What's the kindest thing you've ever experienced?

[flopsytheflatcat]

an act of kindness to you or one you've witnessed or heard about?

The nurse who looked after DS in SCBU who explained everything with exactly the right amount of detail and clearly loved her job and was genuinely caring.

The man who gave me a pound when I was feeding DS in a coffee shop and said it "For the baby, it might be the one that makes the difference"

My ex-bf's stepmother, who said she'd light a candle for me when I was in hospital.

So so many people..
Most notably - the off duty police officer who gave my brother and I a lift home (ten miles) in the countryside at 4am when we had no way home about 30 years ago.
The amazing midwife who looked after me when my DD died in utero and while I was having life saving treatment pre-op to deliver her. She assured me she’d care for her. She washed her, took her hand and footprints. She talked me into seeing her. She came in on Christmas Eve, her off day, leaving her 4 children alone just to see if I was ok. She spoke to my family abroad to tell them how beautiful my DD was. I still remember her almost every day.
The multiple doctors and nurses who cared for my second DD when she finally got out of NICU but especially that wonderful woman who took me out of the corridor in UCLH when I was crying because I hadn’t made it to the hospital on time before her MRI and made me a tea. She also made sure I got skin to skin contact in case the worst happened ( it didn’t- my DD is severely disabled but she is the most incredible person ever).
My friends who let me stay when I had nowhere else to go.
My dad’s factory co-workers who raised money when I was ten years old and our house burned down.
I hope I’ve done some things for other people that can even possibly match the levels of kindness I’ve experienced!

I was 18, in Italy, and had phoned STA to change my flight home by a few days, following all their instructions. Arrived at the airport having spent every single lira, no credit card or mobile phone (this was 20+ years ago), to find bloody STA had changed my reservation but not the ticket. I would have to buy a new one. I didn't have any money, and had no way of getting any and didn't have the slightest clue what to do - it was my first trip without my parents. I just begged for help at the desk! I was desperate and scared.

A nice Italian airline official - think man in his 40s, massive handlebar moustache, uniform with gold braiding and peaked hat and everything, took me into his office, made lots of phonecalls while smoking a cigar and got me a seat on the plane. Said he reminded me of his daughter.

Plus all the nurses and doctors at the cancer ward who treated my grandfather with such dignity and care and respect in his last days after his mind was gone.

The nurse who hugged me and sat with me talking for nearly 1hr when I was admitted into hospital 3 months pregnant with kidney problems. I can still feel the hand hold.

The nursing team who made me a camp bed when I arrived to be with my daddy who was in the final stages of life, and left a bottle of water and packets of biscuits on the bedding for me that night. Oh I love them.

We came out of Manchester hospital on a snowy day and there was a guy in a wheelchair trying to get the right bus. He was absolutely pissed and ranting and looked like a bit of a druggie. (Sean Ryder lookalikie). Everyone was just ignoring him and not giving him eye contact.

DH found the right bus stop and bus for him, and when the bus came helped him get on with such care that the bus driver thought he was his carer and drove off down the road with him.

DH had to walk back in the slush from the next bus stop. Said the guy has invited him back to his flat for a can but he had declined. We were all laughing so much.

I think it’s easy to be kind to nice, innocent looking people. I was so proud of my DH being decent to someone on the margins.

Many years ago now I was feeling suicidal. I 'phoned the Samaritans and spoke to a man called Tony. He literally saved my life. He talked to me for an hour and I felt so much better afterwards. I do think about him from time to time, so thank you Tony, you really made a difference.

When DD was a few months old we had ventured to town to get some bits but on our return to the car I had somehow lost our car park token. I was flapping around the car looking for where I could have dropped the token, DD was crying, it was a £30 “lost token charge” to get out of the car park. I had horrendous PND, and this was just another example of how rubbish I was at everything and I began to cry myself. Several people walked past before a lady stopped to see if she could help, she buzzed the car park officers and somehow got them to agree to let me out of the car park for £5 which she insisted on giving me herself. I will always remember sobbing on the backseat of my car with a boob out trying to calm
DD down as this lovely woman sorted out my escape from the car park.

The lovely lady who helped me in a shopping centre when I was trying to wrangle a full shopping trolley, baby DS2 in his car seat & two year old DS1 in full banana-back tantrum mode, lying on the ground, screaming. I was almost in tears. Lovely lady took over the trolley & baby, so that I could pick up DS1, and accompanied me back to my car. She was lovely, and totally non-judgmental. She'd obviously been there & knew what it was like.

And the woman who handed me a voucher she didn't need in the supermarket the other day so I could get €10 off my groceries. That was such a nice gesture & made my day.

A family member once opened the door on a very early cold sunday morning for a very young girl who was standing there, asking if she could use the phone because her BF threw her out of the car and she wanted to call her mum to come pick her up. Said family member let her use the phone but the mum didn’t pick up, so she gave the girl an old jacket of her own to stay warm and money for the bus to go home.

This person also invited a homeless guy to join dinner who showed up on the doorstep on a rainy night, asking if he could stay in because of the cold and rain.

This seems very small compared to some of the stories on here, to all those who’ve suffered losses.
When DD2 was a baby she barely slept and at one point with an unsupportive dh I felt like I was heading for a breakdown. I’d put a jokey post on FB about sleep deprivation the previous night - the next afternoon one of DD1’s school mums met me on the school run with a box of chocolates, a bottle of fizz and a big hug. I didn’t even know her that well but I will never, ever forget that. Such a small thing but god I needed it and at the time it gave me such a boost. I still get teary thinking about it. We are proper friends now!

Wow @Candle1000

My daughters abusive father had just left us , clearing out the bank account. I went into the bank with dd in her buggy to ask for £100 overdraft but because I didn’t work , I was refused. My bottom lip was quivering, I thanked the bank teller and left . As I was walking down the street, the bank teller came running after me and said that she’d made a mistake , I could have a small overdraft and handed me some notes . I knew it was a fib and this was her own money . I will never, ever forget her.

That is such a lovely story !!

When DH died, the nurses on shift insisted on performing final offices for him, even though it was the end of their shift and it meant staying late to do it. The staff nurse said she felt happier staying than having an agency night shift nurse who hadn't looked after him before doing it. It was so thoughtful.

Also, I received a bottle of gin through the post from a colleague, just because she remembered getting blind drunk when her mum died and she thought I might want to do the same after losing DH.

@parkheadparadise

I'm so sorry. What a tragic thing to happen to you. There are no words .. but the fact you can remember small acts of kindness under those circumstances is amazing and I'm glad they brought you some comfort.

Was in Vietnam on holidays and trying to cross a busy road for ages as I wasn't game enough to run across. Without a word, a little old lady took my hand and helped me cross and then walked back back over.

On the same trip, I asked a school boy and his mother for directions and was very confused, so his mother told him to tell me to get on the back of her motor bike and she dropped me off. Really special place with warm friendly people.

Broken down on holiday in Spain with no money on us at all in the middle of nowhere and a stranger came and brought us some fuel in a Jerry can!

When I was a teenager. I'd missed the last train that I'd brought a ticket for and had no money on me at all for the bus home. I was standing near a bus stop crying on the phone to my mom because I was scared that I couldn't get home and was in the city centre late at night and a random woman walked over to me and handed me £5 and said she didn't want me worrying about how I was going to get home..

The day I found out I was pregnant I'd used the cheap tests from amazon and wanted to test on something more reliable.. My DP was ill aswell and needed pain killers. It was late at night and the only late night pharmacy still open was ages away but I was impatient so went there anyway. The pharmacy was tiny and not a known pharmacy (I think family run) After getting the things I needed it turned out they didn't have a card machine and only took cash but I only had my card on me. The guy working told me to take the things and to not worry about it. I felt so bad but he wouldn't let me hand the things back to him!

After my father died in hospital, one of the main nurses who had been part of the team looking after him, came at the end of her shift to me. He had past away about an hour or so beforehand, she came to the room to check on me and asked if she could pray for him. I was honestly so touched and thought it was such a lovely gesture. We had 2 different faiths but in that moment praying together with her was so cathartic and beautiful, in a time of sadness. I am barely practising/believer but it did mean something to me.
All staff at the hospital were all incredibly kind and lovely. They made a difficult time bearable and provided wonderful care, for which I shall forever be grateful.

The woman my mum barely knew until this happened who when my dad collapsed sick at work (a virus but made him extremely ill) very kindly looked after my siblings and I, picked us up from school, somehow kept us from worrying too much, fed us and then when mum called to say dad was being taken to icu and they didn’t know if he’d survive the night told mum to stay with him and had us stay with her overnight. Dad lived but was very ill for a long time and she helped mum and us a lot. Became one of mums dearest friends.

The family of my friend who took me in when I was in a precarious housing position, they’d a big family, they weren’t a well off family but they took me in, wouldn’t take more than “housekeeping” that their own kids payed and squeezed me into their modest but welcoming home. Listened to me when I was low and feeling worthless, made me laugh after bad days at work and basically treated me like one of their own. Still close to them now even though I no longer live near them I will never ever forget that kindness.

My best friend who from days after I met her (I was mid divorce) has picked me up numerous times, including physically (I had my car accident a few years after we met and it left me disabled, one of the things that started happening before I was anywhere near a diagnosis was I started falling a lot), has listened to me rant and rave about ex, babysat dd, and when I had my breakdown shortly after accident never once complained at me calling her at stupid o’clock if I was having a crisis (although she did if she noticed I didn’t seem to know what time it was gently get me to realise, calmed me and would stay on phone with me just talking nonsense or even singing to me till I fell asleep)

My friends from a hobby group who even when I haven’t been able to go for many months stay in touch and when I’m building up to feeling able to going (anxiety) meet me whenever and wherever for coffee and chat, meet me outside the venue to walk in with me and head off any nosy types likely to make thoughtless comments.

The mner who a few years ago when dd was in hospital very poorly and I was worried sick about her was able to advise me on dds condition and why this was happening (complication of her disability which I didn’t have the knowledge of at the time), reassured me she was getting right treatment and basically kept my spirits up when I felt in despair as dd at first seemed to be getting worse not better. Will forever be grateful to them.

I am so grateful for all these people.

ParkheadParadise I am so glad your dd had someone with her, he sounds like a true gentleman.

I try, even though I am not of much use to anyone at the moment to do what I can to be kind too. I am ltd but I figure I may as well make a virtue out of a vice, so anyone I care about who’s going through a tough time I remind them if they’re awake in the wee hours like now I’m probably awake anyway so if they want to talk I’m here.

It’s another reason I love mn, I like where possible hopefully giving helpful advice to others based on my own experiences or at least letting them know they’re not alone if they’re going through something I have or am going through, sometimes feeling like you’re the only person going through a thing is the worst part.

When I started a new job several years ago. It was very low pay and I had to get a weekend job on top which meant I would be working seven days a week. I told one of the girls I was working with, not for sympathy, just in conversation, and she told me I didn't have to do it anymore and I could work with her and her mum on Saturdays and be paid more than I was earning for both days. I never had anyone who had looked out for me in this way before so I thanked her thinking it would probably never happen but she arranged it straight away. We all worked together for several years and her mum was just as lovely as her.

Also the same woman (when we were older) organised a hen party for me and put such care into it that it was truly one of the happiest days of my life. I had had a very bad year with my mum in hospital for most of it and a loud drunken evening wouldn't have suited me at the time. She arranged a relaxing day where everything was taken care of and I didn't have to pay a thing.

Ages ago when I was at uni in Scotland, we were in campus, moving from halls to a flat. We had everything packed into boxes so when the taxi driver came he just wouldn't take us with so many boxes.

There were a few couples (they had a van) just next to us and offered to take us. Not only they gave us a ride with all the boxes, but helped taking them up to the flat (second floor).

I then remember asking: How much do we owe you?

One of the guys said: "not everything in life is about money". Never saw them again but I wish I did.

I had an ectopic pregnancy and had to have my left ovary and Fallopian tube removed, so was only left with my right ovary/tube.
While pregnant with my son, I had a cluster of large cysts on my last ovary which twisted and cut off the bloody supply to the ovary, I had emergency surgery and was at risk of loosing my last remaining ovary.
My surgeon actually drained the cysts, then watched my ovary turn from black to pink instead of just cutting the whole lot away, just to save my fertility, that was 4 years ago and I'm now pregnant with my 3rd child. I think of that surgeon everyday that he took a little extra time to save my fertility. Couldn't ever thank him enough x

I don't know about ever, but this one happened fairly recently and stood out. Last year my DH sustained a brain injury which has caused him ongoing symptoms and placed a lot of extra stress and pressure on us. At Easter I had organised an egg hunt for friends' kids but he had been very ill beforehand and I was feeling totally overwhelmed and unable to cope. I decided not to cancel because I didn't want to ruin the kids' Easter but when my friends turned up it was fairly obvious what a state I was in. And they just banded together to run the party. One organised the egg hunt, one sorted the food, another one got everyone drinks and they all tidied up everything (I mean everything) afterwards. I basically sat in a corner with a glass of wine that was periodically topped up and let the party go on around me. It was so kind and touching and made me realize that it's ok to ask for help.

I was sobbing at the doctor because of PND and a stranger gave me a lollipop

Just a simple one, my mother died a few years age at New Year so there was a bit of a wait before the funeral.

I drove up to my home town and booked into a hotel. Called my dad and because of the snow and ice the hearse could not get to my dad but was going to meet us on the main road.

Because I have a disability it meant I couldn't get up the hill either.

I got a cab to the main road and the cab driver took my fare but would not let me get out, he waited with the heating on until the hearse and the 'family car' arrived.

Another one happened to a friend, she had been self employed and then had to go onto benefits and was completely out of money, I live a couple of hours away and didn't know how bad things were.

My friend had gone to the job centre to use their phone. She was still trying to get through when the job centre was closing so was chucked out.

One of the job centre staff caught up with her, put her in their car, took her to the shop to buy credit for her gas and electricity, bought her tea, bred milk and biscuits and then drove her home.

Another one, I did a quite long supply job and had a lovely group of VI formers. On my last day we shared pizza at lunch.

At home time they came back with a card and a bottle of wine. It was only later I realised the only on old enough to buy alcohol was the girl who wore hijab.

Parkheadparadise, I don’t suppose anyone who read your post will forget it. I am glad your man was kind. You certainly needed it.

When DS was born he was so poorly, every ward round ended with a reminder they couldn't promise he'd make it through.
We were sleeping in hospital accommodation so very near his NICU bed and never left the grounds, waited up one night for handover but it was hours late, we were exhausted and decided to go to bed. Doctor came over and told us it was fine to go to bed but we needed to remember that there was still a risk baby might die in the night. Utterly cold and no bedside manner.
The best nurse in tbe world took me (hysterical) and DH to our room, made the bed, calmed me down and went back and (politely) gave the doctor a telling to. No one mentioned him dying again after that, it wasn't like we were oblivious we just didn't need reminding several times a day when we only left him to eat, pee and sleep.

Her colleague also surreptitiously got me to assemble my family so they could all meet the baby, even though my niece and nephew were too young, then asked if we wanted a christening as he was so very poorly. Altho sobbed my eyes out because I knew she thought he was dying, she did it so gently and kindly and it was such a calm and healing thing to do.

They were both amazing.

DS is 4.5 years now, one day I'll make sure he understands what we owe them