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Mom Is Crying, Overwhelmed, Flying Solo With Her Young Kids When An 'Angel' Saves The Day

September 5, 2023

A mother flying from California to Raleigh recently connected with the stranger she fondly refers to as her "guardian angel".

Erdel and her children / WRAL News / YouTube

Summer Erdel is a military spouse with three children and two dogs. She dreads taking her children on airplanes by herself but she had no choice this time, she said.

The trip consisted of multiple connecting flights and "by the third flight, my kids were fed up!" she said.

That's when her angel appeared.

"She let me know she was a mom of four and that she understands my frustrations and how hard it is on the kiddos," Erdel told WRAL. "She said she can help me however I needed."

The woman, Jenny Martin, held Erdel's baby and checked in her stroller during the boarding process.

"She told me to just worry about getting myself and my toddler on the plane," Erdel said.

WRAL News / YouTube

Erdel said the thought that'd be the last time she needed help during the flight.

"But boy was I wrong!" she said. "Since it's Southwest, we can choose our seats, so she offered to sit in front of me, so that way if my toddler kicked the seats, it'd be ok."

Halfway through the flight, at about midnight, the baby projectile vomited on Erdel -- four times.

"My mouth, my shirt, my pants, the seat, the floor," she said. Erdel began crying, overwhelmed.

Martin stepped in once again. She held the baby, covered in vomit, and said, "I got the kids. You go take care of yourself."

She entertained the kids while Erdel cleaned herself up. She even gave Erdel her jacket to keep and rocked the baby to sleep.

"She held my baby and walked my baby off that flight, and got my baby into her stroller, got me to baggage claim and to my husband," recalled Erdel.

The two mothers never exchanged contact information, so Erdel made a post on Facebook searching for this mysterious "Jenny," who helped her so much in her time of need.

"Motherhood is a sisterhood," she wrote in the post. "I learned that tonight."

The post eventually made its way to Martin and the two mothers reconnected on Zoom on Monday afternoon.

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