A Las Vegas mom couldn’t believe her luck when a rough day took a surprising turn for the better — inside a Panda Express.
For two weeks straight, illness made its way through Erica Ortega’s household, passing from one family member to the next, including her husband, Dominic, and their four young children, and none of them had much of of an appetite.
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WATCH HEREOne night, exhausted from trying to coax her kids to eat, Ortega suggested getting takeout.
“I was like, ‘I’ll get whatever you want,’” Ortega tells TODAY.com, joking that that point, if they had requested lasagna from Italy, she would have made it happen. Fortunately, it was easier than that. “They said, ‘We want Panda Express noodles.’”
Relieved that her kids were finally willing to consume some food, Ortega tried ordering through an app but kept getting an error message.
Ortega notes that the order totaled nearly $94 — a detail that plays an important role in the story.
Eventually, she drove to the Panda Express at 6630 North Durango Drive to pick up the meal herself.
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“It’s already 7 o’clock at night, and I look like a hot mess,” Ortega recalls. She ordered five large sides of chow mein, two large sides of meat, and one large entrée.
The cashier paused for a moment as she reviewed the order.
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SIGN UP “She was like, ‘Wait, I think if we do the family meal, it’s going to be less expensive for you,’” Ortega says. She was thrilled to save a few bucks.
Suddenly, a manager swooped in and whispered something to the cashier. Ortega felt a knot tighten in the pit of her stomach.
“My first thought was, ‘Oh no, she’s getting in trouble for helping me,’” Ortega says. But it was just the opposite. The manager was suggesting she order a tray of noodles instead of five large sides, which helped her save even more money.
As the manager rang up the order, she smiled and remarked on the unusually large amount of chow mein.
“I explained that all my kids were sick and that’s the only thing they wanted,” Ortega remembers. “And she said, ‘I get it — I have a son, and that’s all he’ll eat when he’s sick.’”
When the manager handed her the receipt, Ortega felt tears welling. The total had dropped to just $54, reflecting a savings of $40. Overwhelmed with gratitude, she thanked the manager again and again.
At home, Ortega unpacked the bags and discovered two extra containers of noodles, along with nearly 50 fortune cookies.
“I just started crying,” Ortega says, her voice thick with emotion. “I have a son with autism who’s very particular about what he eats, and I realized I wouldn’t have to worry about dinner for the next three nights.”
Deeply moved by the experience, Ortega wrote a letter to the Panda Express corporate office and shared her story on Reddit, where it quickly went viral. Her post reflected on how even a small act of kindness can make a world of difference to someone.
“It’s a chain restaurant. I never expected them to go out of their way to save me money, especially in this economy,” Ortega says. “But that kindness they showed me is something I’ll never forget.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
