This story is part of the My Unsung Hero series from the Hidden Brain team. It features stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone else.

A few years ago, Brian Perkins started using a cane to walk. It was an adjustment that affected his daily life in small but significant ways.

“The thing about walking with a cane is that you only have one hand to carry things,” he said.

One day he was at the dry cleaners picking up his clothes.

“I was standing at the counter with my cane and paying, and clearly I had more than I could carry in one hand,” Perkins recalled. “And this woman, she was standing by the laundry room and she looked at me and said, ‘Do you need help?’ And I said, “No, no, I get it. I got him.'”

Perkins went out to his truck, opened the door, and began putting his clothes on the back seat. When he turned to go back for the second load, the woman was walking towards him with the rest of the laundry in her hands.

“And he put it in the truck and he looked at me and said, ‘I know you.’ You’ve been helping people all your life. Now it’s your turn. Accept it.”

With these words, the woman turned and left.

Perkins did not know the woman. She was a stranger. But she saw something in him and knew she needed prompting to accept help.

“Her words had a ripple effect on my life. Over the years, I’ve gone from being grateful for my one unsung hero to having a whole chorus of… unsung heroes who have helped me in many small ways and made a difference in my life,” said he.

“(I’ve) learned that people love to help others and that kindness is not something that is overlooked. And for that, I will be forever grateful.”

My Unsung Hero is also a podcast — new episodes are released every Tuesday. To share your unsung hero story with the Hidden Brain team, record a voice memo on your phone and send it to [email protected].

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