{"id":4293,"date":"2017-07-05T10:15:51","date_gmt":"2017-07-05T10:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dementes.programate.pe\/?p=4293"},"modified":"2026-07-09T20:57:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T20:57:02","slug":"cuando-la-empatia-le-gana-al-estigma-la-historia-de-david-y-russell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dementes.programate.pe\/en\/2017\/07\/05\/cuando-la-empatia-le-gana-al-estigma-la-historia-de-david-y-russell\/","title":{"rendered":"When empathy triumphs over stigma: the story of David and Russell"},"content":{"rendered":"

All too often, the stigma surrounding mental health means that very few people show empathy or compassion<\/strong><\/span> toward those who have a condition related to it. However, this story published by Russell Lehmann<\/a>, autism activist and international speaker<\/strong><\/span>, on the Facebook platform \"Love What Matters,\" demonstrates that there can be individuals who represent incredible exceptions to the rule<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In it, Russell recounts how he met David, an American Airlines employee, at a United States airport while experiencing one of the worst crises of his life:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lovewhatreallymatters\/posts\/1545323212156738:0<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"This is David<\/span><\/strong>. He works for American Airlines. I will never forget this man for as long as I live<\/span><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

After my flight was delayed and I missed my connection for the second time in two days, I fell into the worst meltdown of my life while at Reno-Tahoe International Airport. He found me curled up behind an empty counter.<\/em><\/p>\n

I was sobbing uncontrollably, rocking back and forth, while my muscles were contracting at a very rapid pace. I was sweating excessively, hyperventilating as my body shook with fear. <\/em>David calmly approached me and, with the greatest compassion, asked me what was wrong<\/span><\/strong>. <\/em>I could barely utter a few words. I think I mumbled the words: 'I don't know. I can't think, I have autism'<\/span><\/strong>. He crouched down beside me and let me know that there was still a way for me to get to Cincinnati later that same evening, which would make it possible for me to give my lecture the following day.<\/em><\/p>\n

During these moments of indescribable mental torment and the greatest distress, this man showed me compassion<\/strong><\/span>. This man showed that he cared. Heck, he even offered to buy me a slice of pizza for lunch!<\/em><\/p>\n

David offered to rebook my flight and gave me time to think about it, because I told him I was afraid that my symptoms would increase upon boarding another flight\u2014that is, a small, enclosed space filled with large amounts of stimuli. <\/em><\/p>\n

After about 10 minutes, David approached me again, this time accompanied by the pilot of the plane I had the option of boarding. <\/em>David had notified the pilot, along with the entire crew, about my situation and had also taken care to clear an entire row of seats so that I could have more space during the flight<\/strong><\/span>. <\/em>The pilot was also incredibly kind, reminding me that what I was experiencing only added validity to the message I was spreading. To the lives I touch.<\/em><\/p>\n

I ended up deciding to board the flight. I was the first one on, and David came onto the plane with me and introduced me to the flight crew one by one. I was still trembling and crying, but this time I was crying tears of gratitude. If it had not been for David, I would not have gotten on that plane.<\/em><\/p>\n

This post is not about autism. It is about doing the right thing, about being a good person. About accepting others and extending your hand to someone in need, even if they are a complete stranger<\/span><\/strong>. Every single one of us is a member of society, and it is our obligation as such to support one another, especially during an individual's time of need.<\/em><\/p>\n

Show what you are made of. Show that you care. Rise above all the fights and arguments. Be courageous and open your heart. Fulfill your moral duties as a human being... Be like David<\/strong><\/span>.\"<\/em><\/p>\n

This story went viral and, in recent weeks, has reached thousands of people worldwide, spreading with it a message of acceptance, tolerance, and empathy<\/span><\/strong>. Let us be like David!<\/p>\n

#EveryoneForMentalHealth<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Conoce esta historia de Russell Lehmann, activista por el autismo y conferencista internacional, y David, un trabajador de American Airlines que lo ayud\u00f3 durante una de las peores crisis de su vida. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[23],"class_list":["post-4293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-articulos-noticias"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dementes.programate.pe\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dementes.programate.pe\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dementes.programate.pe\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dementes.programate.pe\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dementes.programate.pe\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4293"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dementes.programate.pe\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6647,"href":"https:\/\/dementes.programate.pe\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4293\/revisions\/6647"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dementes.programate.pe\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dementes.programate.pe\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dementes.programate.pe\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dementes.programate.pe\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}