Woman Leaves Newborn on Executive Class Airplane Seat and Decides to Find Him 13 Years Later — Story of the Day

A woman abandons her newborn baby on an airplane seat because she fears she won’t be able to care for him, but when her life improves several years later, she decides to find him and welcome him back into her life.

“PREGNANT?! You must be out of your mind, Rhonda!” shouted her father, David Harris, when he found out that she was pregnant with her boyfriend Peter’s child.

Rhonda, unlike Peter, came from a wealthy family, and her father owned a large textile company. Unfortunately, her mother had passed away when she was only two years old.

Mr. Harris provided his daughter with the best of everything—clothes, food, and education—but he was also a very controlling man who didn’t want his daughter to ever go against his wishes.

When Rhonda discovered she was pregnant, she tried to hide it from her father by wearing loose clothes, but as her pregnancy belly became more visible, she couldn’t hide it anymore. She decided to tell Mr. Harris about the pregnancy, but he wasn’t impressed. “You will get rid of this baby, Rhonda. Do you understand?”

“No, Dad,” Rhonda, 16, said firmly. “I won’t. It’s too late now, and I can’t abort the baby.”

“Then you will have to figure out how to raise this child on your own,” Mr. Harris warned her. “No one in our family has ever dared to marry someone from a lower class. So, if you want to raise that man’s blood, leave my house!”

“Okay, Dad,” Rhonda said after a brief pause, her eyes welling up with tears. “Maybe if Mom were still alive, she would have supported me. I will raise this child on my own and prove you wrong.”

Rhonda packed her belongings and left that night, cutting all ties with her father. Mr. Harris didn’t budge and slammed the door behind her, telling her to return only after putting the child in an orphanage.

Rhonda didn’t say a word and ordered an Uber to Peter’s house. When she arrived, she explained that she had left her father’s house because he refused to accept their child and that she wanted to start a new life with him. But, to her surprise, Peter refused to take responsibility for the baby.

“Look, darling,” he said, “I’m not ready to be a father. And why did you leave your father’s house? He could have helped us financially when we got married and decided to start a new life. Get rid of this baby, or forget about me, Rhonda.”

A shock went through Rhonda when she heard this. “But Peter, this is our baby! How can you…”

“Look, Rhonda, this baby and you are nothing but trouble for me right now. You know what? It’s over!”

“Peter!” Rhonda shouted. “You were so happy when you found out about the pregnancy! What happened?”

“Because you’re nobody now, dear. Your father kicked you out, and I can’t raise this child, so goodbye,” he said, slamming the door in her face.

Rhonda was devastated when Peter broke up with her.

Her life turned upside down in one night! She couldn’t believe she was pregnant, and neither her father nor her boyfriend cared about her! She left Peter’s house that night, crying uncontrollably, wandering the streets, unsure of where life would take her.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and went into labor. The pain was unbearable, and she kept pleading with passersby to help her. Thankfully, a woman noticed her and, with the help of her driver, rushed Rhonda to the hospital.

Rhonda gave birth to a boy that night, and when she woke up, the woman who had helped her, Angela Bamford, was sitting beside her bed.

“Thank you — thank you for helping me,” Rhonda said softly. “My son… he’s okay, right?”

“He’s perfectly fine,” Mrs. Bamford assured her. “Are you new in town? I noticed you were carrying your luggage.”

Rhonda couldn’t hold back her tears. She began crying and told Mrs. Bamford the story of how she ended up there. “I don’t want to live here anymore,” Rhonda sobbed. “I just want to leave Texas. But I’m not sure I can give my son a good life.”

Mrs. Bamford felt terrible for Rhonda, not just because she was a homeless mother deciding whether to raise her child, but also because she reminded her of her own daughter.

“Don’t say that, dear,” Mrs. Bamford comforted her. “I had a daughter your age. When we found out she was pregnant, we were furious and kicked her out.”

“My husband owns an airline, and we were rich enough to support our daughter. But we were against such a young pregnancy. I wish I could have helped her. She took her own life because she couldn’t handle it. I don’t want anyone else to go through that! It’s a terrible place to be.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Rhonda said, wiping away her tears.

“I also feel sorry for her,” Mrs. Bamford added. “But it’s too late now. Don’t worry, I’ll help you. I’ll book your ticket. Make sure your son has a good life in a new place.”

“Oh no,” Rhonda exclaimed. “You’ve already done so much for me… I won’t be able to repay you…”

“Please,” Mrs. Bamford asked. “If I help you, it will be like I helped my daughter. And it will help me overcome my guilt.”

Mrs. Bamford booked a first-class flight for Rhonda.

Rhonda couldn’t say no to Mrs. Bamford at that moment. She accepted the ticket, and a few days later, she was flying in executive class from AUS to JFK, ready to start her life again.

However, while sitting on the plane with her baby in her arms, she was constantly worried about her ability to provide a good life for him.

“What if I can’t care for my son? What if he ends up living with me on the streets?” These thoughts consumed Rhonda’s mind to the point where she didn’t even realize the flight was over, and the pilot announced their arrival at JFK.

Rhonda was terrified when she realized she would be alone in a strange city with a newborn and no way to support him. Her mind started to spin, her heart raced, anxious about what was to come for her and her child.

At that point, she made a painful decision. She decided to leave her baby on the plane, hoping someone would take him and give him a good life.

She waited for the people in the seats next to her to leave, and when she saw that no one was looking, she left her baby on the seat with a note she had scribbled earlier, and quickly exited the plane. It took all her strength not to look back and grab her baby, but she decided it was the best thing to do.

When one of the flight attendants, Lincy, approached the seat after the passengers left, she was shocked to find the baby. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for the child as she read the note Rhonda had left with him.

Rhonda left a note with her baby
I am a poor mother who couldn’t care for her child. Don’t waste your time looking for me if you find this note. I could never have given him a good life. I hope you accept him and love him as your own. I would be happy if you called him Matthew. Matthew Harris. That is the name I chose for him.

---

13 Years Later…

After struggling for almost a decade, Rhonda finally landed a stable job and was doing well financially. However, not a single day went by without her regretting leaving her child on that flight.

She had struggled as a homeless person for nearly 7 years after moving to NYC, and the next seven years were spent trying to earn a stable income and renting a house. Things finally worked out for her, and she thought she would be able to support her son.

She was, of course, ashamed of what she had done in the past and feared that her son would never accept her. But she decided to take the risk and meet her son for the first, and possibly last, time. Unfortunately, she was right in thinking things would go wrong.

“My mom? You must be kidding me!” Matthew attacked her when they met. “Where have you been all these years? I don’t need you! I’m happy with my adoptive parents.”

Matthew attacked Rhonda
Rhonda’s eyes filled with tears when Matthew said this. She had approached the local police for assistance, telling them her entire story, and fortunately, one of the helpful officers had assisted her in locating her son.

At first, she feared she would never find Matthew because he could have been adopted by anyone in the world and given a different name. She was lucky to begin her search in New York and found him there by the name she had given him.

She contacted Matthew’s adoptive mother, explaining why she had abandoned him and why she had chosen the name Matthew Harris for him. It turns out the boy had been adopted by Lincy, the flight attendant, and her husband. She was hesitant to introduce Rhonda to Matthew after what she had done, but eventually, she agreed to give her a chance to explain after hearing her story.

“I’m so sorry, Matthew,” Rhonda said. “I know you’re upset and don’t want to accept me, but can’t you give me a