Father shares heartwarming story of using public bathroom with his daughter

One father’s run-in with a train station employee touched the internet.

On 7 January, Kier Gaines shared the heartwarming gesture made by a fellow parent who worked at 30^th Street Station in Philadelphia. Gaines explained how he was travelling with his six-year-old daughter, Emery. Before their train, she told him she had to go to the bathroom. Not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable, Gaines opted to take Emery to the men’s restroom, as he usually does. However, this time, the stalls were way too dirty.

“She needed to go, but the men’s restroom was really filthy, and I wasn’t sure what to do,” Gains told Today.

Luckily, Jorsh Delfish, a custodian at the station who also has a daughter, approached Gaines as he was contemplating which bathroom would be better for his daughter to use.

Delfish, being a 31-year-old father himself, noticed Gaines looking worried. “I’m a single dad of a little girl,” he said to Today. “I saw he was struggling, and I wanted to help because I’ve been in the same situation many times, and it’s stressful.”

To help Emery out, Delfish offered to clean the men’s bathroom. “I wiped down the toilet seat, I sprayed my own cologne so it would smell good, I disinfected everything,” he proclaimed.

“It’s not the first time I’ve done that. I like helping other parents. I like helping out my co-workers. We gotta have each other’s backs, you know?” Delfish added.

His job is not only a source of income but can be a source of relief at times too. In 2022, Delfish tragically lost his one-year-old son, Avis.

“I love my job because I get to meet nice people and it allows me to make an impact in my community,” Delfish remarked.

Gaines admitted how grateful he was for Delfish’s kind act of service in his Instagram video, noting that he felt tears forming in his eyes.

“You know that tingly feeling like you could cry? I feel that,” Gaines confessed. “No one wants to hear a man complaining about what’s difficult for him. No one wants to hear a dad complaining about what’s hard. But for that man to see me struggling... and to clean that stall for my baby, man, that meant the world.”

Emotional viewers flooded the comments section with kind messages.

“Ain’t nothing like feeling seen bro. Well I think we as fathers and men should go out of our way more for other men,” an intuitive man wrote. “Compliment them, random acts of kindness, make them feel seen even if it’s for a sec. We need it and it’s obviously worth it. Thank you for sharing.”

A candid viewer added: “Crying about a guy cleaning a bathroom seems a bit much, but yet here I am... bawling. I love this so much. I’m glad there are still awesome people in the world.”

“We see you king. Keep doin your thing. I’m glad more men are acknowledging their emotions, helping each other out, and allowing themselves moments of vulnerability,” another commented.

The Independent has contacted Mr Gaines for a comment.