AN HONORARY GRANDMA: A TALE OF KINDNESS AND CONNECTION

A father was prepared to return to Cleveland with his newborn daughter, but unforeseen circumstances left them stranded in Phoenix, Arizona. Fortunately, a compassionate stranger stepped in to assist.

Rubin Swift had traveled from Ohio to Arizona to pick up his 4-day-old daughter, Ru-Andria, after gaining custody. Before embarking on the journey home, he contacted Frontier Airlines to confirm that his daughter could fly. The airline representative informed him that he needed to present her birth certificate and a doctor’s note from Banner University Medical Center, which confirmed she was fit to fly.

However, upon arriving at the airport, Swift was informed that infants must be at least 7 days old to board the flight. With no funds left for a hotel and a refund for the tickets taking several days to process, he reached out to Joy Ringhofer for help.

Ringhofer, a volunteer at the hospital’s NICU, had cared for Ru-Andria and felt an immediate connection with Swift. When he explained his predicament, she offered her home to them.

“She opened her door without hesitation,” Swift recounted. “My color was never an issue. She loves my baby and held her all night. Who does that?”

Ringhofer expressed her strong intuition to help, stating, “I knew he was a kind and safe man to have in my home, and he has been a perfect gentleman.”

Swift and Ringhofer developed a bond, and she has since become an honorary grandmother to Ru-Andria. “He promised to come back and visit me, and I’m looking forward to that,” she said.

May we never cease being compassionate to others.