Chick-fil-a Unknowingly Comps Meal for Woman in Need of Kindness

— -- Carrie Chisholm had had a really bad day. The final thing to go wrong? She found herself without her purse when she drove up to pay for her now five-year-old son Hughes’ dinner at Chick-fil-a.

Instead of turning her away, though, the cashier spoke to her manager, who told Chisholm the meal was on the house.

That’s when Chisholm burst into tears -- the simple act of kindness was overwhelming for her, as she had just spent the day at the hospital with Hughes, who has a congenital heart defect. Hughes has had three open heart surgeries and is preparing for a potential seventh heart catheterization. After his latest day at the hospital, all he wanted was ice cream from Chick-fil-a.

“We just had a horrible day and it was just a little tiny thing that felt so huge after all day long just trying to hold it together taking care of our little boy,” Chisholm told ABC News. “I immediately started crying out of thankfulness. It was so nice of her to do that, and it seems kind of silly to be so touched by that kindness, but it’s the little things that matter so much when you’re raising a baby with health conditions like him.”

To thank them for their kindness, Chisholm took to Facebook and posted the receipt for the meal to the Asheville, North Carolina Chick-fil-a’s page.

On the post that now has nearly 12,000 likes, Chisholm wrote, “I wanted to thank the team that was working last night when I came through the drive through with my three year old and could not find my wallet. The woman working the window at this time turned and asked a manager quietly and turned and respectfully told me they made the decision to let us have the meal. What they did not know was that we had just been at the hospital for many hours after having to ride emergency to the hospital in the ambulance because he was so sick. Our son has a congenital heart defect called hypo plastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) and we were oh so scared for his life yesterday. He is feeling much better today. The workers at this location should get awarded for their professional compassion. They don't know how much I needed that small act of kindness last night. Having a son with half of a heart is a tough life yet full of many blessings. Thanks for being a blessing to us last night!”

According to that location’s owner Nick Leatherwood, his store often performs these small acts of kindness.

“I’ve always encouraged my guys to really use self-judgment on that and make your own calls and what you feel is right for the business. He [manager Matthew Hampton] said he does this about once or twice a week, but in this situation it just happened to be somebody on the other end who was really appreciative of it,” Leatherwood told ABC News. “I was real proud of my manager for being able to step up to the plate and deliver on that occasion.”