In March of 2018, Rubin Swift of Cleveland, Ohio, found out he had a newborn baby girl in Phoenix, Arizona. He also found out that he had custody of the child. He flew to Phoenix to get her, only to find out that she wasn’t allowed on the plane. Stuck, this dad and newborn were saved by the kindness of a stranger. (1)
Stranger Saves Dad and Newborn and Takes Them Home
Most airlines have a minimum age requirement for a baby to fly. This can range anywhere from two days to two weeks. Usually, they will require that you show proof of birth date, aka a birth certificate, to fly. (1)
When Swift arrived at the airport with his daughter Ru-Andria, he was denied entry to the plane because of this. The airport requires proof that the newborn is at least seven days old, and the hospital says it can take that long for them to produce a birth certificate for her. The dad and newborn were stuck. (1)
Without enough money to stay in a hotel room for a week, he had no idea what he would do. He could sleep in the airport for the next few days, but he was afraid the authorities would find out and take his daughter away from him. (2)
A Panicked Family
Swift called his wife Tiffany, who also was at a loss for what to do. She didn’t go on the trip with him because the couple could only afford one flight. (2)
“When he called me from the airport and told me that they weren’t going to let him fly until he could get a birth certificate in four days, I felt panicked,” she said. “We didn’t have the money for a hotel room or a rental car, and I didn’t want him to sleep at the airport. I was scared because it looked like we were out of options.” (2)
The Kindness of a Stranger
Then, he recalled a hospital volunteer named Joy Ringhofer who helped look after Ru-Andria when she was in the NICU. (1)