God we're crying here! And we have a feeling you won't be too far off.
A cruel Australian radio competition made the mum of an autistic boy break down – but thankfully the sad story had an incredibly happy ending, reports Kidspot.
KIIS FM’s ‘Deception’ game sees callers phone in with their ‘sob’ story. One is true, the other is a lie, but whoever can convince hosts Sophie Monk and Matty Acton that their story is true wins $500AUD.
See, cruel isn’t it?
So when Deb called on to say her sister had died and she couldn’t afford the plane ticket to her funeral, while mum Janice called to say she needed the money so her eight-year old son Jordan who has autism, ADD, ODD, anxiety and depression can see a psychologist once a week, the hosts believed Deb.
Turns out she was lying. “Sucked in guys,” she said. “I feel so bad now for the other lady. But thank you.”
And when Janice was drawn back into the conversation, she couldn’t help break down in tears.
“You have no idea how much he needs me,” she sobbed. “He’s getting bullied at school because he doesn’t know how to deal with emotional issues.”
Although Matty tried to remind Janice of the nature of the game, Sophie was so moved she decided to give her $500 anyway.
But it’s what happened next that blew us away. Within minutes the station’s phone lines were hopping, with people from all over Australia donating hundreds of dollars to Janice. And when the phones stopped ringing, Janice was $6,000 richer and had been offered free psychologist consultations.
Janice Ended Up With A Whopping $6,000 From The Generous People Of Australia! Thank YOU! #TheFling pic.twitter.com/QPgCc7byyD
— KIIS 1065 (@kiis1065) 4 July 2016
“Aside from a small amount of government funding, we’ve done pretty much everything on our own. Just to realise there are so many kind people out there … it blew my mind,” Janice told Kidspot.
“We had no idea we’d have to deal with so many conditions on top of [Jordan’s] autism. The more people we can educate people that kids like him aren’t naughty, and the more help we can get into schools to relieve pressure from the parents – the change would be amazing.”
We can’t help crying at this story. We can only imagine how desperate this mum was to go on a radio competition like this, and the big hearts of all the listeners who donated to her have restored our faith in people.
We wish this mum and her family all the best and hope this money will make their lives a lot easier.
