Southwest Flight Crew Celebrates Cancer-Free Passenger With Special Announcement - Inspirational Videos

Get the tissues because when this Southwest flight crew celebrates a cancer-free passenger with a special announcement, it is truly a touching moment! 

Jryl Oldham and her husband Kevin are on their way to Hawaii with two other couples. But, this isn’t just a tropical getaway for the group of friends. This is a trip that marks Jryl’s victory over late-stage breast cancer. This is a trip that they might not have had!

One of their traveling buddies is Valeri Jones. Valeri’s husband has notified Southwest crew members of the special significance of this trip, and when the captain speaks over the intercom to welcome Jryl, Valeri is ready with the camera. Not too many moments are quite this special!

Rumor has it that pilots have been known to welcome newly adopted children from Guatemala (and perhaps other countries) to the U.S.A. when landing in Texas (or other ports of entry), naturally sending tears down the cheeks of new parents bringing “home” their precious cargo.

However, this sentimental shout-out is altogether different! The individual being honored is not sleeping, fussing, or having a bottle. Instead, she’s enjoying a donut—specifically, a Boston Kreme—as the plane prepares to take off. Sitting with another friend, she’s entirely taken aback when, after several words, she realizes the pilot is addressing her!

Jryl appears self-conscious at first. Her friend to the right seems to be as surprised as is Jryl, who blushes, smiles, tears up, and giggles in sequence as the captain delivers his greeting and well wishes. Fellow travelers give Jryl a round of applause, and her own crew hollers out in celebration! 

Jryl looks over her left shoulder to others in her group, seemingly abundantly grateful and happy to be in that place, at that moment, with friends. No doubt, this will be the vacation of a lifetime!  

The pilot’s gesture that day might have been simple, but it meant so much to Jryl. He ended his announcement by saying, "Here in today's environment, it just makes it special that we can share in the human bond to take care of each other. Everybody's a big family out there. Welcome aboard." Wise words, indeed!

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32