Courtesy Photo | U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Brandon Smith, an aircraft maintenance officer with the 138th...... read more read more
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While the holidays can amplify feelings of joy for some, they can also exacerbate feelings of loneliness, fear and anxiety for others. Either way, it seems to be the case that they often have a way of magnifying whatever emotions already reside in individuals.
For U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Brandon Smith, an aircraft maintenance officer with the 138th Fighter Wing in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last Christmas was not a celebration of familial bliss as planned. The Smiths had every factor which should have made for a joyous holiday season: A newborn baby, leave for the holidays and a trip to see family in Pontiac, Illinois.
That is, until the Smiths’ newborn daughter began to develop signs of congestion and a cough, which led to a doctor’s visit in Pontiac, where she tested positive for Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV). What should have been a holiday of family, togetherness and joy suddenly became one of fear and anxiety as the Smiths took their newborn to the OSF Children's Hospital of Illinois to receive more extensive care.
They were scared to death about their baby and had a million thoughts and anxieties. But what the Smiths could not have anticipated was the Airmen from the 182nd Airlift Wing, Illinois Air National Guard, Peoria, Illinois, who visited and passed out stuffed animals to the children in the hospital over the Christmas holiday.
The Smiths newborn recovered, and they returned home after the holiday season. What lingered with them–more than the fear, more than the anxiety, more than the million alternate possibilities–was the compassion of the Airmen of the 182nd Airlift Wing.
“I want to thank the Airmen of the 182nd Airlift Wing who took the time out of their day during this holiday to walk around room to room at the hospital and extend that compassion to families who, like us, were in a time of need,” said Smith. “We were stranded in a hospital out of state over the holidays, scared to death about our baby, and those Airmen who wanted to show some compassion by visiting and passing out stuffed animals meant so much to us, as I’m sure it did to many others.”
The selfless service, wholly voluntary and out of the goodness of their hearts, of the 182nd Airmen brightened up an otherwise dark, scary holiday for families with children in the Peoria Children’s Hospital.
A note to all, but especially Airmen and veterans: The holidays can be a dark time for many reasons. Reach out to your loved ones, coworkers and Wingmen and provide as much light as possible this holiday season.
| Date Taken: | 12.16.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.16.2024 15:39 |
| Story ID: | 487622 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 407 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Airmen from the 182nd Airlift Wing Lift Spirits During Holiday Season, by SSgt Katherine Jacobus, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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