Sometimes, when you least expect it, God puts the right person in your path.

And that one simple interaction, a moment of kindness, can lead to a change that lasts a lifetime.

For a Philadelphia family, it just so happened they found their miracle at the local hardware store.

When Jessica and Mark Getty walked into Lowe’s, they had an idea of what they would need. Their son, William, was born at 23 weeks. Micro-preemies (any baby born before the 28th week) are often at a higher risk for complications and disabilities. William had been diagnosed with quadriplegic spastic cerebral palsy a neuromuscular illness that prevents him from walking.

Now five-years old, his parents were working on helping William learn to walk better. But the Gettys needed something to help aid him at home.

One of our goals for William is to get him walking,” Jessica said.

While they were standing in the PVC pipe aisle, the family was quickly noticed by employee Dave Urban. Asking if they needed any help, he immediately noticed William. After asking the family what they needed, Urban felt compelled to help them.

William Getty tries out his new handrails for the first time in Lowe’s Hardware store. Photo courtesy of the Getty family

“I thought I would just be finding some fittings, making a couple of cuts, and I saw Will, and I found out what we were building,” Urban explained.

Urban said he realized quickly that the family needed more help than normal. After finding out what they were hoping to make, and seeing William’s excited grin, he jumped into action.

He spent more than 30 minutes cutting and fitting the pipes together to make the parallel bar the Gettys hoped would help William to walk.

With the family recording, William used the bars to leverage himself up and out of the wheelchair.

“Then came the test. Will got up, out of his wheelchair, and grabbed hold of those bars,” he said.

I think you saw that courageous smile of his. Sense of pride, ah, it keeps getting me,” Urban said, tearing up. 

The Gettys said that thanks to Urban, William would be able to practice walking forward, as well as sideways on the bars that he built. It also would allow the little boy to learn how to better stand up.

They said Urban’s help was “life-changing.”

William Getty smiles as he uses his new handrails to practice walking. Photo from YouTube

“I just think that Dave was really nice to help my little brother build these things to help him,” William’s sister, Olivia, said. “(Urban’s help) was really cool,” their father agreed. 

After just a day of practicing, William can already walk to the end of the bars, roughly 10 feet across the family’s kitchen floor, his mom said. 

“It was (Urban’s) kindness that touched us and really meant the world to us,” Jessica said.

For Urban, meeting the Gettys and, especially William, meant everything to him, as well.

“Just go the extra mile,” Dave said. “And it just may reward you 100 times back.”

Sources: Upworthy | My Positive Outlooks