A high school boy did something really amazing and it all started when a Texas cheerleader, 9, began to cry. This all happened during a football game, which happened to be a Parent’s Day, while her father was absent because he was undergoing training at the Travis Air Force Base in California around 1,700 miles away.
The girl, called Addie Rodriguez, is at the St. John Bosco Elementary School, in San Antonio, and her dad Abel Rodriguez, who is a senior airman, fought in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Addie was left to be the odd one out when all the other fathers lifted their daughters onto their shoulders during a football game; nobody was there to lift little Addie onto their shoulders!
Alexis Perry-Rodriguez, the girl’s mother, said: “It was really heartbreaking to see your daughter standing out there being the only one without their father, knowing why he’s away. It’s not just an absentee parent. He’s serving our country.”
It was a hard reminder to her that her dad was not there and her eyes burned and filled with tears when she saw the other children with their fathers.
Addie said: “I just felt like really sad because I missed him a lot”
A high school senior, Matthew Garcia, has seen Addie was on her own and there was nobody to lift her up. He could see she was really upset and her tears in her eyes, so he vaulted over the fence to see if she was okay.
Garcia said: “I ran down from the bleachers right here. I just hopped the fence, and I went over, and I kneeled down, I talked to her and I said, Are you OK?”
He very quickly knew what the problem was and why she was so upset, so he lifted her up onto his shoulders to absolutely make sure she was not the odd one out and to make her feel better.
Alexis said: “I realized what he [Garcia] was doing, and my heart just melted. It was just the most beautiful thing.”
Garcia is really pleased he could help the girl feel better, he made Addie’s day, she was really grateful to him and for what he did.
“I just felt like somebody saved my life,” the girl said.
Her mom added that her girl is tough and understands that dad goes away for a reason.
What an amazing heartfelt gesture. Watch the video below and share it with your friends!