Rubin Swift was traveling from Cleveland to Phoenix in April 2018 to meet his newborn daughter at the hospital and bring her home. Rubin was granted custody of Ru-Andria and couldn’t wait to bring her back to his hometown in Ohio.

The pair arrived at the airport after the beaming new father left the hospital with his four-day-old daughter. Rubin approached the counter and pulled out a doctor’s note confirming Ru-permission Andria’s to fly — but it didn’t matter. They were told they couldn’t board the plane that day.

Rubin stared in disbelief as the ticket agent explained that babies under seven days old are not permitted to fly. What in the world was he going to do now?

Rubin didn’t know anyone in Phoenix. He was about to be stranded with a newborn baby with nowhere to go and no one to turn for three days.

Then a face popped into Rubin’s worried mind. Back at the hospital on the day he met his newborn daughter, he remembered walking into the maternity ward and seeing an elderly woman and hospital volunteer named Joy holding Ru-Andria.

Though he only spoke to Joy for a few minutes, he knew she was kind and nurturing.

ubin found Joy’s phone number. He didn’t think she’d even remember him, but with no other options and a newborn in tow, he took a chance and called her.

What followed was a three-day act of kindness that went viral and touched the hearts of millions.