NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Kristie Johnson is grateful just as much as she is relieved.
The Nashville steak house server received help from an individual she didn't know, much less to see where she worked one recent Sunday. After a Tennessee Titans game, she watched three players walk in unexpectedly after a game.
While she wasn't his waitress, Johnson asked her coworker to let Titans cornerback Jarvis Brownlee know that she and her six kids loved him.
To her surprise, Brownlee wanted to talk with her. The two chatted, and Johnson signed a football. But he left an impression she didn't anticipate. Brownlee said he wanted to help her family.
That's when she started crying in front of him, as he offered to give her some financial relief, which translated into a life changing moment for Johnson.
"It was the world. It helped me pay the rent I was short on," Johnson said. "It helped me buy some jackets and some shoes ... that they needed so bad. I sent him the receipts because I wanted him to know where all of (money) went. He didn't ask for that, but I wanted him to know he really did help us in an amazing way."
Johnson wrote about Brownlee's kindness on social media, where it went viral.
"I just wanted my friends to know what he did for me," Johnson said. "And when I tagged him, it went viral. And his teammates are messaging me and just — the amount of praise he is getting is well deserved. It's well deserved."
Do you have more information about this story? You can email Hannah at hannah.mcdonald@newschannel5.com.
Here’s a beautiful story of how one mother turned her grief journey into a gathering of gratitude… and organ donation awareness.
Robb Coles highlights a special event organized by Cari Hollis – whose 26-year old son Austin died two years ago. Austin agreed to be an organ donor – and that single gesture saved multiple lives.
Cari reached out to as many recipients she could find – several of whom traveled to Nashville for an emotional celebration in Austin’s honor. One woman – whose life was saved by receiving Austin’s lungs – put it simply: “He’s my angel”.
- Rhori Johnston
