By Rajwa Quasim
Any person at 81 years old would love to live a comfortable and quiet retirement life with family and grandchildren. But that’s not the case for Donald Johnson, who spends long hours on the road delivering lost luggage to help pay for his wife’s cancer treatment.
Johnson, from Texas, works as an independent contractor in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He’s been working there for about three years now. Jis job involves collecting and delivering luggage that has been lost or delayed during air travel. Johnson has even worked shifts that lasted as long as 14 hours to manage household and medical expenses as his wife, Josephine continues to battle cancer.
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His car has travelled more than 200,000 miles and even went as far as Oklahoma delivering luggage. Johnson reportedly took the job after struggling to find other employment opportunities. The couple has been married for 57 years.
Their financial difficulties grew with accumulated costs of medicines and other expenses. He said the insurance alone was not enough to cover everything.
His situation caught public attention when Erin Howell saw Johnson struggling with heavy luggage outside her door. She went outside to help him and began understanding the situation he is in. That conversation led Howell to start a GoFundMe campaign and eventually started a social media page called “Help Don Retire.” The kindness she had within her resulted in people donating to the couple. The campaign attracted the attention of a lot of residents.
Howell wrote in a GoFundMe entry, “The other day, I looked out my door cam and saw an 81-year-old man slowly and painstakingly carrying my heavy luggage that had been lost on a recent flight up a steep flight of stairs. He looked absolutely exhausted, and his steps were heavy with effort.”
Howell further added, “At an age when he should be resting and spending every precious single moment by his wife’s side, he is out on the road lifting heavy bags just to keep her alive and cared for.”
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As of now, the campaign has raised more than $270,000. Johnson said he was surprised by the response and grateful for the support. Now he can stay with his wife and spend quality time with her rather than taking the burden to work for long hours.
His wife, Josephine responded that she was witnessing the wedding vow that the couple took through her husband’s actions, that is “for better or for worse.”
Recently, Johnson’s car has been giving him a lot of trouble, which forced him to reduce the usual delivery hours. Even then, motivation remains the same. He said, “I love her dearly, and I want her to be well.”