A woman in Nashville, Tennessee, captured a heartwarming moment on camera when her brother with Down Syndrome eagerly ran into the arms of her boyfriend for the first time. Lindsey Simon shared with Storyful that she anticipated her brother Nate’s reaction, so she started recording as Nate rushed out of Nashville Airport’s South Terminal and straight into her boyfriend’s embrace. The video, which was posted on internet, depicts Nate, donning a colorful pineapple suit and matching bucket hat, sprinting towards Riggin, 28, and discarding his bag before leaping into his arms.
Simon shared that Nate has been asking people to be her boyfriend for years, and it has become a running theme in their content. “It’s become our content basis,” she added. “Me looking for a boyfriend and making videos about it. So our followers were constantly aware of how hard he wanted me to get one and how highly his opinion was valued.” According to Simon, Nate and Riggin had been in daily contact on Snapchat and FaceTime.
Man with Down Syndrome meets his sister’s boyfriend for the first time.
by u/24-Carat-AH in MadeMeSmile
Simon revealed that Nate and Riggin have developed an incredible bond, even brushing their teeth together every night. Nate had eagerly anticipated meeting Riggin, and Simon believes that one of the reasons they hit it off so well was because Riggin has a sister with Down syndrome.
The heartwarming video has captured the attention of the internet, with many praising Riggin’s support and Nate’s excellent sense of style. One Reddit user joked, “He is definitely getting the ladies in that vacation suit lol,” while another asked where they could get a similar outfit. A third user commented on Nate’s admirable personality, saying, “Screw that, I need to know where he got that cool outfit?”
A heartwarming story involves Sam Moorfoot, a 29-year-old man with Down syndrome, and the Geelong Football Club. During the victory lap in front of thousands of fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Cats captain Joel Selwood spotted Moorfoot in the crowd and decided to make the event about him. Selwood invited Moorfoot onto the ground to join in the lap of honor, touching the hearts of everyone who witnessed it. Moorfoot described Selwood’s gesture as the “moment” of his life, saying, “I’m very proud of my boys to win a premiership. Joel said he wanted to get me on the ground. That was the moment of my life, what an honor.”
Sammy’s moment 🥹#AFLGF pic.twitter.com/OK4GhdJQHV
— AFL (@AFL) September 24, 2022
When the GMHBA Stadium’s bistro closed during renovations, Moorfoot was volunteering at the Cats Café. He was then promoted to head water boy on the team’s primary training day in 2015 and has been with the team for almost seven years. Selwood has expressed his admiration for Moorfoot multiple times, and in August, as the AFL’s first Disability Inclusion Ambassador, he voiced his support for Moorfoot’s big game. Selwood told The Age, “We share a very special friendship, and I consider him like family. He has my back and I have his.” Selwood also mentioned that Moorfoot was excited about the big game and had been spotted doing hot and cold recovery with the team earlier that week.
Ensuring that Moorfoot’s experience was complete, Selwood took the initiative to lift Moorfoot over the barrier and onto the MCG, where Jeremy Cameron, a Cats player, put his own medal around Moorfoot’s neck.