Man gives up his first-class plane seat to mum with sick baby
So beautiful
Kelsey Rae Zwick was traveling on an American Airlines flight with her 11-month-old daughter, Lucy, for a lifesaving medical treatment, when a flight attendant told her a passenger, seated in first class, wanted to give them his seat.
The overwhelmed mum gratefully accepted, and after the flight took to Facebook to share her gratitude to the man, not just for the kind and selfless gesture, but for “seeing her”.
“To the man in 2D. Today you were traveling from Orlando to Philly. I don’t know you, but I imagine you saw us somewhere,” she wrote.
“I was pushing a stroller, had a diaper bag on my arm and also lugging an oxygen machine for my daughter. We had smiles on our faces as we were headed to see her “friends” at CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia).
“We pre-boarded the plane, got cozy in our window seat and made jokes to those around us about having to sit by my yelling-but-happy baby. The flight attendant came over and told me you were waiting to switch seats. You were giving up your comfortable, first class seat to us.
“Not able to hold back tears, I cried my way up the aisle while my daughter Lucy laughed! She felt it in her bones too... real, pure, goodness. I smiled and thanked you as we switched but didn’t get to thank you properly.
“Sooo... thank you. Not just for the seat itself but for noticing. For seeing us and realizing that maybe things are not always easy. For deciding you wanted to show a random act of kindness to US. It reminded me how much good there is in this world. I can’t wait to tell Lucy someday. In the meantime... we will pay it forward. AA 588 passenger in seat 2D, we truly feel inspired by your generosity.”
Due to the post going viral, Kelsey did manage to thank the man personally. It turns out the day they flew was also the man’s birthday, and he thanked Kelsey for giving him “a birthday to remember.”
“It was the best day,” Kelsey said. “He said it made him and his wife cry, and he said, ‘I am so glad we were on the same flight.’”
Little Lucy and her twin sister Eva was born prematurely and have chronic lung disease, which is why Lucy travels with an oxygen tank. Kelsey said she was grateful for the extra space on the plane, and that she and her daughter enjoyed a few little luxurious perks too.
Nicola Conville has worked as a journalist and editor for more than 20 years across a wide range of print and online publications. Her areas of expertise are parenting, health and travel. She has two children; Lucy, age eight, and Nathan, age five.
