Imagine the surprise and dismay of Rubin Swift, a father from Cleveland, Ohio, when he was stopped at the Phoenix airport with his newborn daughter, Ru-Andria, and told they couldn’t board their flight.
Rubin had just been awarded custody of his daughter and had traveled to Arizona to bring her home.
But little did he know, his journey was about to take an unexpected turn.
Rubin’s first meeting with his daughter was at Banner University Medical Center, where he bonded with her and met Joy Ringhofer, a 78-year-old NICU volunteer.
Joy, recently widowed, saw Rubin’s dedication as a father, despite the suddenness of his new role.
Rubin, already a father to three and stepfather to four, was taken aback when Joy offered her phone number and a ride to the airport.
On the day of their departure, Rubin faced a major hurdle.
Frontier Airlines’ policy required infants to be at least seven days old to fly, and Rubin didn’t have the necessary proof of Ru-Andria’s age.
Obtaining her birth certificate would take a week, leaving Rubin in a bind.
Rubin contemplated sleeping at the airport until the birth certificate was ready.
“I was out of money and the hospital told me that I wouldn’t be able to get a birth certificate for seven days. 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,” he recalled.
His wife, Tiffany, was equally worried and felt helpless as they couldn’t afford a hotel or a rental car.
In a moment of desperation, Rubin thought of Joy, the kind-hearted volunteer who had driven him to the airport.
With no other options, he called her, hoping for a miracle.
Joy didn’t hesitate to help.
She immediately went back to the airport to pick up Rubin and Ru-Andria. “I told him, ‘I’m going to take you home with me,’ so wait right there.
There are a lot of dangers out there, but there’s a lot of good, too. I’d enjoyed talking to Rubin at the hospital and helping him with the baby.
He was polite and kind and I could tell that he had a good heart,” Joy explained.
Rubin, a deli owner, was amazed by Joy’s generosity.
“I’m black and she is white.
I’m a stranger who grew up in the projects in the Bronx and she’s a great-grandmother who recently lost her husband.
She knew very little about me, and yet, she took me in. Color wasn’t an issue to her.
She showed me that in this crazy world, there is still compassion,” he said.
During the four days they spent together, Rubin, Joy, and Ru-Andria formed a special bond.
They went for walks, shopped for groceries, and even visited Joy’s late husband’s grave.
Rubin found comfort in Joy’s presence, likening her to a mother or grandmother figure.
“I could see the pain in her face from losing her husband, so at the cemetery, as we sat there with the baby, I said, ‘Hey, Charles, look — it’s your new granddaughter.’
We had some touching and wonderful moments. I lost my mom to cancer in 2007, so Joy really became like a mother or grandmother figure to me.”
When it was finally time for Rubin and Ru-Andria to return home, they knew they would miss Joy.
They promised to stay in touch and regularly connected via FaceTime. “We just knew that we’d always be in touch from that day forward.
We started out as strangers, and ended up as good friends. Rubin is very grateful to me, but I’m also very grateful to have had the opportunity,” Joy reflected.
Rubin’s story is a testament to the kindness of strangers and the unexpected friendships that can arise from challenging situations.
Watch this heartwarming story in the video below!
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