An Amazon delivery driver who left a loving chalk note on a customer’s porch has brought joy to an 8-year-old girl battling cancer.
Aubrey Hutson of Lakeland, Florida, was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), a rare cancer that forms in soft tissue, in June of 2021. Her mom, Kentucky native Lyndsi Hutson, was shaken to the core.
“She was just a normal softball-playing kid and one day her leg started to hurt,” Lyndsi told The Epoch Times. “What we thought was growing pains turned into stage 4 cancer, and as parents we were in complete disbelief and fear.”
On May 4, Lyndsi’s husband and children were swimming in the yard when Lyndsi heard the doorbell ring. She opened the door to receive a package and saw a note written in chalk on the porch steps: “Amazon is praying for you, luv you Aubrey.”
“I looked up to see the driver across the street and yelled out, ‘Oh my gosh you are amazing, thank you!’” said Lyndsi. “He yelled back, ‘I’m not amazing, Aubrey is!’”
Lyndsi ran to tell her family with tears in her eyes and claims Aubrey was “so excited” that a stranger had written a note using her chalk and was praying for her.
Lyndsi said that when Aubrey and Asani met, they gave each other a big hug, played Rock Paper Scissors, and had great fun covering the porch and sidewalk with chalk together. Aubrey now runs to the door whenever a truck pulls up, hoping to see her new friend, and the feeling may be mutual; Lyndsi claimed Asani remembered her daughter from past deliveries and the 8-year-old had “left an impression” on him.
Lyndsi suspects this is how Asani knew her daughter needed his words of encouragement. She also believes Asani’s kind act got the attention and praise of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on social media.
At the time of writing, Aubrey has undergone 43 weeks of front-line cancer treatment, including 77 doses of chemotherapy and 33 rounds of radiation. She is starting an additional six months of “maintenance chemo,” and 10 more rounds of radiation to her lungs, said her mom.
Lyndsi believes that small gestures of kindness have the ability to change a life.
“Just be kind—allow joy to spread,” she said. “If you can buy someone a coffee at Starbucks, do it. If you can compliment someone, do it. If you can leave a note, a smile, anything, do it. You never know when you could be changing someone’s life with something small. Nothing is too small. Start a chain reaction!”