Having young children and traveling is difficult in itself. Rubin Swift learned pretty early on how tough it can actually be for parents. The Frontier Airlines stopped Rubin at the gate in Phoenix and informed him that he and his newborn baby Ru-Andria weren’t allowed to board.
Rubin recently learned that he had a daughter in Arizona and a court was awarding him custody. The Ohioan decided to fly to the Grand Canyon State and take his newborn home.
When he visited his daughter for the first time, he instantly began bonding with her at Banner University Medical Center. He met a NICU volunteer named Joy Ringhofer who was 78 years old. Ru-Andria had been transferred to the NICU because of precautionary measures.
Joy very quickly realized that Rubin was a loving and caring father even in this difficult situation. He has many different children that are part of his life.
In just a simple act of kindness, Joy jotted down her number and gave it to Rubin and let him know if he needed anything, she could help. She offered to drive him to the airport so that he could catch his flight as well.
It turned out that Ru-Andria wasn’t able to fly with Rubin because he needed to have proof of her age. Frontier Airlines’ policy is that an infant must be at least seven days old to fly.
But because of Frontier Airlines’ policies, an infant must be at least a week old if they are going to be included on the flight. That would have been no problem, but Rubin needed to have proof of documentation, and that would take many days to acquire!
What was he going to do?
When the struggling father hit this road-block, he didn’t have a clue what to do. He figured he would just sleep at the airport for days while he waited for the birth certificate.
“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 reached out to his wife Tiffany and she didn’t know what to do. They didn’t have the money for a hotel room or to rent a car.
“When he called me from the airport and told me that they weren’t going to let him fly until he could get a birth certificate in four days, I felt panicked … I didn’t want him to sleep at the airport. I was scared because it looked like we were out of options.”
Rubin remembered that Joy, the nurse from the NICU, had given him her phone number. He took the chance and called her. She returned to the airport to pick up him and his daughter. He wasn’t sure about it, but she insisted.
“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.”
Rubin couldn’t believe Joy’s desire to help him and his daughter from their tough situation.
“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. The color wasn’t an issue to her. She showed me that in this crazy world, there is still compassion.”
Rubin messaged his wife and told her how his lovely guardian angel had moved above and beyond her job requirements and actually cared for them. He took Joy up on her offer and was pretty sure it would all work out.
“Miss Joy was like an angel and she’d really bonded with Ru-Andria. Whenever my daughter heard her voice, her face would light up. As soon as she took us in, I knew we’d be friends for life.”
The interesting duo took care of young Ru-Andria together. The two adults grow close as they chatted for four days that they were together. Joy definitely related to the father, as she has four children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren that she calls her own.
They took the newborn for walks to get her some fresh air, they went and got groceries, and Joy even took Rubin to her late husband’s grave on a visit.
“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 the certificate was ready, Rubin and Ru-Andria said goodbye to their new friend. As much as Rubin wanted to get home, he knew saying goodbye would be tough. The two agreed to stay in touch with regular FaceTime calls.
“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.”
Rubin knew that Joy could have just ignored him, or not given him her number in the first place. But she went the extra mile to show her support for Rubin in the midst of a really tough situation. Be sure to catch the video below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
