Traveling with a baby on a flight can be challenging as the little one needs extra care. So, imagine how stressed out one Texas dad felt when he was tasked to handle his antsy baby alone.
The awful travel experience happened on Dec. 11, 2017, as Evan Hughes of Fort Worth, Texas, prepared to fly home to Dallas after visiting friends in Chicago. That day, Hughes boarded a flight with his 8-month-old son, Ki, without his wife.
The family’s flight on the previous day got cancelled due to weather, so his wife ended up on a different plane.
Hughes was doing fine on the first leg of his flight from Chicago to Atlanta; however, things turned challenging on the connecting flight back home to Dallas. The antsy Ki started crawling over to India Massinburg, a stranger sitting next to Hughes.
Instead of getting frustrated, Massinburg opened her arms and said, “Just give him to me.”
The exhausted Hughes initially declined, but he obliged when Ki got a little vocal.
Massinburg, a 25-year-old child care worker, held Ki in her arms, and amazingly, within 60 seconds, the baby calmed down and fell asleep.
To let Hughes get much-needed rest, Massinburg continued to watch over Ki.
Touched by Massinburg’s kindness, Hughes took to Imgur to share a precious photo of Ki sleeping in her arms.
“The kindness of this stranger was truly refreshing on what was quickly becoming one of the worst days in a long time. There is still hope!” Hughes wrote.
Massinburg could have easily ignored the child and Hughes, but she chose to lend a hand instead.
“It takes a village even if that village is a stranger. And your baby is a stranger to her,” Hughes’ wife, Kari, told WFAA. “We are so thankful for her and her kindness.”