Dad Ridiculed for Carrying Sick Daughter in Arms, His Response Leaves Hecklers Crying
When a stranger made a snide comment toward Brent Gehring for carrying his daughter instead of letting her walk, he decided to turn the situation into a teaching moment.
While in Boston, Gehring and his family decided to go dine at one of their favorite restaurants, Union Oyster House. After they finished eating, Gehring picked up his 6-year-old daughter, Emma, and headed toward the car.
One stranger was so bothered by the image of a father carrying his daughter that he decided to yell at Gehring from across the street. The stranger said, “What the f— are you doing? That’s what’s wrong with kids. Make her walk.”
Instead of letting his anger take over the situation, Gehring took a depth breath and decided to follow the example of his kind daughter, who was still in his arms.
Even though this sweet girl looks like a normal kid on the outside, she has proven to be much stronger.
What this stranger didn’t know is that Emma was battling an aggressive brain tumor; she was first diagnosed at only seven months old.
“It was earth-shattering,” Gehring said of the diagnosis. “You take for granted that your children will be healthy and to hear that one of them is not, I think is just a really hard thing as a parent to understand and come to grips with.”
The past five and half years have definitely been a fight for the Gehring family, but they have rallied around precious Emma and helped her get through six rounds of chemo. She will start her seventh round soon.
“Emma has brought love, strength, and compassion to our family,” Gehring said. “To think that I would be sitting here five years post-diagnosis and think that this is a gift is crazy.”
The family was actually in Boston so that Emma could get necessary treatments to help fight against her cancer.
After the stranger yelled at Gehring, he didn’t respond out of anger but instead decided to help the man understand and hopefully teach him a lesson. He thought, “Can I make myself feel better by screaming at him or can I teach him something about life?”
He decided to do the latter.
“My daughter has been carrying my faith and my strength for the past 5 years since she was diagnosed with a brain tumor,” he responded. “She can’t walk, but I am happy to carry her because of all the amazing things she has taught me through the years.”
Gehring didn’t reveal exactly what happened next, but he did share on a recent Facebook post that “it ended with two grown men with tears rolling down their faces.”
He shared the incident in hopes that it will discourage others from making hard, fast judgments of others.
“This story is only important if it serves as a reminder that you don’t always know the whole story so don’t judge others,” he wrote. “You have the power to make people’s days better or worse.”
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