Single mom struggling to pay for son's operation breaks down after stranger offers a way out

Trigger Warning: This story consists of themes of suicide and abandonment that can be distressing for some readers.

A stranger's kindness can make a huge difference in a person's silent battles. A mom who had been struggling to gather money for her son's heart operation experienced that when a stranger walked up to her street food stall. The mom shared her story with the person who worked as a digital creator, and the man decided to help her. The woman who had been working with her two kids in tow was left in tears because of the stranger's unexpected act, per a now-deleted video shared by u/Cold_Pin8708 on Reddit.

The man walked up to the woman and shared that he paints online and wanted to paint a picture of her and her kid as she was working while carrying the child on her back. The mom agreed to that as she continued working. "Do you take your kids out to the stall on such a cold day?" the man asked. The woman shared that she had to because there was no one else to take care of them. "Where did the child's dad go?" She admitted, "His dad didn't want him anymore." The person wondered what she meant by that. "Because our eldest son was born with a congenital heart disease, it takes a lot of money to treat it. His dad couldn't bear the pressure and jumped into the river."

The kid had gone through two surgeries and was about to go through a third one. "What do you rely on to support him?" The mom shared that she had set up the stall for that purpose. She had sold 3 Euros ($3.47) worth of food by the time the man had come up to talk to her. The child on her back had been born to her current husband, but because she took her sick child with her, the family had been a little disapproving of the relationship. "So we are in a state of forced separation. I have to come out and set up a stall." The mom shared that she had turned 28 years old that year. "I think you are amazing," the man pointed out. "You can't change the status quo if you don't shine," she continued. "It is impossible to be sad every day."

The person asked if she had her son's surgery fee for his next operation. "No, but the hospital in Beijing is very good and you can pay for it slowly." The man questioned, "You are tired, how can you bear it?" and the mom expressed, "If you can't bear it, you have to carry it." The person made a painting for the mom and wondered if she liked it or not. He also offered to pay money for the food, and the woman kept insisting that he shouldn't. However, instead of just paying for the food, the man paid her 7142 Euros ($8,267) as he didn't know how much money she was missing for the operation. Both the mom and the kid bowed in front of the person, as the woman started crying. "You grow up healthy and protect your mother," the man told the kid.

Earlier, the mom used to work as a construction worker and crane operator. Many people shared their thoughts in the comments section of the video. u/_2BKINDR wrote, "Show love, receive love. This woman deserves multiple lifetimes full of love and so does this man." u/lilacsforcharlie commented, "The haze, the toll all of this has taken on her, isn’t evident on her face. She’s saying, 'That’s because I save that for myself.' She’s strong for her children and breaks down alone." u/Weasel_Cannon remarked, "This is great and all, but the moment he told the young boy to grow up healthy and protect his mother is what did it for me."