They could not get on a plane until the newborn was 7 days old.
A kind woman in Arizona opened her home to a father and his 4-day-old infant after an airline informed the man that his newborn was too young to fly.
Rubin Swift was ready to board a Frontier Airlines from Phoenix after he had come to pick up his newborn daughter Ru-Andria, but was alerted to an airline policy that states a child must be at least 7 days old to fly.
Swift had just gained custody of his daughter and wasn’t aware of the rule.
He hadn’t brought any extra money and was without a back-up plan. When he asked for a refund, he was told he would have to wait seven days to get his money back.
“I can't sleep at the airport with a newborn," Swift told KPHO. "You know what will happen. They will take my baby away from me."
But that’s when Swift remembered someone he’d met in the NICU, Joy Ringhofer.
Ringhofer is a volunteer at Banner University Medical Center, where Ru-Andria was born.
They’d connected as Swift witnessed Ringhofer rocking his daughter.
In his time of need, he thought to reach out to the woman on a whim. Ringhofer didn’t hesitate to help.
“I didn’t expect her to say the things she said... ‘I’m coming to get you, and gonna take you home,” Swift said. “So I’m thinking she is gonna drive me back to Cleveland, but she actually brought me to her house, feeding me and making sure my baby is all right.”
Ringhofer said she knew it was safe and that Swift was a good man.
Although it’s been a few days and Swift is heading out soon, he said Ringhofer is now part of his family. He refers to her as Ru-Andria’s grandmother.
“She’s just beautiful and wonderful," Ringhofer said of Ru-Andria. "She’s been so good. I’m gonna really miss her when she’s gone."
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