'Angel in a green jacket': Delavan mother on mission to thank woman who bought her groceries

 

DELAVAN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Death in the family, along with the diagnosis that two of her kids have special needs, has made these last two years especially tough for a Delavan woman. 

This weekend, a random act of kindness at a Walmart lifted her spirits, and now she's on a mission to give thanks to who she calls her "angel in a green jacket."

Saturday, Nov. 18 started rough for the mom of three little ones in diapers who's suffering from postpartum depression. 

"Just getting in the parking lot, it was packed and it's around Thanksgiving. It just gives me a lot of anxiety being around a lot of people, but we did end up going in the store. So, we got in there after about 15 minutes and went shopping," said Liliano Carioscia.

What Liliana Carioscia didn't know was inside the Delavan Walmart that day was a lady she now calls her "angel in a green jacket."

"I made it all the way to the checkout and then I realized I left my card at home. People behind me in line are getting upset because I'm holding up the line. My daughter's crying," she said. 

And then, it happened. 

"There was a woman directly next to me in the checkout lane who must've overheard my conversation. And she came over and she was like, 'do you need some help?' She started taking things out of my cart and scanning them and bagging them for me, and I'm just standing there teary eyed because I’m like, what is happening? She bought boxes of diapers for my kids, their toys, Thanksgiving dinner, and she didn't bat an eye -- and I was totally like, what's happening?" said Carioscia. 

Carioscia says the items in her cart totaled nearly $200. She snapped a photo as the "angel in a green jacket" walked away. Now, Carioscia's on a mission online, hoping to find her to say thank you.

"The last couple years it's just been hit after hit, and when you think you can't be kicked anymore, when you're down and it keeps happening, you just kind of lose all hope -- and that's where we were at. Having two of my three kids, they have complex medical needs at the moment, it's been a lot financially, mentally," said Carioscia. 

Carioscia's seeing a mental health therapist, and that's helping, but experiencing the true kindness of a stranger has been incredibly healing. She introduced us to her young family -- 1-year-old Indigo, 3-year-old Toronto and 5-month-old Namiko. 

"This was just a really big blessing. It came at a perfect time, you know, the end of something really tragic that happened, and it just gave us that little push to get our heads above water again, where we feel like we can breathe. I was able to breathe for a second. It's like I had a pile of rocks on my chest, and I wasn't able to. I had the money if I had my card, but after that money was spent, that would've been it for the month. So, the money she saved me, that's Christmas," said Carioscia. 

Liliana got choked up telling us Christmas this year was going to be hard, but with the money her "angel in a green jacket" saved her, she feels more financially able to spend her paycheck on gifts for the kids.