Last week, my husband and I took our three young kids ones ages 5, 4, and 2 to Disney World for a family trip. Our youngest, baby Brent, stayed home with Grandma. At just four months old, we knew the chaos and heat of Disney wouldn’t be magical for him.
Even I was away, I stayed devoted to pumping breast milk morning and night. Whether it was in the baby care center at Magic Kingdom or sitting on a hotel room floor after a long day, I made sure to keep up my supply. By the end of the trip, I had managed to pump and store around 100 ounces. Before leaving, I carefully packed all that milk in a black travel cooler bag with ice and tucked it safely under the airplane seat in front of me.
Sad when we landed we were dealing with our tired kids strollers, and way too many bags, I completely forgot the milk on the plane.
An hour later, as I started unpacking at home, I suddenly inhaled, “I have to get the milk into the fridge!” The realization hit me hard. I had left all of it behind. I broke down in tears Disney fatigue mixed with disappointment overcome me. My husband tried to comfort me, but we both knew how important that milk was. Friends suggested I contact United’s lost and found, but honestly, I didn’t have much hope.
That evening, while putting the kids to bed, my husband looked up from his phone and casually said, “I think someone found your milk.” Confused and hopeful, I read a message from a United flight attendant named Jeff Nowotny. He had lived the plane after we got off and found the bag.
When I spoke with Jeff, I was stunned. Not only had he found the milk, but he had kept it chilled all day. He even offered to bring it to our home after landing late in Newark, just to make sure I got it back safely. On Mother’s Day, after a long day shift, he went completely out of his way.
When he was leaving , He left a note on my doorstep along with the cooler and even thanked me for the opportunity to help. The next morning, my husband and I made sure United knew about Jeff’s unbelievable kindness. What he did wasn’t just good customer service it was a beautiful act of humanity. I’ll never forget it.
