Most people can’t stand the idea of being stuck on a plane for hours at a time, but LouAnn Alexander made a career out of it and she loved every minute of it. So when she was abruptly forced to retire from being a flight attendant, her brother found a way to give her the send-off she deserved.
LouAnn had dedicated 30 years of her life as a flight attendant, and figured her back pain was caused from years of lifting heavy bags into the overhead carry-on compartments. However, when the 58-year-old who had beat breast cancer twice went in to see a doctor a few weeks ago, they discovered her back pain was actually a symptom of pancreatic cancer, which had already spread.
In just a few short weeks after being diagnosed, LouAnn managed to take care of every last detail of her funeral arrangements so her family wouldn’t have anything to worry about after she passed away yet never got to say goodbye to her coworkers and have a traditional retirement party.
While on his way to see his sick sister, Rex Ridenoure decided to use his flight to somehow give her the farewell she deserved. “It seemed so sad to me that she couldn’t depart the airline the way she would have wanted, one with an official retirement party,” he said. “So I wanted to make that flight somehow her last flight, but I was scrambling for ideas.”
With the help of the flight attendants, some of whom had worked with LouAnn, Rex was allowed to stand up in front of the flight and summarized who his sister was, her flying career, and what had happened in the previous six weeks. Amazingly, nearly 100 passengers wrote her notes on napkins, made her paper flower bouquets, and one passenger even managed to crochet a cozy headband in case she might undergo chemotherapy and lose her hair.
Rex shared the 96 messages with his sister and on his Facebook so everyone could see her story. “My sister doesn’t like sob stories,” Ridenoure said. “One of the messages we’re trying to get through is that, while this is all definitely a sad story, please go get yourself checked if you have a weird symptom. Don’t take it for granted that it’s just a crick in your back.”
“That whole flight for me has shown me, hey, the world is not so negative if you just have the right spark. It sure seems like there’s a large portion of the population that are inherently nice, and can be nice if given the opportunity.”
Watch the entire video below to hear more about LouAnn’s incredible life.
Can you believe the incredible send-off Rex managed to give his sister? Let us know what you think in the comments below, and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
[Featured image credit: Facebook/Rex Ridenoure]
Strangers Turn Flight Into Touching Tribute For Flight Attendant With Cancer is an article from: LifeDaily