The mum of a youngster who needs to be fed through a nasal tube has thanked a selfless delivery driver who went out of his way to drop off her son's supply of feed after his shift, in freezing temperatures.
Hope Clark's young son Frankie, two, was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus – a build-up of fluid on the brain – and has a number of complex care needs, which means he is fed through a nasogastric (NG) tube with nutritionally complete liquid food.
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However, delays at the local DPD depot caused by the bad weather meant that Frankie's latest batch was late in arriving, leaving Hope terrified he wouldn't have any food report the Record.
But after placing a call with delivery bosses, the 29-year-old mum of three's fears were allayed by hero driver Jordan Izatt, who offered to drop off the very special delivery on his way from the Edinburgh warehouse that night.
He turned up at her door late on Thursday with his own boys in tow, telling them he had a\ very important drop-off to make on the way home.
Hope said: "The feed that was due to be delivered is extremely important and Frankie depends on this to be able to thrive and grow. I got an email saying it had been delayed on Tuesday for some reason then again on Wednesday.
"Thursday came and this was seven days into my last 10 days of stock and I started to get a bit worried that it wasn't going to arrive. I gave DPD a call too see what was happening, and I get they are super busy but I said this to the lovely woman on the phone this wasn't a present or just a normal delivery.
"The woman on the phone said they would try their best to locate it but couldn't promise it would be delivered. I never thought I would get a knock on my door the same night."
Hope, who also has twins Luke and Annalise, seven, was astonished to hear a gentle chap at the door a few hours later. Jordan, having overhead chatter about Hope's phone call in the office, volunteered to take the feed to her home in Kelty, Fife, because he lived just 10 minutes away in Ballingry.
The driver, who has worked for DPD for the last five years, said he has been inundated with calls and texts about his good deed since Hope shared her thanks on a local Facebook group on Thursday night. He even received a personal call from DPD UK CEO Elaine Kerr thanking him for going above and beyond.
The 30-year-old said: "We do a lot of deliveries like this, so I knew somebody needed it and I don't mind helping people. It's good to go out your way and go the extra mile.
"My mum brought me up the right way, and taught me to put others before yourself and I knew what this meant to Hope. My wee boy Kalvyn loves the fact I work for DPD.
"I told him as we went to the door: 'This wee boy isn't very well so we'll chap quietly.' Hope was bursting with emotion when she came to the door.
"I've had calls from the CEO, my boss, the area manager for Scotland – I never expected it to blow up like this. The fact of the matter is the wee boy got his feed and that will do him until January and that's what really matters."
A DPD spokesperson said: "Jordan has worked for us for five years and we know what a top driver he is. He is extremely conscientious, and we will make sure he receives one of our DPD 'Amazing' awards for going above and beyond, again.
"The whole team are doing an incredible job at the moment, and this typifies the effort they are putting in to get the parcels out to everybody."
Hope added: "The fact he stayed back at work to locate the feed and took the time to deliver it in the freezing temperatures that we have been having meant the absolute world to me. Frankie's been really unwell recently with three hospital admissions within the last 12 weeks and the last thing I needed was something else to worry about.
"Jordan going above and beyond for my son has blown me away and he deserves some form of recognition for it. A lot of people will say 'that's his job', but he didn't have to deliver the feed out with working hours nor did he have to stay back late at work to find it.
"I really do hope his bosses and the company appreciate him as a worker because it's people like him that make a difference to a business. He is 100% DPD's employee of the month."
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