Welcome to mcdowellnews.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

mcdowellnews.com - The McDowell News

HomeNewsEntertainmentSportsLifestylesOpinionCommunityWeather Online Tools Jobs | Real Estate | Shopping | Classified

CORRECTED: Embattled ex-teacher donating a kidney

By Britt Combs | The McDowell News

Published: May 26, 2009

Updated: 05/28/2009 05:03 pm

Michael Fields is well known in Old Fort. At age 52, he is retired from Ethan Allen, where he worked as a supervisor for 13 years. Kidney failure forced him to leave that job, and he has been on regular dialysis treatment for three years.

Now there's hope for a transplant. His daughter, Amanda Fields, 28, has qualified as a match and intends to donate her kidney to him as soon as possible.

On Tuesday, father and daughter were en route to Decatur, Ga.'s Emery University Hospital for two days of tests and examinations to determine her physical readiness for the loss of a kidney.

Readers will remember Amanda Fields from a series of news reports this January, when the seventh- and eighth-grade language arts teacher lost her job amidst a missing persons investigation. She faked her own kidnapping and claimed she had no memory of the events. She went through several weeks of inpatient counseling, she said, and has not worked since.

She, her sisters and three children live with Michael Fields and his wife, Janice, age 50.

"My older sister works," Amanda said, "and she has three kids in school. My younger sister is about to graduate high school." So times are tight in the household, she explained, with only two working.

Michael said he is appealing to the community for help in making the transplant a success. The entire procedure will cost in excess of $300,000, according to his calculations. His wife's insurance is excellent, he added, and he has Medicare insurance, but there will be expenses not covered by those.

"My wife will miss about 13 weeks of work," caring for him after the surgery, he said.

"There are a lot of out-of-pocket expenses we'll face," he added. "There's lost time from work, travel and hotels and meals. Plus, after the transplant, I'll be on (anti-rejection) medication the rest of my life. That'll cost about $1,500 a month."

Amanda has been placing donation jars in stores around the community, she said, and the response has been good. Her dad made a lot of friends in his work and people are stepping up to help.

She has been making herself busy caring for her dad, she explained, and preparing for the transplant. That, along with the fact that, in her own estimation, she can never teach school again, has kept her from work since losing her job after the incident.

On the morning of Jan. 26, she did not show up for work. Deputies conducting a welfare check at her residence found a broken window, blood and hair, broken furniture and, most disturbing of all, the phrase "Go to hell faggits" painted in red on the garage door.

Several hours of searching did not turn up the woman, but she walked out of the woods herself that evening, stating she had no memory of the events.

"I don't know what happened to me," she said. She expressed gratitude to her friends and supporters who helped her through the weeks after the episode, and said they helped her keep going.

Investigators from the McDowell County Sheriff's Office determined what had appeared to be an assault and kidnapping was a hoax. Fields' resigned her teaching position the next week.
She said she still has no memory of the events, but still believes she was assaulted.

"This is a hard position for me to be in," she said. "I have worked my butt off since I graduated from Montreat, and I've never been in a position of having to ask anyone for support.

"I don't think what happened to me affected my ability to function at work. It just ruined my career as a teacher," she stated.

Doctors at Emery will schedule the surgery as soon as tests are completed this week, she said. After that, she is expected to recover in about three weeks. She'll devote time to helping her dad recover, then look to the next phase in her life.

"I have been writing," she said. "I think I have always wanted to write. After that, I'm not sure."
Her experience in inpatient treatment has given her an interest in the mental health field. That would involve a return to school, but she said she can handle that. "I loved teaching," she said, "but mostly I want to work wherever I can help people find their way."

Michael Fields expressed pride in his daughter, and hoped he could count on the community's support through the difficult weeks ahead. If anyone would like to help or has more questions, he gave his phone number, 659-4845.

He has set up an account for donations for the surgery. These can be made out to Michael Fields-God's Helping Hand and sent to BB&T, 106 E. Main St., Old Fort NC 28762. Donations to this account are not tax-deductible, but the bank will send a receipt if so requested.

THIS IS A CORRECTED VERSION OF A PREVIOUS STORY THAT ERRONIOUSLY STATED FIELDS WAS TERMINATED BY THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. SHE RESIGNED.