LEBANON, Tenn. (WKRN) — Ben Cain Jr. had his life turned upside down when he got the call no son wants to receive on July 15.   

“My mother and father were flying on a Southwest flight from Los Angeles to Baltimore to visit some family for a family reunion, people they haven’t seen since the pandemic. Mid-flight he had a stroke and they made an emergency landing here in Tennessee,” Cain Jr. said. 

Since then, Cain Jr. and his siblings have been traveling from Los Angeles to Tennessee, working to care for their dad, Ben Cain Sr., a Navy Veteran who served in Vietnam.  

“He’s always been a strong person, he’s always been a selfless person, he’s always been a giving person. So my job was just what would my dad tell me to do right now? And that’s to look after my mother and look after him, and make sure that the family is alright,” Cain Jr. said. 

After learning getting his dad home with the required ambulance would cost more than $10,000, the family didn’t know how they would foot the bill. They reached out to the Gary Sinise Foundation, and after agreeing to cover transportation costs, Ben Cain Sr. will be headed back home to Los Angeles Sunday.  

Cain Jr. thanked all those who had a part in helping his dad to this day.  

“When I stopped myself from crying when I first heard about it, I thought Southwest Airlines, they saved my father’s life, but Lt. Dan is going to get my dad home,” he said. 

Cain Jr. Hopes this will be the first major step in his father’s long road to recovery.  

“I don’t get a lot of response from him. He’ll squeeze my hand and he knows we’re here and we let him know he’s going home, but I believe once he gets home and sees his friends and his family that are there and his grandkids, that these people will inspire him to want to fight because it’s going to be a hard road for him,” Cain Jr. said.