A U.S. Navy veteran working at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, got the surprise of his life after a traveler noticed he was limping and in pain as he worked.
When Lacinda Thackeray noticed the man was in significant pain as he walked across the tarmac performing his duties, she decided something must be done to help him, Fox News reported Friday.
She filmed a short clip of the man working and struggling to walk, and shared it online where countless people took notice.
“I know there has to be a way we can help him retire,” Thackeray said of the man, who was later identified as James Blair, a former aircraft mechanic who was now refueling planes despite chronic pain in his knees.
The video showed Blair slowly limping across the tarmac but continuing to hold his head high and do his job well:
“As I sat with it for a moment with the tears coming down my face, I just wanted to know if anybody knew who he was,” Thackeray said.
Thanks to her kind heart and her hope that there was some way she could help, a GoFundMe created for him has raised $159,610 as of Saturday afternoon.
When Blair learned of the kindness of the strangers who saw the clip of him, he could barely believe it. “It’s totally changed my life,” he told Inside Edition. In his message to Thackeray, Blair said, “Thank you very much. You’re a God-send, you’re my angel.”
Blair has continued working to support himself and his 90-year-old mother who is in hospice care.
“Let’s come together and do something meaningful for someone who has clearly given so much of himself. Even the smallest donation matters. And if you can’t give, sharing this could change everything. Let’s help him finally take a break—he’s earned it,” the GoFundMe page read.
The Fox article noted another airport employee commented on the video, “That’s my coworker James. I have been working alongside him for five years now and talking to him is the best part of my shift.”
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