When Erika Jeorgean Swart boarded a plane from Orlando to Newark, she never expected her 9 year-old daughter Gabby to have a full-on panic attack. Though Gabby had flown often, she stunned Erika by developing a sudden and intense fear of flying while they were on the plane!

A type-1 diabetic, Gabby began to get so panicked that her blood sugar levels started to crash. Just when Erika was starting to worry that Gabby was disturbing her fellow passengers, a flight attendant handed her a “special drink” to keep her quiet. Never one to stay quiet herself, Erika took to Facebook after the flight to let Southwest Airlines know what their employee was up to.

“This is Garrick, an employee of yours working flight 1264 flying from Orlando to Newark…” Erika wrote alongside a photo of the flight attendant. Instead of complaining about him doing something bad, however, Erika went on to praise Garrick for how he handled the situation!

“Throughout the flight he tried making her laugh and bringing her special drinks,” she wrote. “As we were getting closer weather was rough and there was a bit of turbulence. Gabby began having a complete panic attack on descent.”

Garrick paid special attention to Gabby for the rest of the flight, and even asked if it was alright to sit in the empty seat next to her!

“During extremely rough turbulence she began crying and grabbed his arm, he gently told her she could hang on as long as she needed to,” Erika recounted. “Just after this due to the extreme stress she was under her blood sugars began dangerously crashing. He got up from his seat to get her an orange juice and came right back to sit with her. She asked again if she could continue to hold his arm while the plane was landing.”

During the plane’s descent, Garrick distracted Gabby by talking to her about animals and her school.

Thanks to Garrick, Gabby was totally calm by the time the plane landed!

“Once on the ground while taxiing to the gate he came on the intercom and announced that his friend, Gabby, in the front row overcame her fears of flying and asked for a round of applause,” her mom wrote. “The whole plane clapped for her. It was a wonderful experience on Southwest. We are forever grateful to have met such a beautiful, selfless soul.”

It seems like the only airline stories that make the news these days are about negative experiences. SHARE this story so we can spread the word about what this amazing flight attendant did!