Kindness is Cool

I meant to share this story last week while we were still in the hospital but the days got away from me. That's funny to me seeing as how we were literally sitting around all day long but it managed to happen! I'm trying to get caught up with work and get ready for Christmas so this week has been a little crazy but this is definitely worth sharing, especially this time of year.

We left for St. Louis the Sunday before Baker's surgery. We kissed the girls goodbye and headed out  around 5:30 PM that night with plans to get checked into our hotel and have the chance to feed Baker a couple of more times before he was cut off from eating prior to the operation.

We had stopped to grab a quick dinner in a small town in Missouri and after eating, we headed up the highway a few miles before realizing we needed to stop for gas.

After filling up at Casey's, Justin went to start the van and it wouldn't start. The lights flickered a bit but the engine didn't turn over. The van was totally dead. By this time it was around 7:45 PM and we were stranded in the Casey's parking lot, about 2 hours from home (and still 2+ hours away from St. Louis).

Luckily, we had jumper cables in the trunk so Justin casually walked over to a guy (Jake) parked near us and asked if he could give us a jump. He said he'd be right over. While waiting, another gentleman (Bob) came over and asked Justin if we needed help. They got to talking and J shared that we were trying to make our way to St. Louis for our son's open heart surgery.

I was definitely starting to panic at this point and was doing everything I could to not just start melting down in front of everyone. We HAD to get to St. Louis that night and HAD to be able to get to the hospital the next morning. This was not the time for car trouble!!!!

It took a few minutes but Jake was able to finally get our van started. I started crying inside the vehicle (Baker had finally fallen asleep!), Bob gave me a thumb's up and we all let out a big sigh of relief. Jake advised that we should probably get a new battery right away or risk it not starting up again should we have to stop. Not knowing the area or what was around - and the fact that it getting late on a Sunday night - we knew local shops and even chain stores wouldn't be open much longer.

Bob called the nearest Walmart to see if they had a battery that would fit our van. Jake offered to install it for us. Meanwhile, Vicki, Bob's wife, was calling HER friends in town to see if anyone could help us. Turns out, Vicki's friend's husband knew a guy who owns a local garage. He agreed to open his shop and meet us there to see if he could help.

Mind you, we don't know these people. They don't know us. But here they were, taking time out of their Sunday night and busy lives to help us. Gary, the guy who owned the shop, was literally at home eating ice cream when he agreed to drop everything and come out. I was floored by the generosity of these complete strangers.

Gary examined the car's battery and cleaned out the corroded terminals (or something - I'm not sure what he did other than basically save our lives that night..) and the van started right up.

It was pushing 9 PM and it was time to get back on the road.

By the end of the fiasco, Vicki and I had exchanged phone numbers so I could keep her updated on Baker's surgery the following day. They happen to have a niece who has Down syndrome and we both agreed these kiddos are pretty special. She hugged me goodbye and said she'd be praying for our sweet boy.

Jake, the guy who gave us the initial jump, had asked Justin to call him and let him know that we made it out of town - he was worried about us having learned our story and the reason for our trip. Justin made sure to call him and agreed to text him later in the week to keep him updated on Baker's status.

It was late but we finally made it to St. Louis thanks to the help of these amazing people. We had spent the rest of the drive reliving the past few hours and just couldn't believe how kind they all were. It distracted us from the events of the following day for a moment and restored our faith in humanity a bit. We're forever grateful and humbled by their kindness and will definitely pay it forward in the future!