A supermarket worker in the UK has been praised for helping a young girl in her time of need, after she suffered a panic attack in store.
Cordie Martin’s mother Helen took to Facebook to share her gratitude to Tina, after the cashier came to their rescue during a recent shopping trip.
As any parents of children with severe anxiety, Autism or Asperger’s will appreciate; heading out to the shops can be a traumatic experience.
It had taken two years to get her daughter back into a supermarket, Helen explains, after a fire alarm test sent her into complete panic mode the last time.
But this week, Helen and her daughter had headed to their local Sainsbury’s supermarket to do some last minute shopping.
As they approached the checkout, the store dimmed the lights to indicate it was closing.
“Immediately she [Cordie] started panicking as she though an alarm was about to go off. She wanted to run and got extremely upset,” Helen wrote on social media.
“The lady working at the checkout could see something was wrong as I was trying to comfort her to allow me enough time to pay for the shopping.
“I explained the problem and how the lights dimming had caused her to panic and she was just so lovely.
“She came around the checkout and asked my daughter to help her scan the shopping, coaxed her into her seat whilst we dried her tears and completely distracted her by letting her scan all the food.
“I cannot tell you how much this meant to me and my daughter. I was overwhelmed with gratitude and emotion that she managed to turn such a negative experience into such a lovely one. My daughter actually left smiling and was so proud of herself.”
Despite admitting she had forgotten to ask the cashier’s name, Helen returned to the shop to track down Tina and thank her for what she did.
Taking the cashier a bunch of flowers, Helen was keen to tell Tina that her actions mean the next shopping trip will not be met with a sense of dread.
Speaking to Metro UK, Helen also gave advice on what to do if a child looks to be having a panic attack.
“I always try and get down and speak to the child, distraction is a great technique and can help calm them down.
“Try to support parents rather than judge them when you don’t know what they might be going through.”
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