Fort Worth, Texas, retiree Lyn Story is 64 years old and a few weeks after retiring realized that she needed to find a sense of purpose to fill her days. She went on the Nextdoor App and started looking for someone to help. That's how she met Apryl Goodwin. April was diagnosed with uterine cancer and had no transportation to get to treatments. Lyn offered to drive her to over 25 radiation appointments and six chemotherapy treatments, plus all the other other doctor visits.
Apryl describes Lyn as incredibly dedicated, even flagging down help when her own car broke down to make sure that Goodwin made it to her chemo appointment. But her kindness extends beyond Goodwin, she’s also helped Kevin Horrigan, who’s legally blind, by driving him to and from work. Horrigan calls Story a "little angel" for her support, which has been instrumental in helping him manage his daily life.
Lyn has gone on to become a guardian angel to numerous strangers in need around Fort Worth, offering rides to medical appointments and other assistance, always at no cost.
Lyn says her life is far from perfect having been arrested 45 years ago for shoplifting. "I learned to stop it, to be better. I went into therapy and kind of got a feel for why I felt the need to, for the high, for shoplifting and that helped. And then many years later I was finally diagnosed as bipolar. And that helped because I got on medication to make me even instead of the highs and the lows. And so that's made a big difference".
In her 30's came to the conclusion that helping others made her feel better. She donated bone marrow. She's paid for peoples rent. She's made meals for those who couldn't. But Lyn says it's really selfish because all of these things make me feel better!
Maybe so but these acts also make the benefactors feel better. And Lyn now has some best friends for life.