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Frank said she was grateful to the man, who then sat in a jump seat, for surrendering her seat so she could make it to pick-up day at her 12-year-old daughter's summer camp, which caters to children with type 1 diabetes.
The mother said she finally recognized the man when a flight attendant introduced the "special guest," the company's chief executive officer, to the passengers.
"You, Richard Anderson, the CEO of Delta, did all that for me, just an average, middle-aged, woman with, as far as anyone at Delta knew, no special reason to get home," Frank wrote.
She said she admires Anderson because he "leads by example, and does not set himself above all those who allow this airline to exist."
Frank said being able to see her daughter at camp was an important part of her year.
"Camp Kudzu gives my daughter 5 days a year when she feels 'normal.' Pick-up day gives me a glimpse into that special world where she's just like everyone else, and she's a little bit of a different person for the rest of the day. By the next day, it's back to the harsh realities of managing a difficult, deadly, incurable disease that kills 1 in 20 before the age of 18. Most people just don't understand how different it is from regular diabetes," she wrote.