When she was too sick to work, her daughter did her job for her

When her mom got cancer, she taught her mom's class

When Cheri battled stage IV throat cancer, her daughter, Rachel, helped her mom at home, and took over her mother's teaching duties in her classroom.

NAPLES, FL - In 2015, one word changed Cheri Gimenez's world. Cancer.

Last year, she started feeling weak, and had a sore throat so she visited a local health clinic. At that time, the Manatee Elementary School teacher was on summer break, and she was taking classes to become a reading specialist.

"The doctor that examined me was an older doctor, and thank goodness for her because she said, 'I just don't like the looks of this. You need to get a scan right away,'" the 62-year-old Gimenez recalled.

Monday, she underwent a positron emission tomography (PET) scan.

Tuesday, the results were in. Stage IV throat cancer.

Wednesday, she saw an oncologist.

Friday, she saw the radiologist.

The next week, she started radiation and chemotherapy. Gimenez opted out of surgery. Since the cancer was located at the base of her neck and the back of her throat, she lost the ability to talk, and has gradually regained it through therapy.

With the 2015-2016 fall school season quickly approaching, Gimenez worried that she wouldn't be able to teach her third grade students.

However, her 23-year-old daughter, Rachel Elliott, stepped into the classroom to help both her mother and the school.

One school year later

With Elliott still learning the ropes of teaching, and Gimenez recovering, the pair works together every day during their planning period, and the last period of class to pass on double the knowledge to their students.

When the clock strikes 2 p.m., Elliott’s third graders shift into the adjoining classroom, and join other third graders to learn about various subjects, such as social studies, from Elliott, and her mom.

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