watch it happen and not do anything.”

After chatting with his family, Noah decided to organize a bake sale in Carston's honor and ended up raising $1,000 for her.

Noah's small act of kindness turned out to be a big deal for Carston.

Putting the bake sale together

Noah, a sixth-grader at Black Hawk Middle School in the Twin Cities suburb of Eagen, first met Carston at the beginning of the school year. 

Months later when Carston realized she would need to undergo chemotherapy and wouldn't be able to work, she said she just knew she had to tell her students why she wouldn't be on the bus for a while.

“They're accustomed to the same driver every day,” she said. “They become accustomed to your habits, your style, and I just didn't want them wondering 'What happened to Ms. Heidi?'"

After Noah told his family about what his bus driver was going through, the Webbers baked up a storm, making muffins and banana bread, and then posting about the baked goods on a neighborhood app. Noah's mom also told her co-workers about it, and another bus driver posted about the sale on an app for bus drivers.

They presented the money and gifts to Carston shortly after Christmas. The gifts included flowers, candy and a blanket.

“I was just blown away,” Carston told USA TODAY on Wednesday. “I just couldn't even believe it, that he had such a kind heart to be able to even come up with this idea.”

She said she was "overwhelmed by his love and all of the students on all of my routes for giving me gifts ... (It was) very, very touching.”

Boy’s community is proud of him for helping bus driver in need

Noah said he was excited and happy to help his bus driver, who he described as kind and “super friendly.”

His father, Mike Webber, said he “couldn’t be more proud” of his son.

The boy’s act of kindness is just further proof that bus drivers are needed and valued, said Allyson Garin, a spokesperson for Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan Public Schools.

“They're these unsung heroes … the first face our kids see in the morning and the last face they see,” she said. “It was just exciting to see the district come together as a whole, including Noah and his fundraiser, with all these amazing things.”

His school principal, Anne Kusch, said his actions embody the school’s philosophy: Calm. Kind. Safe.

“We’re super proud of Noah here and excited to see what else he’s going to do in the next two and a half years that he’s with us,” Kusch said.

Bus driver is undergoing chemo, hoping for the best

Carston said that her diagnosis came too late for stomach removal surgery, an extensive procedure that involves a long recovery, she told USA TODAY.

Doctors are hoping that her body will respond well to chemotherapy but they won’t know for several more weeks.

Her family has started a GoFundMe where people can donate to help her. It had raised just over $5,000 by Wednesday evening.

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