While sitting down to eat at an IHOP in Illinois, a customer witnessed a beautiful act of kindness come from a waiter who noticed a customer struggling to eat her meal.
The woman at the table suffered from Huntington’s disease, which causes nerve cells to break down, and can make basic motor movements very difficult to do. The customer sitting at the table next to them, Keshia Barbee, shared the following story:
“Today while visiting your Springfield, IL location on Dirksen I witnessed a very touching moment involving one of your servers. A man and disabled woman were dining and your server sat down with them and proceeded to help feed the disabled woman while her companion enjoyed his food. My faith in humanity has been restored a little today.”
Not knowing someone had taken the photo, the story was shared across the internet, and the kind waiter, Thomas, was later interviewed by the local media.
Thomas said he noticed that each time the couple came in for a meal, the woman’s husband would help his wife eat first while allowing his food to go cold.
He said that one day he decided to sit down at the table and feed the customer while allowing her loving husband to eat his food while it was still warm.
“I didn’t really offer. I just started doing it,” Thomas said. “I told the gentleman to ‘Sit down, eat your food. I got her.’”
Thomas told CBS he hopes his story will inspire others to follow in his footsteps.
“I really treat people like I want to be treated,” he said. “If I get to be that age and something happened to me I would want someone to help me out.”
Since then, Thomas was offered a nursing job, which was warmly received after working for IHOP for 11 years.
Those with disabilities often have extra struggles in life that go unnoticed, and the kindness shown from strangers can make all the difference in the world.
Help hold a door, share a smile, be respectful, and remember that we are all part of one big family.
You are Loved.
See Also: A Waiter At A Restaurant Buys Food And Feeds A Disabled Homeless Man With His Own Hands
