Human Interest Utah Bus Driver Styles 11-Year-Old Girl's Hair Every Morning After Mom Dies from Rare Illness A Utah school bus driver showed one of her student's the ultimate act of kindness By Caitlin Keating Published on April 6, 2018 11:27 AM Share Tweet Pin Email After the death of her mother from a rare illness years ago, 11-year-old Isabella Pieri felt a huge void in her life. Her father, Philip Pieri, stepped up to take on the role of both parents, but there was one thing he couldn’t master: Isabella’s morning hair routine. “I originally just gave her a crew cut because I didn’t know how, and it was all tangled and I couldn’t get it out for anything,” he told KSL TV. Thankfully, someone else who was ready and willing to take on the task. On the way to school one morning, Isabella noticed her school bus driver, Tracy Dean, was fixing a classmate’s braid. She decided to ask Tracy if she could do her hair as well. Tracy — who was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago — said she thought of her own children when she learned Isabella’s story. “Not that my husband couldn’t do it, but you know, that’s what moms do. They do their kids’ hair,” she told KSL. “You can’t be shy, you’ve got to talk to them. You treat them like your own kids, you know,” she said of her connection to the students she drives to school. Philip says he “was amazed” when he learned that his daughter’s school bus driver had shown such an act of kindness. KSL “Tracy didn’t have to step up, but she stepped up to help out,” he told the outlet. And Isabella is grateful to have a little extra TLC in the morning. “It makes me feel like she’s a mom pretty much to me,” Isabella told KSL. “And it makes me excited for the next day to see what she does.”