Mary Bowerman

USA TODAY Network

A sweet act of kindness was caught on camera at an IHOP in Springfield, Illinois, over the weekend.

Joe Thomas, who has worked at IHOP for 11 years, was photographed assiting one of his regular customers who has trouble eating, CBS News reported.

The woman, who has Huntington disease, which causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain, comes in once a week with her husband, Thomas told CBS.

Thomas said he noticed that each time the couple came in for a meal, the woman’s husband would help his wife eat first while allowing his food to go cold.

One day, Thomas told CBS that he decided to sit down at the table and feed the customer while allowing her husband to eat his food.

“I didn’t really offer. I just started doing it,” Thomas told CBS. “I told the gentleman to ‘Sit down, eat your food. I got her.’”

Thomas might have continued the weekly ritual without any recognition outside of his community if another customer hadn't witnessed his act of kindness.

On Saturday, customer Keshia Dotson posted a photo on IHOP’s Facebook of Thomas feeding the woman.

“Today…I witnessed a very touching moment involving one of your servers,” Dotson said. “A man and disabled women were dining, and your server sat down with them and proceeded to help feed the disabled woman while her companion enjoyed his food. My faith in humanity has been restored a little today.”

The post has been shared almost 5,000 times, and hundreds have commented on the photo.

Amanda N. Williams, who said she is Thomas’s coworker, commented on the post that Thomas "does this every time" he sees the couple.

IHOP spokeswoman Stephanie Peterson said the company is "incredibly proud of the heartwarming moments like this that take place in our restaurants every day."

"While these stories serve as an inspiration to us all, our guests are our top priority and we also want to respect the privacy of the couple pictured as well as maintain the integrity of the relationship they have developed with Joe over the years," Peterson said in an email statement.

Thomas told CBS he hopes his story will inspire others to follow in his footsteps.

“I really treat people like I want to be treated,” Thomas said. “If I get to be that age and something happened to me I would want someone to help me out.”

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