A kind stranger gave his first-class seat to a mom and her sick baby. (iStock / Kelsey Zwick)
The American Airlines passenger who gave up his first-class seat for a mom and her sick baby has been identified.
Kelsey Zwick was traveling with her 11-month-old daughter Lucy from Orlando to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia on Dec. 6.
Lucy and her identical twin, Eva, were born 11 weeks prematurely, at just 29 weeks gestation. Lucy suffers from severe chronic lung disease as a result of Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), a complication of the pregnancy, and was on oxygen support “24/7” until recently, Zwick told Fox News.
Lucy and her identical twin, Eva, were born 11 weeks prematurely, at just 29 weeks gestation. (Courtesy of Kelsey Zwick)
Now, Lucy only needs the oxygen at night and while flying. On their recent trip, another passenger noticed Zwick and her daughter carrying all their luggage and equipment on board.
“She had an oxygen machine for her daughter. It couldn't be put over her head and she had to have it with her the whole time. It was so touching seeing the little girl with her oxygen. I was tearing up as I saw her,” Jason Kunselman told the Daily Mail.
Kunselman, who was seated in first class, decided to switch seats with the mom and her daughter so they’d have more room.
"I went up and asked the flight attendant if she thought she would be more comfortable sitting up in my seat and I would take the one in the back. The next thing I know she came walking up crying and said thank you and I said you're welcome and headed back towards the back of the plane. It just seemed like the right thing to do," Kunselman said on “Good Morning America.”
Zwick shared a heartfelt thank you on Facebook to the then-unidentified “man in 2D,” which quickly went viral, receiving over 669,000 likes and 426,000 shares as of Dec. 10.
“Today you were traveling from Orlando to Philly. I don’t know you, but I imagine you saw us somewhere. I was pushing a stroller, had a diaper bag on my arm and also lugging an oxygen machine for my daughter,” Zwick began her post. “We had smiles on our faces as we were headed to see her ‘friends’ at CHOP.
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“We pre-boarded the plane, got cozy in our window seat and made jokes to those around us about having to sit by my yelling-but-happy baby. The flight attendant came over and told me you were waiting to switch seats. You were giving up your comfortable, first-class seat to us,” she wrote.
“Not able to hold back tears, I cried my way up the aisle while my daughter Lucy laughed! She felt it in her bones too... real, pure, goodness. I smiled and thanked you as we switched but didn’t get to thank you properly,” the mom continues.
“Sooo... thank you. Not just for the seat itself but for noticing. For seeing us and realizing that maybe things are not always easy. For deciding you wanted to show a random act of kindness to US,” Zwick mused. “It reminded me how much good there is in this world. I can’t wait to tell Lucy someday. In the meantime... we will pay it forward.”
Fox New's Janine Puhak contributed to this report.