Airline Refuses To Let Dad And Newborn On Plane: Then, Retired Nurse Steps Forward And Saves The Day

It’s easy to see why this heartwarming story is going viral. A man named Rubin Swift recently traveled from his hometown in Cleveland, Ohio to Phoenix, Arizona — and he had done so for the most exciting reason imaginable. Rubin went to Arizona to pick up his newborn daughter, Ru-Andria. He had been granted custody of Ru-Andria and couldn’t wait to take her back to Ohio with him.

After leaving the hospital, Rubin and his four-day-old daughter checked in at Sky Harbor International Airport. He made sure to bring a note from the doctor stating Ru-Andria was cleared to fly. However, the ticket agent at the airport said they couldn’t board the plane; their policy bans babies under seven days old from flying. In an unfamiliar part of the country and with no friends or family to come to his rescue, Rubin was left in a complete state of panic. He and his newborn were about to be stranded for three whole days until Ru-Andria was one-week-old!

But then Rubin remembered an elderly woman he had met at the hospital on the day Ru-Andria was born. Joy Ringhofer, a volunteer at Banner University Medical Center, cradled Ru-Andria in the minutes after her birth. When Rubin walked into the delivery room and saw Joy holding his baby girl, the pair of strangers made an instant yet brief connection.

Back at the airport, something told Rubin to take a chance and give Joy a call, even though they had barely spoken to one another. He called Joy and explained his dire situation. “I’m coming to get you and take you home,” she said without hesitation. Rubin was confused – at first, he thought she planned to drive him and his baby all the way back to Ohio. But once Joy pulled up and they started driving down the highway, Rubin realized they were going back to Joy’s house.

What followed was three days of kindness and selflessness that will restore your faith in humanity… It warms my heart to see what a lovely person Joy is. She might not have known Rubin well at all, but she still opened up her arms to him and went above and beyond in his hour of need.