Kelly Malan was driving with her very sick 15-month-old but had to stop out of fear for her daughter’s life; a man saw them and rushed them to the hospital.
Cape Town, South Africa (09 September 2019) – Kelly Malan received a call from her daughter’s school saying she was very ill. The 15-month-old tot was vomiting profusely. Kelly quickly got her into her car seat and rushed off towards the hospital. She had no choice but to pull over to stop her daughter from choking- a man driving by saw Kelly’s struggle and helped her.
Kelly was stuck on a bustling road, and the more her daughter vomited, the more she started choking. She became panicked at the idea of driving any further and quickly pulled over. Kelly turned her daughter over to prevent choking and knew she needed to get her to the hospital. Kelly had two options, place her daughter back in the car chair where she was at risk of choking or drive with her on her lap through the traffic. Neither choice was ideal.
That is when the hero of this story came in. Kelly was so relieved to meet her hero; she shared the incredible encounter they had on the roadside with her Facebook friends a few days after her daughter was cleared and well.
“Monday was most probably the scariest day of my life. My daughter got sick twice at school, so I rushed to fetch her. On the way home, she started getting sick in her car seat, and the more she was getting sick the more she was choking. This happened on Sandown Road, we all know how busy Sandown is in peak traffic.
I pulled over as best I could, got Dani out her car seat, turned her half over to get her to breathe properly again. I considered driving with Dani on my lap to the hospital as she was choking, as I can’t leave her in her car seat to choked to possible death. She is only 15 months old.
Shaking and crying I flagged a bakkie down. Some cars drove by before he stopped. This guy stops, and I ask if he can take me to the hospital, says no problem get in and leave your car on the pavement. On the way to the hospital, he calls his friend and asks his friend if he can fetch him to get my car. He drops me at the door of Blaauwberg hospital, and I give him my car key and he gives me his business card.
Please note, I have never in my life met or seen this guy. I thought, he can either steal my car or bring it to me. Whatever! Need to sort my daughter out. Not long after, he comes to drop my car keys and see if we are okay.
I had no words, I could hardly speak.
This guy is Ben Mans!! Who does something so kind? Well, Ben does. I literally feel like he saved my baby’s life!!!! Thank you Ben from the bottom of our hearts. I hope to repay you one day.”
Kelly saw he was a carpenter, so she asked her friends to share the story so he could get the recognition he deserved. After the post was shared a few hundred times, Kelly was connected to Ben. It was then that Kelly learned from Ben that her post had had a massive impact on his business.
Ben took his chance to thank her on Facebook and encourage others to always be open to offering a little kindness to people in need.
“She opened a whole new world to me and to my business the day she posted on FB of how I helped her and her 15-month-old daughter Dani. The feedback and response from people made me lost for words. I really thank every single person for that, from the bottom of my heart. The kindest words and appreciation from strangers for helping someone that was in real need of help. At the time I really thought I was just doing a small good deed. But after I spoke to a friend with two daughters of his own I can now understand what Kelly had to go through.
Kelly. In your post, you said you hope to repay me somehow. Well, you did more already then you think.
Not only did you give my business exposure, it really wants me to be even more of a better person. AND I URGE PEOPLE TO DO AND TO THINK THE SAME. Because doesn’t matter how small we think the deed is, if can make a massive change to someone else’s life.We all are experiencing a real troubling time in our country with crime, murders of friends and loved ones. So take control of the things we do have control about. Thank you again, Kelly Malan and family”
Stories like these renew our faith in humanity. As Ben mentioned above, after a tough week in South Africa, these are the stories that remind us what a good place South Africa can be!
Sources: Facebook (Kelly) / Facebook (Ben)
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