Seven years ago, in 2008, a college student named Joey Romano was finishing up his senior year at the University of Texas Austin, but he was also battling grief over the loss of his 10-year old brother Johnny from leukemia. Maybe it was his grief or distraction, but as Romano was skateboarding near campus, he had to swerve to avoid a car and ended up eating the ground in a ditch. Romano immediately knew he had broken his wrist, and because he didn't have adequate insurance coverage, he made the decision to call a rideshare driver instead of an ambulance.
Choices that change us, is the subject of this week's Feel-Good Friday.
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Romano's Uber driver, Beni Lukumu, arrived on the scene to find Romano lying on the ground.
Carefully, Lukumu helped him into the car, reclining the passenger seat to minimize movement and pain. Their first stop was urgent care, but Romano’s injury was too serious, and he was quickly sent to the emergency room.
Lukumu was missing out on fares and could have easily left Romano at the urgent care to get an ambulance that would take him to the ER. Instead, Lukumu insisted on driving him to the hospital at no charge. When he found out Romano had no family in the area to be with him, Lukumu insisted on staying.
Lukumu insisted on driving Romano to the hospital at no charge. Then he found out that Romano had no family nearby to come help him. Lukumu had immigrated to the United States from the Congo at age 25, and knew what it was like to be far from loved ones.
With a busy day of rides ahead of him, Lukumu looked at his young passenger, alone and in excrutiating pain.
“It wasn’t even a question for me,” Lukumu, who now works in insurance, tells TODAY. “I was staying with Joey. He needed somebody to be by his side.”
Lukumu immediately took over, ensuring Romano was signed in, then sat with him for over six hours to ensure he was taken care of.
Romano’s grandmother, who lives in Houston, made it to the hospital around the time he was being discharged. She offered Lukumu payment, which he politely refused, though he did agree to join them for dinner, a gesture that cemented a friendship lasting more than seven years.
And Lukumu's deep compassion cut through Romano's grief and pain over his brother's death.
“After losing my brother… and experiencing so much loss beyond that… I just became really insular. I could barely take care of myself, let alone others,” [Romano] says. “I just shut down and closed myself off. I became really cold."
Romano’s voice thickens with emotion as he remembers how Lukumu pulled him out of that dark, isolating place. Meeting Lukumu, he says, was a turning point. It’s what drives him to look for ways to help others whenever he can.
“That one act of kindness helped me see the good in the world again,” Romano says. “Having him spend his entire day with me — a complete stranger, for no reason than the goodness of his heart, helped me to put things into perspective. Beni absolutely changed my life."
On top of being a stellar human being, Beni Lukumu is a devout Christian who sings gospel music and ministers with his congregation on top of his full-time job as an insurance adviser. After covering too many stories about illegal immigrant grifters, it's refreshing to see legal immigrants who love and appreciate this country and look for ways to pay it forward and give back, not just what they can take.
Lukumu felt it was important to share his story to highlight the importance of connection and how a simple act of goodness can transform people's lives and futures.
“The world is so divided right now,” Lukumu said. “What we need is love and kindness.”
And what about Joey Romano? He completed his degree and works as a renewable energy developer. He and Lukumu stay in touch, checking in with each other from time to time.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
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