NJ School Nurse Helps Spot Leukemia Symptoms In Kindergartner

COLLINGSWOOD, N.J. (CBS)--Nicole Defeo Campbell says her son Nathan is alive because of his school nurse.

Last September, Nathan Campbell started kindergarten at Zane North Elementary School in Collingswood.

Right away his teacher Kathy Keller noticed something was off.

"He stood alongside of me and he said that his leg hurt and he didn't want to really go out and play," says Keller.

Keller asked nurse Patti Butler to take a look at his skin color and immediately alarm bells started going off in her mind.

She insisted Defeo Campbell take Nathan to see a doctor.

"His skin was translucent and that's when I said Nicole it's Nurse Patti please I've only seen someone look this color once in 25 years, prove me wrong," says Butler.

Campbell says she waited a couple days to take Nathan to the doctor, meanwhile Nurse Patti kept calling.

"Honestly, I wrote it off," admits Defeo Campbell, "I really thought she was being kind of an alarmist because I didn't see anything wrong with him Then that night the doctor himself called and said we got the results of the blood tests and you need to go right to CHOP."

Nathan was diagnosed with leukemia and immediately started treatment for the cancer in his blood at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

He's now in remission and Defeo Campbell credits Nurse Patti with saving his life.

"If she hadn't called us we would not be not be standing here talking about Nate today, I believe that firmly that she saved him," says Defeo Campbell.

She's nominated Nurse Patti in a contest called America's Greatest School Nurse.

The voting is open to the public and it ends on April 16 link http://www.americasgreatestschoolnurse.com/

Butler says she just wants to see Nathan get well and be back at school, if not this year then next.