Arizona Restaurant's Free Meal Became Dying Man's Last

Al Wilsey knew his time was running out, but he had one simple wish for his final Saturday night: Mexican food from his favorite restaurant.

The Gilbert, Arizona regular had battled diabetes, pancreatitis, kidney failure, and multiple foot amputations for years. After more than a year on dialysis, he made the difficult choice to stop treatment and spent his final days calling loved ones to say goodbye.

That Saturday evening, Al called Nando's Mexican Cafe to place an order. When employee Ava Littau asked if he'd be picking it up, Al gently explained he was bed-bound and didn't have much time left.

Something in his voice convinced Littau this wasn't a joke. "These are his final few days, and it's up to us to make sure we do something about it, just to give him a smile or something," she recalled.

Littau and her coworkers quickly arranged a complimentary delivery. They included a handwritten note letting Al know dinner was on them and that he was in their prayers.

His wife Roberta was overwhelmed when the food arrived. "I was blown away. I started crying," she said.

What the family didn't realize then was that this would be Al's last meal. Looking back now, Roberta says the gesture carries even deeper meaning.

Sunny's Take

In Al's darkest hour, a group of restaurant employees he barely knew showed up with more than just food. They delivered dignity, compassion, and proof that strangers can become angels when we pay attention to each other's pain.

The Wilseys could have been just another phone order on a busy Saturday night. Instead, Ava Littau listened with her heart and rallied her team to turn a dying man's final wish into a moment of grace.

For Roberta, grieving and exhausted, the kindness reminded her of something she desperately needed to believe. "There are good people in this world," she said. "I just couldn't believe it."

Sometimes the smallest gestures leave the biggest legacies.