When Hannah White of Dallas received the devastating news that her mother, Kathleen Nelson, in Bismarck was in septic shock and would most likely not make it to the weekend, it was a race against the clock to make it to see her one last time. After booking a flight, delays and limited options left Hannah fearing she might not make it in time. While in the air to Minneapolis an announcement was made that the flight she was on would not be landing before her connecting flight departed, she started balling. The next flight out of Minneapolis to Bismarck wouldn't be till the next afternoon. Delta Air Lines flight attendant Eva Ortiz saw Hannah crying and asked why she was so upset. Hannah explained her predicament about trying to see her mom one last time. Eva took that info to the Captain Keith Napolitano. He contacted the pilot of the connecting flight who checked with FAA about delaying his flight an hour for Hannah.
All the passengers were now aware of the extraordinary circumstances of Hannah's situation. So several of them made a plan to help her when she arrived. One man told her he would grab her carry on's and another man would take his buddies for him so those 2 could run through the airport. All the other passengers stayed seated while the man and Hannah made their way to be first off the plane. Together they dashed through the Minneapolis Airport.
The Captain of the flight from Minneapolis to Bismarck announced why they were waiting to take off and one of the first class passengers offered to move back to where Hannah was sitting so Hannah could be close to the door.
Because of the kindness of the Delta staff and fellow passengers Hannah was able to spend several hours with her mom before she passed.
Hannah shared her story on social media, garnering millions of views and comments from others sharing similar experiences. Hannah says those comments are a powerful reminder of the goodness in people. As for how the trip affected her “I was overwhelmed with joy because I did get to share my mothers last few hours on earth with her. As for all of those who helped to make it possible, I don’t think any of them really know the gratitude that I have for them for giving me some extra time with my mom or just being nice to me on one of the worst days of my life.”