Flavaine Carvalho was working her shift at Mrs. Potato Restaurant in Orlando when she noticed something unusual at one of her tables.
An entire family was eating … everyone except for an 11-year-old boy, who didn't get any food at all.
Confused, the server asked the family if the food tasted OK, motioning to the boy's empty plate. The stepfather said his stepson was going to eat dinner at home, instead of eating with the family there at the restaurant. She could have left it at that, but she took one look at the boy and knew there was a lot more going on.
Flavaine, a hardworking mom with a teenage daughter, saw the bruises and scratches all over the boy's face and arms. She knew right then and there that something was wrong, and that she needed to act quickly.
Using her motherly instincts and quick thinking, she held up a handwritten note while standing behind his parents so they couldn't see what she was doing.
"Do you need help?" the note asked.
"Yes," the boy quietly gestured.
It was all Flavaine needed to call 911.
It wasn't until doctors met with the boy that the terrifying truth came to light. And had this incredibly heroic server not acted on her instincts, this story could have ended much differently. In fact, police said it could have ended in a homicide investigation.
