Stranger's timely action helped her reach her dying father in time — she honored him in the newspaper

They say kindness often echoes from the most unexpected places, and someone who hasn't experienced it would never believe in it. Well, Farah, a Londoner, wrote to Metro, the tabloid newspaper, sharing a similar experience. In August 2025, an individual (u/maxq50) took to Reddit to share the beautiful story that celebrates a Good Samaritan for helping Farah be able to pay her last respects to her dying father.

Farah's father was admitted to a hospital in Isleworth, according to the post. She was in a rush to meet her ailing father, but had to pause a little longer in the parking lot since she was short on parking fees. However, a good Samaritan turned up just in time to help Farah through the situation. "Thank you to the man who gave me 20p in the car park at West Middlesex Hospital last Tuesday morning when I found myself short of parking," she wrote. "Thanks to you, I was able to see my father alive for the last time. He died that afternoon," Farah added.

Helping a stranger is a trait possessed by only a few people, and not everyone can be that generous. Andrea Towns encountered a similar personality on her flight back to Georgia. "I saw this man, who was a stranger to this woman, offer to help her because she was pregnant and alone on the flight, and her son was upset and fussy," she wrote in her Facebook post. The man cradling the baby didn't complain; in fact, he said he was a dad himself and wanted to help the woman rest.

"This man walked the aisle most of the flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta, comforting this woman's son as if he were his own," Towns recalled. "It showed me today that there are still good people out there in a world full of turmoil," she added. A good Samaritan is not found every day or in all situations, thereby earning the almost miraculous tag. To examine how many people in reality stand up for others in times of need, NIQ in 2016 conducted a survey across 17 countries. Surprisingly, the team found that four out of ten (40%) people help others or do volunteer work at least once a month or more. Among the 40%, 4% help others almost every day or most days, 14% help at least once a week, and 21% help at least once a month.

Meanwhile, reacting to Farah's post, u/soupstarsandsilence commented, "My mother had a stroke last Tuesday. My dad got a $110 parking fine because the street next to the hospital is one-hour parking only, and he was there for several hours sitting with my mother in the ICU. The other option was to pay $6.50 per half hour in the hospital parking lot. Like, bro, why?" Similarly, echoing the sentiments, u/bethanyssin7 said, "A simple and kind gesture; that 20p stopped a lifetime of regrets and if onlys. A bargain." Another user, u/thierry_ennui_, wrote, "There's an argument here, and that is thoroughly depressing. If nobody had been there to give her 20p, she'd have missed being with her dad when he died, thanks to hospital car park policy." Someone else on the platform, u/happy_berry_9631, commented, "I think we should be questioning why it is seen as acceptable to charge people for parking at a hospital."