Airline Refuses To Let Dad Board Plane With Baby, Then He Finds Note In His Pocket

[Music] airline refuses to let dad board plane with baby then he finds note in his pocket he was stranded without a single place to go as the day was getting later and later it was only after he boarded the plane thinking he was on his way home that the unimaginable happened out of nowhere a woman informed the new dad that he wouldn't be flying today and that he better come with her right now it was april 2018 when reuben swift traveled to phoenix he was happier than he'd been in months and he had good reason to be ruben had just become a father but circumstances had not been kind to the new dad on the day he heard the good news he thought that things were finally looking up but his happiness would be short-lived reuben had been through a long legal battle to get here but he'd done it the court had granted him full custody which meant that he'd be allowed to fetch his newborn baby ruandria and take her to his home in ohio he couldn't wait to meet her but he had no idea that fate was about to throw him a loop the joyous new father then left the hospital in phoenix with his little rue andrea now only a member of this world for a mere four days and headed straight back to the airport to prepare for the flight to her new forever home everything was previously discussed and arranged with the airlines but imagine the horror for the new father when despite all of this the ticket officer informed ruben that none of this really mattered at all the doctors in the hospital who cared for ruin andrea had prepared all the documentation to indicate that she was fit healthy and safe to be undertaking a rigorous interstate air trip and everything that goes with it so how could this be happening now dumbfounded reuben could only listen as the ticket officer at frontier airlines explained why they would not be able to fly home turns out according to the officer there's a policy at the airline that restricts babies who have not attained an age of seven days from participating in any form of air travel regardless of how short the trip may be devastated and missing his family terribly reuben wondered how on earth he was going to overcome this obstacle he started weighing up his options could ruben sit out the three days until re-andrea reached the age to be eligible to fly on the airline could he look for a different airline that doesn't have the same policy what other option did he have to find their way back to his home in ohio he was racking his overwhelmed and confused brain but wait now for the next obstacle i was out of money in the hospital told me that i wouldn't be able to get a birth certificate for seven days reuben explained i was worried that if security saw me sleeping at the airport with a newborn they'd take her away from me and charge me with neglect i was stuck but the situation was about to get much worse reuben did not have a single family member or friend who lived in phoenix this meant that there was a brand new father with a brand new baby girl stranded in a town he didn't know at all and not a single person to turn to was this his destiny for the next three days to come starting to panic at the thought of not being able to give his new little bundle of joy the best possible care he took control of his emotions and started to think rationally and positively suddenly a face appeared then with all the turmoil going through his head he suddenly saw a face in his mind he recalled that when he'd been at the hospital he'd seen an elderly woman in the maternity ward at banner university medical center where he met his daughter for the first time she turned out to be a hospital volunteer and he saw her carrying and caring for ruandria he'd spoken to the woman for a few minutes and gotten the immediate impression that she was very kind and nurturing for some reason he happened to take her number he'd written it on a piece of paper and had put it in his pocket but he didn't even know if she was going to remember him or his daughter if he called her standing with a newborn in his arms stranded at the airport and with no other options presented to him he gathered his thoughts and decided to follow his intuition pulling the crumpled note out of his pocket he dialed the number and prayed when it began to ring please answer please everything was writing on that phone call this is where joy ringoffer steps into the picture and the start of a beautiful and heartwarming story unfolds even her name is significant this act of kindness which began with only three days turned into a lifelong connection and touched the hearts of millions of people all over the world joy invited reuben and little rue andrea into her home with open arms she said i had such a strong feeling and that i needed to do this for him and i know that he's a very kind and safe man to have in my home and he's been a perfect gentleman what started out as an extremely joyous occasion where he was going to fetch his newborn baby almost turned into a disastrous adventure when reuben was to be stranded in a strange city with a brand new newborn baby girl and after everything that's happened to him he's now been taken in by a kind elderly lady and suddenly he feels elated this kind-hearted angel took care of him and his little baby girl ruandria ruben remarks that when he called her she said that she was going to come and fetch him and take him home reuben still laughed and thought she was going to drive him all the way to ohio but little did he know she was going to take them into her home and care for them ruben remarks that she could easily have said that there was a problem and refused them instead she made them part of her family and even though they were complete strangers it was never an issue she fed ruben and little ruandria and made sure they were comfortable and happy joy would sit up at nights and hold little rouendria as if she were her own she even took her into her room at night and stayed with her and made sure she was warm and fed ruben was amazed and said i mean who does that joy formed such a strong bond with her and said she's just beautiful wonderful she's been so good and joy is going to miss her when she's gone over the next few days she held cared for and loved the tiny baby the three strange companions became so close they even went to the cemetery to visit the grave of the 78 year old great grandmother's husband who had recently passed away of parkinson's disease reuben was so taken in by this unconditional kindness and says joy is rue andrea's grandmother and joy has gained a granddaughter reuben and his daughter had booked a flight to go back to ohio and the frontiers airlines said that they would waive any change fees associated with reuben's travel this time around how does the saying go too little too late when he was unable to board the flight with his newborn infant they said his money would only be refundable in seven days and were prepared to leave the young family destitute in a strange city with no money for food supplies or to get a hotel or a cab to make the ride back home fortunately as the world works in mysterious ways when reuben swift met up with this kind great grandmother who took a leap of faith and saw that a fellow human being was in need of some love caring looking after and human kindness in this small act of kindness so many new unbreakable bonds were formed a family grandmother granddaughter and a friendship with the daunting task of suddenly becoming a single father and not being experienced or equipped to take care of a newborn this experience has taught ruben many lessons having followed all the correct procedures the airlines still had their rules which can sometimes be pretty ridiculous and unfair but he managed to keep his senses about him and used his best judgment by asking for the help of a retired caregiver and a very good samaritan at that nowhere in the story do we hear how the mother features in this dramatic saga somehow i don't think this is where the emphasis lies maybe she had difficult childbirth didn't want the baby or was unable to take care of her or one could assume anything else in the book the fact remains that ruben swift rushed over to phoenix to accept his newborn and did absolutely everything in his power to give little rue andrea the best possible chance at life with the help of joy ringhoffer it was all made possible and this wonderful grandmother should be honored and respected by all of humankind she had absolutely no consideration for her own safety by bringing a complete stranger into her house even with all the news about violence doing the rounds on social media all she could see was another human being in need of help and love ruandrian reuben flew home but he made a promise to return to a woman who has become family a stranger who has now become like a grandmother who gained a granddaughter what reuben learned from this experience is that in this crazy world there's still compassion the blessed new father wants to spread this compassion by encouraging others to help those in need let's return to a time when we all cared about one another that's what i'm hoping will happen he said what would your immediate reaction be when you see or hear of someone in need of help or just a little human kindness would you turn your head look the other way pretend you didn't see someone's dilemma or will you stretch out your hand and offer some human kindness in the end would you be able to say like reuben i'm grateful