Acts of Kindness
Police contact bus driver after they receive of photo of her grasping young boy's hand
After getting ahold of the photo, the Augusta Police Department had to acknowledge it.
Jenny Brown
10.06.21

Any young child embarking on their first day of school is usually filled with all sorts of emotions. Whether it’s the first day of pre-school or the first day of college.

Some kids cannot wait to return to the normalcy that school brings to their lives, while others would rather hang out at home all day watching Netflix or playing video games.

YouTube/NBC Local 33
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YouTube/NBC Local 33

Wisconsin kiddo Axel was escorted onto the big yellow bus by his mom, Amy Johnson for his first day of school.

He seemed perfectly fine at first until he approached the noisy and stinky vehicle with mounting trepidation.

YouTube/NBC Local 33
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YouTube/NBC Local 33

Mom Amy couldn’t wait to immortalize the moment with a photo of Axel on the bus, she told CNN.

He was starting 4K, a pre-kindergarten year for kids ages four and younger that occurs in an elementary school setting.

But when he laid eyes on the approaching bus about to whisk him off to school and away from his mom, he burst into tears.

“He was super excited to go, but when the bus came around corner he was really quiet. The bus opened the door and I looked at him and he started crying.”

Amy lifted up Axel gingerly and encouragingly set him on the school bus, but he clung tightly to her. He wasn’t about to let go.

YouTube/ NBC Local 33
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YouTube/ NBC Local 33

Bus driver Isabel Lane felt so sorry for the sweety who was having a meltdown on the bus.

“I told him, ‘Buddy, you got this and will have so much fun.”

Amy tried to quickly escape so that the bus could continue on to school and Axel hopefully would pull himself together, but he kept grabbing for her.

The sweet little boy didn’t want his mommy to leave him.

“I stuck my hand behind the seat as maybe something else to grab onto and he grabbed my hand.”

YouTube/ NBC Local 33
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YouTube/ NBC Local 33

Mom scampered down the stairs of the bus and spun around to check on her baby boy one last time, hoping to capture a photo of him.

She snapped one that broke her heart and made her feel extreme gratitude toward Isabel.

“I could see that he needed to be comforted and that was the best I could do at the time.”

The popular parenting book series What To Expect explains that it’s perfectly normal for kids to break down when it’s time to separate.

The book notes that even if a wee one is “howling like a banshee and clinging like a barnacle,” chances are good that he or she will be just fine a few minutes after a parent leaves.

YouTube/NBC Local 33
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YouTube/NBC Local 33

The Augusta Police Department saw Amy’s photo and loved it. The department shared the photo on Facebook and people around the world ooed and awwed over it.

“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal personally. It was just something I felt I should do. If you see someone struggling, just reach out a hand. You don’t have to say anything. But it can make a big difference in someone’s day.”

Thankfully, Isabel and Axel chatted and by the time they reached the end of his road, he had stopped crying.

YouTube/NBC Local 33
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YouTube/NBC Local 33

Isabel said she wants to make sure every student knows how important he or she is.

“A big win for me is every morning I tell the kids as they get off to make it a good day and when I have a kid who I know doesn’t like to go to school say, ‘Yeah, I’ll try.’ It makes me feel good because they heard me and I hope it makes them feel like they can be heard.”

YouTube/NBC Local 33
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YouTube/NBC Local 33

Even though Axel’s first day of school had a rough start, Amy said he hops on the bus every day ready to go and “loves school.”

Watch the video below and learn more about how much she deeply cares for these kiddos.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

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