A text to the wrong person leads to unexpected support: 'You were sent here to help this family'
When an Arizona man received a text message from an unknown number offering to bring dinner over the following night, he initially started to joke with the sender about his order. However, when he was told that the meal was actually for a friend's family as their son was in the ICU, he immediately asked how he could help.
Abby Fink told Phoenix news station KNXV-TV said that she had accidentally texted the wrong number and her messages were going to a man named Bill, rather than her friend, Shaun Jakeman.
"Hey brother Jakeman, this is sister Fink, we are bringing you dinner tomorrow I was wondering what time would be a good time to bring it over," the text read.
According to Fink, Bill jokingly replied, "Oooh! What're you bringing me? I'm allergic to seafood."
Fink then explained to Bill that the text was meant for Shaun Jakeman and his wife, Alex, who have a four-year-old son, Noah, who was in the ICU.
Bill then responded to Fink, asking, “How can I help?”
"I was like, 'Well, just pray for Noah,' and he was like, 'Well I don't really pray, but I can help with donations, food, etc.,'" Fink told KNXV-TV of Bill’s text message.
Alex Jakeman told Yahoo Lifestyle that Noah has Lennox–Gastaut syndrome, a severe type of epilepsy, as well as cerebral palsy, brittle bones, microcephaly and autism. Alex was driving Noah, along with his four siblings, to a doctor for a follow-up appointment regarding his broken ankle when he suffered a seizure and vomited, sending the fluid into his lungs.
“[He was] immediately intubated [at Phoenix Children’s Hospital], and was in full respiratory failure and has been in the ICU ever since. He had aspiration pneumonia and a bacterial infection in his blood and then has had complications and setbacks along the way,” Jakeman said.
Fink said Bill told her he is a single father and helping a family in need would be a teachable moment for his son, adding that it is "just what people do,” KNXV-TV reported.
"I'm thinking to myself, ‘No that's not what people do because it's hard to find good people, good genuine people who want to serve and help others,’" said Fink.
Bill took to Facebook on Sunday to share the exchange he had with Fink and encouraged his friends to help out the Jakeman family. He also set up a fundraiser on Facebook and got in contact with Armer Foundation for Kids, who can further assist the family.
A friend of the Jakeman family has also set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to help pay future medical bills.
“I was blown away. He doesn’t know us or Abby at all and the fact he not only offered to help but actually backed that offer with action is amazing,” Jakeman told Yahoo.
"I told Bill, 'I don't know if you believe in God or not, but I believe you were sent here to help this family.' I told him he was an angel," Fink said to KNXV-TV.
Noah is doing better, his mother says, but he has a long way to go to recovery. She said that she is making plans with Bill so he can meet Noah.
Yahoo Lifestyle was not immediately able to locate Fink for comment. a
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