The internet once again became the host to a heartwarming story after a mother, desperate to find the man who saved her son’s life, was reunited with the hero through the connective power of social media.
The Ohio mother began searching for the Cleveland Monsters fan last week and said in a TikTok video that she wanted to properly thank the complete stranger, later identified as Andrew Podolak.
“I just feel sick when I think about it because I had the reaction time of a sloth, this dude literally saved my son’s life, he prevented a life-changing event from happening,” the mother, Asia Davis, said in the TikTok video.
The mother said in a viral TikTok video that she had the "reaction time of a sloth" in a moment that nearly put her son's life at risk
Image credits: Asia Davis
In her TikTok video, Asia included a clip from the game that captured the moment when the hurtling puck flew toward her 4-year-old son, Nasir, in the middle of the heated game.
“I don’t think I looked up until the puck was, like, already, like, past the glass and past the audience. And next thing I know, it was just screaming, and I looked over, and he kind of had his hand up in front of my son,” Asia said of the stranger seated next to her son.
“I don’t even want to think about what would have happened,” Asia said. “Best-case scenario, [Nasir] would have gone to the hospital.”
Asia revealed that the stranger seated next to her son at the game managed to block the puck from striking her son in the nick of time
Image credits: asiafromakron
Andrew told her that he was “meant” to be at the game and seated next to the little boy during the game, Asia said in the video, which quickly garnered millions of views.
“He was like, ‘I was meant to be here,’” Asia said in the post and asserted, “... He was. You cannot tell me God is not real.”
Asia then asked her followers to help her track the man down because she owed “that man lunch or dinner, another thank you … because I cannot imagine my baby getting hit with that hockey puck.”
"You cannot tell me God is not real," the mother said in the video, which quickly went viral on social media
Image credits: asiafromakron
The mother later revealed in an interview with the Washington Post that the puck flew at her son so fast that the boy didn’t even see the puck but had ice chips in his hair moments later.
“The kids behind us, they picked up the puck and gave it to my son,” Asia said. “And, you know, I held the puck up and realized what he just escaped.”
After Asia posted her video asking her followers to help her find him, the internet quickly swung into action and did what it does best. Soon enough, the video reached Andrew, who promptly messaged Asia.
The moment Andrew stopped the puck quickly went viral on social media, and the internet helped reunite the hero with the grateful mother and son
Image credits: asiafromakron
Asia woke up to scores of views and a message from Andrew the day after posting her plea on TikTok.
"I went to sleep, and when I woke up around 10 o'clock in the morning, I had a DM from him, and it just said, ‘Everything happens for a reason. I'm glad the little man is OK.' I looked at his profile, and I was like, 'this is him!'" Asia told WEWS-TV.
The mother promptly replied to the hero and said she would buy playoff tickets later this month for him.
Andrew, who is now known in the corners of the internet for saving the 4-year-old boy, said it’s a “good feeling” to know that the child was safe.
After posting the viral video, Asia woke up the next day to find Andrew's message on her phone
“I was just coming out and trying to enjoy a hockey game, and the next thing you know everything's blowing up on social media. This, that and the other, and a whole bunch of people contacting me— it's truly a good feeling,” Andrew told the outlet.
The young man recalled the moment the flying puck hurtled towards Nasir, and he said his first instinct was to “just jump in front.”
“It was a crazy experience,” he said.
Andrew, Asia, and Nasir were invited by the Cleveland Monsters to drop the puck before a game over the weekend
Image credits: asiafromakron
“I saw it soaring on through and my first instinct was just to cover up,” he told Fox 8 News. “I had a couple [of] other kids sitting behind me as well so I just tried jumping in front of it and it was able to deflect off my hand [and] luckily go over [the] top of him and fall behind me.”
What is noteworthy is that Andrew was seated in section 107, row 7, and seat 7 during the game, putting him in the right place at the right time next to the 4-year-old boy.
Seven is her favorite number, Asia noted during an interview with NBC News.
"You were meant to be there," the mother told Andrew about him being seated right next to her son at the game
Image credits: asiafromakron
The grateful mother looked at Andrew during the interview and concluded, “You were meant to be there.”
When the Cleveland Monsters found out about the heartwarming tale, they invited Andrew, along with the mother and son, to drop the puck before the team played the Laval Rocket again on Saturday, April 13.
Asia later posted an update for her fans and thanked TikTok for proving its power
After Andrew reunited with the mother and son, Asia posted an update and thanked TikTok for doing what it does best and making the reunion happen.
Fans were absolutely delighted to see the moment when Andrew blocked the puck from striking Nasir, and they showered praise on the hero for his quick action.
"He's a hero," the internet declared after seeing Asia's viral video
