Fall River Woman Praises Stranger for Helping Her in a Pinch at Walmart

When a Fall River woman at the Walmart checkout line realized she forgot her wallet, she was ready to put her purchases back on the shelves, but a kindhearted woman behind her in line decided to lend a helping hand to a complete stranger and restore Toni Lehane’s faith in humanity.

Fall River resident Toni Lehane is a CNA at Clinton Hospital in the COVID unit. When she’s not at the hospital, she is looking after her parents and keeps herself busy by being everybody’s “go-to” person. On Wednesday, she took a trip to Walmart ahead of her father’s birthday, when she realized she made a mistake.

“I had left my debit card in my scrubs at home,” Lehane said. “I put everything back in my cart and told the cashier I would come back, and this angel behind me said ‘Put everything back on there and I will pay it for you.’”

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An elderly woman that was behind Lehane in the checkout line had tapped her on the shoulder and offered to pay for her things – and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“I am very well off, I’m very blessed in life, and I want to bless you,” the woman said to Lehane.

At first, Lehane was taken aback. Lehane is normally the one extending a helping hand, but she had never been on the receiving end.

“I felt kind of weird,” she said. “It’s never happened before. To have it done for me, it felt good.”

Lehane said she cried like a baby and couldn’t stop hugging the unnamed woman. This wasn’t a situation where Lehane was on hard times and couldn’t afford her groceries. She was more than willing to grab her card at home. It was more about a total stranger wanting to do something pure and kind.

“The world is so mean right now, and I’ve been a CNA for 30 years, and the past two years have been really hard. This restored my faith in humanity,” Lehane said.

Don’t let social media fool you. Kindhearted people are all around us.