Delivery Guy Drives 225 Miles to Bring Pizza to Terminally Ill Man

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Considering the incessant deluge of miserable stories bombarding us all on a daily basis, even the faintest glimmer of positive news is enough to restore faith in humanity, if only for a moment. So, it's with great care that we bring you a bit of just that in the form of this heartwarming tale involving a delivery guy who went hundreds of miles out of his way to bring a dying man his favorite pizza one last time.

Earlier this week, 18-year-old Dalton Shaffer was wrapping up his shift as manager at Steve's Pizza in Battle Creek, Michigan, when he received a phone call. The man on the other end explained that his cancer-stricken son-in-law was hoping to make it to Steve's, his favorite pizza place in the world, one last time, but had to cancel after he took a turn for the worse and was put in hospice in Indianapolis, Indiana. The man was hoping Steve's might be able to send his son-in-law a card or something, since he loved their pizza and was hoping to get there one last time. Instead, Shaffer wanted to make sure the terminally ill man could have one last taste, so he asked what his favorite type of pie is (pepperoni and mushroom), boxed one up, and drove it 225 miles to Indianapolis after his shift ended to hand deliver it, arriving at around 2:30am.

As you can imagine, the gesture meant a lot to the family, who were overwhelmed by Shaffer's incredible act of kindness. His efforts really did go above and beyond, considering Steve's doesn't even normally make deliveries. 

"The family came up, gave me a hug and everything like that, and it was cool," Shaffer told local CBS affiliate WXMI. "The expression on their faces and everything was really cool."

While the family offered to put Shaffer up in a hotel for the night after such a long drive, he refused, saying he had to work the next day. The ill man's wife later took to Facebook to recount the story, and posted a thankful note to Steve's and Shaffer specifically.

So, hey, next time you're feeling like everything is grim and bleak and dark, just remember there are 18 year-olds out there willing to cancel their post-work plans to deliver a delicious, hot pizza across state lines and three hours away to a sick stranger.

h/tThe Takeout

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Joe McGauley is a senior writer for Thrillist. Follow him @jwmcgauley.