After seeing a poor old man being kicked out of the store, a woman decided to pay for his groceries. She did this despite not having a lot of money herself, which ended up being a blessing in disguise when she received an unexpected reward a couple of days later.
Anna Collins was a 34-year-old single mother. She lost her husband to an accident while he was at work, leaving her to raise their 11-year-old twin sons alone. The loss devastated Anna; she and her husband had been together since they were teenagers, and she had no idea how to live without him.
While navigating the role of being a mother to twin babies, Anna faced another challenge when one of her sons, Adam, couldn’t walk due to leg length discrepancies. After consulting several doctors, the best suggestion they could give was for Adam to undergo therapy for a chance to walk properly.
By the time Adam was diagnosed, Anna could barely make ends meet. She worked two jobs, one as a waitress at a fast-food chain and another as a pizza delivery staff. Although she worked day and night, the amount she was taking home wasn’t enough to cover Adam’s surgery and the physical therapy to come. Moreover, she had her family’s daily expenses to worry about.
Every single day, Anna tried to find more ways to earn more aside from her job. She could make handmade soy candles at home, which she could sell to her co-workers. On some days when she couldn’t sell candles, she’d only eat once a day, hoping to save money.
One Friday afternoon, Anna decided to go grocery shopping to buy her twins’ food for the week. It was a busy day at the store with customers cramming to get their supplies before the weekend. As she lined up to pay, she noticed an older man in front of her looking confused.
« What is it? » the cashier asked him. « Where’s your wallet? I already told you the total amount you need to pay, » she said, growing impatient. The old man was looking around and patted his pockets, « I thought I had my wallet with me, » he said weakly.
« I don’t know where it is. Stop wasting everyone’s time, » the cashier yawned. « You brought an entire cart of groceries to the counter, and now you’re telling me you have no money? You’re holding back the line. If you have no money to pay for what you got, then get out. »
The old man looked at Anna apologetically, and he looked as if he was about to cry. He turned to the cashier one more time in one last attempt, « I really need to take these groceries home. My son won’t have anything to eat, and it’s his birthday. »
« I don’t care, sir. If you don’t have the money to pay for these groceries, it’s not like I’m going to let you walk out with them for free. Please step aside; you’re holding the line, » she said once more.
Anna felt awful for the old man, who looked genuinely confused. It was as if he couldn’t understand why he’d gone to the grocery without a wallet and didn’t know what was happening around him. Although she knew she didn’t have much money to spare, Anna took a deep breath and decided to take a leap of faith.
« You know what, » she suddenly said, speaking to the cashier, « give him his groceries. I’ll cover the bill. » The cashier was surprised, and so was the old man. Anna herself was surprised that she was willing to do such a thing, especially when she was already having a hard time saving up for Adam’s treatment. However, she knew it was the right thing to do, so she did it anyway.
« You’re an angel, » the old man told Anna. « I don’t know what to say. Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me, » he told her, extending a hand for her to hold. « I know I don’t have anything with me, but do you mind giving me your name and phone number? I want to do something for you when I get the chance, » the old man told her.
At first, Anna found it strange that he asked for her number. She didn’t expect anything in return from the old man, especially since he looked like he could barely help himself. Despite this, she provided details on the old man’s grocery receipt.
« Do you know your way home? » she asked him. The man stood still, looking confused yet again. It was then that Anna realized the man was likely suffering from memory loss.
« If you could just give me an address, I can take you to your house, » she offered. Luckily, the old man had a dog tag on his neck, which had his address written on it, and Anna recognized the street. It was only a couple of blocks from the grocery store.
« Thank you, sweet angel. I really appreciate you helping me. I’m so forgetful, » the old man admitted. Anna helped him carry his groceries, and they walked home towards the parking lot where she parked her pizza delivery service car. After she took him home, Anna went straight to work. She delivered pizzas the entire night and almost forgot about what happened just a couple of hours prior.
A few days later, Anna was reminded of the old man when somebody called her cell phone. The person on the other end of the line introduced himself as the old man’s son.
« I just wanted to thank you for helping my dad out the other day. You see, he has Alzheimer’s and had an episode that day. If it weren’t for you, something might have happened to him. Thank you, » the man who introduced himself as James said.
« It’s no problem, » Anna replied. « I’m glad I was able to help him. Is he doing all right? » James revealed that his father was in the hospital receiving treatment. « I’m a doctor, so I’m doing everything I can to give him the best care possible, » he explained.
« I see, » Anna said. « I’ll be visiting the hospital soon too. I’m currently saving up for my son’s operation. He suffers from leg length discrepancy, and he needs surgery, » she revealed. There was silence on the line.
« Hello, Anderson? Sorry, I’m still here, » James replied. She said, « I’m one of the only doctors who do LLG surgeries in the state, and I’ve never heard of your son’s case. I’d really like to help him. »
James asked Anna to take Adam to him the following day so he could study his case. After seeing Adam, he offered to do the surgery for free. It was a $35,000 surgery.
« You’re willing to do the surgery on my son for free? » she clarified, tears streaming down her face. James nodded, « You paid it forward at the grocery store with my father. I want to do the same this time for your son »