On a recent flight home from Sydney to Melbourne, Sophie Murphy became a very important passenger. 

 

Initially, the flight was uneventful. But in the final stages, cabin crew announced that they couldn't begin their descent. 

 

The equipment was fine, the weather was clear, the runway was empty. The problem? Someone wouldn't get into their seat. 

 

"If it was a cartoon, there would have been smoke coming out of people's ears," Sophie told The Age. 

 

As the plane circled the night sky above Melbourne's suburbs, running low on fuel, both crew and passengers started to get worried.

 

"Any longer and we would have to declare a fuel emergency, and then clear other aircraft out of the way," said cabin manager John Chesson. "The captain was starting to get a little anxious himself."

 

The problem was a teenage boy with Down Syndrome. He felt sick and was lying on the floor, refusing to get up. Not even his elderly parents or grown-up brother and sister could talk him into taking his seat. 

 

 

 

Desperate to help the child, and to land the plane, John had a brain-wave and made an announcement: "Is there a teacher on board this flight? Is there a special needs teacher on board?," he asked. 

 

Before long, Sophie (42) stepped up. 

 

A teacher with two decades experience, including overseeing early years special education at a well-known school in Melbourne, Sophie just knew she had what it takes to help.

 

"Teachers get such a bad rap," she said. "I was proud to go back there, knowing I could help. This is what every single teacher does, every single day."

 

She found the boy in the aisle, sprawled on his stomach, facing the front of the plane. She met the family, and then lay down on her stomach to face him. "We didn't talk about the plane, or being on the floor," she says. "It was just teacher mode, teacher talk, teacher voice."

 

Sophie, pictured below with her husband, asked the boy his name. Shamran.

 

 

She asked where he was from. New Zealand. (He had come from there that day.)

 

She asked his favourite book. Winnie the Pooh.

 

He felt sad and itchy, he said, so she held his hand and they talked about Piglet and Eeyore, and SpongeBob SquarePants, too.

 

Eventually they sat together. His parents cried and nodded "Thank you." The plane was silent.

 

Sophie asked for sick bags, then held them – one after and another and another – while he vomited, including on her. "It's OK," she said. "I'm your friend. We're OK. We're going to do this together."

 

She asked for something to clean them both up, and found tissues and wipes offered from a dozen hands.

 

Soon afterwards, colour returned to the boy's face. They looked through the window at the lights of the city beneath, and he started pointing out his favourite colours, completely calm. 

 

 

When the plane finally landed, nobody moved. There was no impatient stampede to get off and get home. The passengers let Shamran and his family walk down the aisle, quietly clapping and smiling as they disembarked. 

 

Sophie's story has been doing the rounds on Facebook, and people have been wowed by her kindness. Sophie herself has been taking the opportunity to show people the importance of being patient with people who have different needs. 

 

"On the plane, I got down on the floor in the aisle with Shamran. If he was going to move, I needed to introduce myself, find out his name, connect, let him speak, listen to him, see what the problem was, and not panic him or be punitive," she said. 

 

"I knew I needed to lock onto his eyes and show empathy. I learnt his favourite books, not as an ice breaker or an introduction, but to construct a real relationship, however brief. That was the only way I would be able to help him out."

 

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