When Caolán Mc Aree boarded a flight in Malaga, Spain, little did he know how the flight would impact his life.
Aree recollected the events of a recent flight in a Twitter thread, and it is bound to touch you as it did him.
He said the flight was fairly empty, except for an elderly couple in their late seventies who sat in the row across from him.
"About an hour into the flight, the woman appeared to become agitated, shouting and trying to get out of her seat while the man was trying to calm and reassure her," he tweeted.
Aree tried to mind his own business, but a glance at the man signalled a call for help, he said.
"The man caught my eye and stared at me like he needed help, so I asked him was everything OK. He shuffled across his seat and leant into my row 'She's got dementia' he said, full tears in his eyes now." (sic)
Havnt told anyone this story that happened to me a few weeks ago but I'm still thinking about it so I thought I'd share.
— Caolán Mc Aree (@Caolanmcaree) August 3, 2021
A THREAD**
Aree told the man to alert him if he needed help. He said the man held the woman's hand while she dozed off.
"The 2 of us got chatting, him explaining her dementia and how much she had deteriorated recently," he said. (sic)
Aree said he tried cheering him up after seeing how sad he had been.
"I said sure we're still on holiday until the plane lands 'cmon we grab a beer'. Pressed the call button and ordered 2 beers from the air host.
"We chatted about lots but mostly about him and her." (sic)
During the conversation, he found out that the couple had been travelling to Nerja in Spain for more than 30 years, which he described as her favourite place.
The man told him that due to her dementia, their recent trip made her very confused.
Once the plane landed, Aree helped the couple with their suitcases before they were set to part ways.
"I put out my hand to shake it and he pulled me in and hugged me thanking me for being kind, more tears in his eyes."(sic)
Aree, touched by meeting the couple, stood there crying with the man.
"I wished them luck and ran into the terminal building bawling behind my sunglasses."
He told his more than 10K fans that he didn't know why he shared the story.
"Don't really know why I'm sharing all this but I've been lucky enough to never really experience dementia first hand. My heart goes out to anyone who is dealing with it now in their lives, it's f****ing heartbreaking." (sic).