It takes a village to raise a child – and as one U.S. mother learned recently, it can take a planeload of people to help one through a difficult flight.
Lori Gabriel took to Facebook Aug. 6 to thank everyone from flight attendants to her fellow passengers for helping her son Braysen cope with tough times on a flight from San Diego to Houston.
Braysen is four years old and has autism. His mother says he "normally loves to fly" but, for some reason, wasn't in the mood to sit still on this particular voyage.
"Trying to get him to stay seated was impossible," she wrote.
"He wanted to sit on the floor in the hall and in first class."
According to Gabriel, United Airlines personnel went above and beyond in working around Braysen's behaviour, allowing him to sit in her lap during takeoff and walking him down the aisle once the plane was at cruising altitude.
Other passengers on the plane chipped in too. One woman – an off-duty flight attendant – wrote Gabriel a note telling her that her family was "loved and appreciated." A man felt Braysen kick his seat and responded by high-fiving him.
"Y'all made our flight less stressful being so understanding," Gabriel wrote.
