A kind act toward a mom and her autistic child in a Nashville Apple store has gone viral on social media.
Mother, LynnMarie Rink, took her son to the Green Hills Apple store Thursday to replace his iPad.
Her son, James, was born with Down Syndrome and then diagnosed with Autism at six-years-old. The iPad has helped the now nine-year-old communicate more effectively. But his family was in need of a new one, after the first iPad broke.
Rink said she knew she had to get the table before the snowstorm shutdown Nashville. Problem is, any trip to the store could affect her son in a big way.
"Anytime you venture out, it's always a guessing game," Rink said. "They could be having the best day ever and then something will trigger them."
When she was at the store, James started chasing after someone who was walking outside the store.
"He just took off and before I could even grab him, I just watched him run face first into that glass wall," the mother said.
Everyone in the store stared and some even gasped at what they had witnessed. But one person did not: Andrew, an employee at the store.
"When Andrew sat down, I thought, 'He doesn't even realize how important this is at the moment; how he met us right where we needed it,'" Rink said.
The employee sat down with James on the floor and introduced him to his brand new iPad. Rink was instantly captured by what she saw.
"The world is hungry for good stories," she said. "It's such a simple act. We try to make things complicated, and they have to be big and bold, but all he did was sit down."
She took a picture of the pair and posted it to her Facebook. The post has has now been liked by more than 17,000 people.
And then this happened....Nashville Folks - can you help me find this guy on FB? Or do you know any big-wigs at Apple...
Posted by LynnMarie on Friday, January 22, 2016
Andrew has not spoken publicly about the heart-warming situation but after Rink found him on Facebook, he sent her this email:
"Hey Lynn, I want to say thank you so much for those kind words! I began working at Apple in hopes of having fulfilling moments like this. Post Apple my hopes are to work within the realm of youth counseling. Thanks again for making my day!"
Rink's next step was to nominate Andrew for Ellen DeGeneres' #BeKindToOneAnother. It has since garnered much more attention in hopes that Andrew's kindness would be recognized on the Ellen show.
