Even in the best of circumstances, traveling can be a difficult and stressful experience. There are crowded planes, delayed flights, and any number of things can go wrong at any time.
Add traveling with a child to that equation, especially a newborn, and it can be even more difficult, as one new dad discovered.
Fortunately, there was a kind hero to step in and make things easier.
Ruben Swift is from Cleveland and flew to Phoenix to pick up his infant daughter, Ru-Andrea. His little girl was just 4-days-old and Ruben had been granted sole custody. But, when he arrived at the airport, he was turned away.
It seems that a Frontier Airlines policy says that an infant must be at least seven days old before they will be approved to fly.
Ruben and Ru-Andrea would need to wait three days before returning to Cleveland. That wait was a problem — they had nowhere to stay and the airport is no place for a newborn.
The perfect solution
Fortunately, Ruben had met Joy Ringhofer, a volunteer at Banner University Medical center where Ru-Andrea was born, when he went to pick her up from the hospital.
“I was rocking her when her father came in, and we sort of made a connection right away,” Joy told CBS Phoenix affiliate KPHO.
With no other options, and not knowing anyone else in the Cleveland area, Ruben was desperate. Hoping for a lead on where he could go for the duration, he reached out to the sweet, older woman he had met at the hospital. Joy had the perfect solution…
“I didn’t expect her to say, ‘I’m coming to get you and take you home.’ So, I’m thinking, ‘She is going to drive me back to Cleveland?’ But she actually brought me to her house and [is] feeding me and making sure my baby is alright,” Ruben shared.
Grateful
Joy, Ruben, and Ru-Andrea’s story is going viral, and for the best reasons. In a world filled with division and hate it’s a breath of fresh air.
“I had such a strong feeling that I needed to do this for him,” Joy said. “I know he was a kind and safe man to have in my home and he has been a perfect gentleman.”
“We’re two different colors, and she opened up her door, and it never was an issue. My color was never an issue,” Ruben said. “She loves my baby… My baby was with her all night. She stayed up with her. Who does that?”
“She’s fed me; she took care of me. She’s the grandmother to my child now. She looked after me,” Ruben said about his baby’s new “grandmother.”
“I’m grateful.”
Because of their time spent together and the kindness that Joy showed Ruben and his daughter, Ruben now considers her a part of his family. He plans to return with Ru-Andrea to visit Joy as soon as he can.
Watch more about their story in the video below:
What a wonderful example of kindness and compassion! Please like and share so that more people can follow this example!
