Blessings come in many different forms, including people.
Just ask this 88-year-old woman.
After a slip landed her in the hospital, she found a guardian angel where she least expected it.
After 88-year-old Opal Zucca fell and hit her head, this mystery garbage man made it his duty to see that it wouldn’t happen again
It’s hard not to see your own grandmother in her, and that’s exactly why this story will completely warm your heart.
There are kind gestures around the world every day, but the ones that go viral capture people’s hearts immediately.
That’s what happened when the daughter of 88-year-old Opal, Colette, installed a Ring camera to monitor her fragile mother after she ended up with 8 stitches from a slip-and-fall bringing in the garbage cans.
What she saw brought her to tears.
An unknown city sanitation worker was going above and beyond to keep her mother safe
Colette had noticed interactions her mother was having with this particular sanitation worker but hadn’t really paid much attention to it.
One day, that all changed.
Colette watched as the man locked arms with her mother and escorted the elderly Opal up the driveway.
It wasn’t his first time.
Nor would it be the last time he would help the 90-year-old, who also suffers from dementia.
It turns out he had been helping Opal for almost an entire year, ever since her accident in January of 2019
That’s right, the kind-hearted man had been treating Opal like his own grandma, escorting her hand-in-hand ever since her accident.
When Colette found this out she was completely moved.
She had to know who he was.
This kind soul had been helping her mother all these months without her even knowing it.
That’s when Colette took to social media and the video went viral, leading her to a local garbage collector.
Billy Shelby
Heartwarming story! I have SO MUCH MORE respect for every single waste management employee than I do for the current so-called President of the United States.
— Joyce McGee-Varney (@McGeeVarney) October 22, 2019
The internet went crazy for the kind-hearted man, earning him praise online as a hero.
Once Colette found the identity of the man who had been helping her mother, she was able to give him proper thanks by taking him to a Chiefs game.
But that was just the start.
Remember Billy, the sanitation worker who went viral after he was caught on camera helping 88-year-old Opal Zucca carry her trash can up her driveway? Here he is at Arrowhead with Opal’s daughter, Colette. #ChiefsKingdom #Chiefs
ICYMI:https://t.co/AlNcUvInDa via @fox4kc @ZacOnTV pic.twitter.com/rUJEaEd9xv
— Zac Summers (@ZacOnTV) November 3, 2019
On top of going viral, and the thanks he got from Opal’s family, Billy Shelby was honored in another way as well.
50-year-old Billy was honored by the Mayor of Independence, Missouri, for going above and beyond to help Opal
Back in February of 2020, Billy and Opal came together once again, this time to see Billy honored by the Mayor with a special coin.
Opal attended the ceremony with him.
And you could tell that they absolutely adore each other. In an interview with 41 Action News, Billy said:
“I think people are just showing their appreciation, and bringing awareness that one small act could go a long way.” He went on to say: “I come get her trash every week still, and she gives me my hug and says god bless you every week”
To see this story for yourself, watch the videos below!
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