Gary Bentley from Killen in Alabama, USA, did not have an easy childhood. He and his siblings had a violent, alcoholic father which forced them early on to be placed in foster care. But it doesn’t end there. Gary also suffered from a number of physical ailments, the most serious of which was a hole in his heart, which required surgery. It was during an operation that Gary met nurse Kathy. It turned out she’d be one person he could never forget.
For young Gary, Kathy would come to represent so much. After everything he’s been through in his tough early years, this nurse filled his life with a warmth and security he had completely lacked.
“If you look closely at that little boy in the picture, you can see the despair in his face. That little boy had literally been beaten down by that point in life and he was smart enough to know it,” his wife Gwen told LittleThings.
Source: Facebook
Unfortunately, and to Gary’s great despair, the nurse soon moved to a different department at the hospital.
“For some reason, she was really sweet to me, and I looked forward to her coming in every day,” Gary told LittleThings. “She took special interest in me for some reason. When they moved me off her floor, man, I cried.”
Life went on and Gary gradually regained his health and got married. But he could never quite forget the nurse who had given him the warmth and love he had lacked during his childhood. He felt that he wanted to thank her.
So he posted an ad on Facebook with her picture hoping to find out where she was today.
Soon enough, he received an email from a woman named Heather:
“I know who the nurse on the picture is. She’s my mom.”
With Heather’s help, Gary contacted the nurse who was his sole solace during the tough times he’d overcome 40 years ago. He could finally thank Kathy for all she did for him.
Source: YouTube
Source: Facebook
After their meeting, Gary wrote on Facebook: “She’s still the same nurse that I remember from back then.”
Watch their emotional reunion in the clip below:
“I think kindness is probably one of the best things that we can freely give away. It doesn’t cost us anything,” Kathy says about why she helped Gary.
People like Kathy certainly don’t grow on trees, and I’m so glad that Gary got to thank her for what she did for him. Please share this along if it touched you as much as it did me.
Just hit the like button below for more stories like this in your feed.
