What Did the Flight Attendant Say to the Scared Passenger?
“I went on ahead and held my coffee and I sat there next to her for like 10 minutes explaining to her… ‘So you’re gonna feel like this or a little up and down feeling…”
Thinking knowing each specific sound could decrease the fears he explained that he told her, “The gears are coming out. You’re going to hear all of this, but I guaranteed the safety, that if nothing was not right on this plane, we would never lift off the ground.”
According to Dean-Shannon, his efforts helped. He gave her a mimosa and sat with her. “She was relaxed. She was more calm,” he said. “She was chit-chatting and taking pictures and everything.”
When asked how he became such a thoughtful and caring person, he said, “I have two people that actually taught me to act like that and they are both nurses.”
“I got a lot of love to give everybody, and I try to hold that dear to me,” explaining what motivates him to be there for others.
To Dean-Shannon, he was just doing what he was hired to do.
“When you get on an aircraft, it’s not about us,” said Dean-Shannon. “It’s about you. And if you’re not feeling good, I want to be there to say, ‘Hey, what’s wrong? Is there something I can do?'”
But it’s that kind of attitude that caused him to go viral.
Facebook users who saw the viral photo commented and shared how impressed they were with how the flight attendant went above and beyond.
One said, “Also notice how he is holding her hand, palm to palm – this is a calming technique that I used to use with my mother who had dementia.”
Explaining this technique further, Christine Schmidutz said, “It provides a comforting and calming human connection using a familiar grasp and proprioceptive (deep pressure) in the palm at the base of the thumb.”
Other Facebook users shared their own fearful experiences on a plane.
“My senior year in high school, I toured with my choir in Hawaii (from California). We flew Delta. I hadn’t been on a plane since I was 2, and I freaked out, it was bad,” said Tamara Rodriguez. “Like I had to be coaxed onto the plane through tears. The crew was so helpful and even gave me some wings that they gave to little kids lol. I still have it in my jewelry box.”
It’s important to remember that a little bit of kindness goes a long way. Dean-Shannon certainly knows this!
