You know what the world is in dire need of lately? More kindness, love, and understanding.
Enter Garrick, a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines, who took some time out of his busy day to comfort a 9-year-old named Gabby, who was having a panic attack while flying from Orlando to Newark on July 8. In a post on the Southwest Airlines Facebook page, Gabby’s mother Erika Swart describes just how amazingly compassionate Garrick was toward her daughter, proving that kindness is alive and well in this world, after all.
As Gabby’s mom shares with Babble, Gabby had experienced flight anxiety on other trips before, but hadn’t flown since she was younger. This heightened level of panic was unexpected, but as soon as Gabby’s panic was apparent, Garrick was on the case.
“I was so floored by his eagerness to help her,” she says. “He so easily could have just felt bad and gone on about his job, but instead he decided to drop everything to comfort her.”
As Erika detailed in her Facebook post, Garrick gave Gabby lots of personalized attention during the flight, telling her funny stories to distract her, and even bringing her special refreshments. But then a rough patch of turbulence struck, and as the plane descended, Gabby began having a full-fledged panic attack.
At that point, Garrick offered to sit in the empty seat next to Gabby. Erika shares that she was flying alone with her two other children, and couldn’t leave her row to comfort her daughter (though in the photo, you can see Gabby holding her mom’s hand from across the aisle).
It was more than a welcome offer, and from that point on, Garrick was by Gabby’s side. They talked for about 30 minutes, about everything under the sun. Garrick had good instincts: he realized that just allowing Gabby to talk would help distract her from her panic. As the turbulence got rougher, he let her hold onto his arm. “She began crying,” reports Gabby’s mom, “and grabbed his arm. He gently told her she could hang on as long as she needed to.”
But his heroism didn’t end there. Erika shares with Babble that Gabby was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2014, and that stress can sometime exacerbate her condition. During the height of her panic attack, Gabby’s blood sugar levels became dangerously low.
Erika recounts that it was quite a scary moment, and that Garrick went above and beyond to help.“I had sugar tabs, but her anxiety was causing her stomach to be very upset. My next fear was how to get her sugars up if she feels like she is going to throw up,” Erika explains. “That’s when Garrick offered to get her juice (since we can’t bring liquids through security, I only had glucose tabs). He got up during final descent, so it was quite a big deal for him to get out of his seat when we were nearing the ground.”
Totally amazing and inspiring, huh?
But there’s more.
Upon landing, Garrick made a special This is Garrick, an employee of yours working flight 1264 flying from Orlando to Newark on Friday, July 8th and holding his arm is my 9 year old daughter, Gabby, a type 1 diabetic with severe flying anxiety. Upon take off he noticed she was struggling. Throughout the flight he tried making her laugh and bringing her special drinks. As we were getting closer weather was rough and there was a bit of turbulence. Gabby began having a complete panic attack on descent. announcement over the plane’s intercom. He congratulated Gabby on overcoming her fears, and the 9-year-old suddenly found herself met with a huge round of applause.
“Everything Garrick did to help her is what everyone could do for children and adults with this,” Erika tells Babble. “Keep them talking about unrelated things, hold their hands/arms and remind them to breathe and remind they are safe.”
As a fellow anxiety sufferer myself, I found myself so incredibly moved by this story. I’ve had a fear of flying since childhood, and the worst thing about it is how alone I’ve felt while suffering through panic attacks mid-flight. No one ever seems to quite get it — and when I was younger, I just kept it to myself and suffered in silence. What I would have given to have someone talk me through it, and offer compassion over judgment, and soothing words over silence.
But it isn’t just me who feels incredibly moved by this story — the post has been going viral since it was first shared on Sunday. To date, it’s already received over 4K likes, almost 300 shares, and hundreds of supportive comments.
And a few commenters could relate in much the same way as I could. “I love this story! I’m terrified of flying, so I can relate. What a sweetheart!” remarked one reader, while others noted how important it feels these days to receive a bit of GOOD news.
“Goes to show that there are many amazing people out there … making a difference in many ways,” wrote another. “It’s just that when bad things happen, it gets so much coverage. Thank you for your heartwarming story!”
I feel exactly the same way. I wish Gabby and her family continued wellness, and I hope that Garrick got the message that his act of kindness did not go unnoticed. What a guy!
Enter Garrick, a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines, who took some time out of his busy day to comfort a 9-year-old named Gabby, who was having a panic attack while flying from Orlando to Newark on July 8. In a post on the Southwest Airlines Facebook page, Gabby’s mother Erika Swart describes just how amazingly compassionate Garrick was toward her daughter, proving that kindness is alive and well in this world, after all.
As Gabby’s mom shares with Babble, Gabby had experienced flight anxiety on other trips before, but hadn’t flown since she was younger. This heightened level of panic was unexpected, but as soon as Gabby’s panic was apparent, Garrick was on the case.
“I was so floored by his eagerness to help her,” she says. “He so easily could have just felt bad and gone on about his job, but instead he decided to drop everything to comfort her.”
As Erika detailed in her Facebook post, Garrick gave Gabby lots of personalized attention during the flight, telling her funny stories to distract her, and even bringing her special refreshments. But then a rough patch of turbulence struck, and as the plane descended, Gabby began having a full-fledged panic attack.
At that point, Garrick offered to sit in the empty seat next to Gabby. Erika shares that she was flying alone with her two other children, and couldn’t leave her row to comfort her daughter (though in the photo, you can see Gabby holding her mom’s hand from across the aisle).
It was more than a welcome offer, and from that point on, Garrick was by Gabby’s side. They talked for about 30 minutes, about everything under the sun. Garrick had good instincts: he realized that just allowing Gabby to talk would help distract her from her panic. As the turbulence got rougher, he let her hold onto his arm. “She began crying,” reports Gabby’s mom, “and grabbed his arm. He gently told her she could hang on as long as she needed to.”
But his heroism didn’t end there. Erika shares with Babble that Gabby was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2014, and that stress can sometime exacerbate her condition. During the height of her panic attack, Gabby’s blood sugar levels became dangerously low.
Erika recounts that it was quite a scary moment, and that Garrick went above and beyond to help.“I had sugar tabs, but her anxiety was causing her stomach to be very upset. My next fear was how to get her sugars up if she feels like she is going to throw up,” Erika explains. “That’s when Garrick offered to get her juice (since we can’t bring liquids through security, I only had glucose tabs). He got up during final descent, so it was quite a big deal for him to get out of his seat when we were nearing the ground.”
Totally amazing and inspiring, huh?
But there’s more.
Upon landing, Garrick made a special This is Garrick, an employee of yours working flight 1264 flying from Orlando to Newark on Friday, July 8th and holding his arm is my 9 year old daughter, Gabby, a type 1 diabetic with severe flying anxiety. Upon take off he noticed she was struggling. Throughout the flight he tried making her laugh and bringing her special drinks. As we were getting closer weather was rough and there was a bit of turbulence. Gabby began having a complete panic attack on descent. announcement over the plane’s intercom. He congratulated Gabby on overcoming her fears, and the 9-year-old suddenly found herself met with a huge round of applause.
“Everything Garrick did to help her is what everyone could do for children and adults with this,” Erika tells Babble. “Keep them talking about unrelated things, hold their hands/arms and remind them to breathe and remind they are safe.”
As a fellow anxiety sufferer myself, I found myself so incredibly moved by this story. I’ve had a fear of flying since childhood, and the worst thing about it is how alone I’ve felt while suffering through panic attacks mid-flight. No one ever seems to quite get it — and when I was younger, I just kept it to myself and suffered in silence. What I would have given to have someone talk me through it, and offer compassion over judgment, and soothing words over silence.
But it isn’t just me who feels incredibly moved by this story — the post has been going viral since it was first shared on Sunday. To date, it’s already received over 4K likes, almost 300 shares, and hundreds of supportive comments.
And a few commenters could relate in much the same way as I could. “I love this story! I’m terrified of flying, so I can relate. What a sweetheart!” remarked one reader, while others noted how important it feels these days to receive a bit of GOOD news.
“Goes to show that there are many amazing people out there … making a difference in many ways,” wrote another. “It’s just that when bad things happen, it gets so much coverage. Thank you for your heartwarming story!”
I feel exactly the same way. I wish Gabby and her family continued wellness, and I hope that Garrick got the message that his act of kindness did not go unnoticed. What a guy!
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