Little Girl Panics in Flight – Attendant Saves the Day
Nine-year-old Gabby Swart suffers from severe flight anxiety and type 1 diabetes, so when she and her two siblings needed to fly with only one parent, she was scared. Her mom, Erika Swart was concerned too. She was flying without her husband to help which made traveling difficult.
While waiting on the runway, Gabby chewed away her fingernails, because she was so nervous about the flight. As the plane began to increase speed on the runway and the wheels began to lift from the ground, little Gabby panicked.
Her mother sat across the aisle from her, trying to soothe her, but she also had two smaller children to care for too. When flight attendant Garrick (Jovan) Riley saw Gabby’s distress, he asked Erika if she was alright; to which Erika said, “I don’t know.”
Somehow Gabby made it through takeoff, and as a show of kindness, Garrick offered her the first drink of the flight service.
Throughout the flight Gabby’s anxiety spiked. Banking and turbulence were rough on the little girl. Garrick was there, faithfully taking care of her the entire time.
Erika later went to Facebook and shared the story of Garrick’s kindness.
“Throughout the flight, he tried making her laugh and bringing her special drinks,” her mom wrote.
When turbulence got rough, Garrick sat with Gabby and let her hold onto him. Since he had a child Gabby’s age, he just talked with her, distracting her from most of it. When the stress caused Gabby’s blood sugar to drop, he quickly got her an orange juice.
When the flight landed, Garrick took to the intercom and congratulated Gabby for her bravery and overcoming her fear of flying. The whole cabin exploded in applause.
Erika praised the kindness to Southwest, and they too acknowledged the attendant. People on Facebook loved the story also.
“We’re so quick to complain when something goes wrong, but rarely think to share positive experiences,” Mom told “Today.”
We are grateful she shared this sweet story. Thanks to all those attendants who make the stresses of travel a little easier on us all.
