Tony was just a regular guy minding his children and going about his day when he received a text from the wrong number. Tony had a pretty good idea when he opened the message that it wasn't meant for him, but he had a good sense of humor and thought it might be fun to answer the text. His wife was out with one of his sons and the rest were watching TV in the sitting room. What Tony didn't know was that social media was a huge force that could end up changing his family's life, especially his sick son's. Read the heartwarming story of how Tony was able to raise £11K to help his little boy battle cancer.
How It All Began
Back in February 2018, Tony Wood and his children were at home when Tony's phone beeped. So, he grabbed his phone, expecting to have to call back a customer as he was a realtor. However, this time, it really wasn't a customer and in fact, Tony got quite a surprise when he opened the text message.
Tony opened the message to find a photo of a young woman in a dress. He had been expecting a question about how many bedrooms or the size of a particular property so this was a bit of a shock. It didn't take long for him to realize that this text wasn't from someone looking for real estate but a completely wrong number.
Who's That Girl?
The text contained a photo of a young woman that Tony had never seen before. She was clad in a floor-length gown and was clearly asking a friend or loved one what they thought of it. She didn't know that it had ended up in the inbox of a father of six from Tennessee!
Although Tony didn't know much about dresses, he guessed this was for some sort of event - a prom, party, or a wedding. Tony thought it looked great, but he didn't think the young woman in the photo would much care what he thought. Plus, what would his wife say if he answered the text?
To Respond or Not?
Most people would have deleted the message and left it at that. Others might have put the girl out of her misery and sent a quick "wrong number" message so that she could send it to the right person. Tony, on the other hand, had other ideas.
He knew that young girls felt under huge pressure in society about how they looked. Maybe having a complete stranger tell her that she looked great could make her day. Tony was devoted to his family so he had no ill intentions there. He just thought that he could have a little fun with this and maybe make the girl smile.
Spreading Good Vibes
In general, Tony liked to make people happy. So, he thought it might be a nice idea to ask his kids what they thought of the girl in the dress and send it back to her in response. Rather than just a wrong number message, she could actually have her question answered, just probably not by who she had intended! He called his kids into one room and told them his idea. They all thought it was a great plan.
So, five of his children all packed in tight, giving a thumbs up in response to the girl's photo. Tony typed a quick message about how he and the kids thought she looked great, then pressed "send" and off the message went to its unknown owner. It was a little bit of excitement in the kid's day and they wondered whether she'd reply. They didn't realize at the time that it would have much further-reaching consequences.
The Tweet
Tony had started to use Twitter as part of his work. He promoted himself as a real estate agent on the platform and was building up a number of followers. He also liked to have a look at what was trending and catch up on stories from around the world. One day, a few weeks after the text was left without an answer, Tony stumbled on something on Twitter that looked familiar.
He took a closer look and yes, that was actually a photo of his children on Twitter, alongside the photo of the girl in the dress. It had been posted by a woman called Mandi Miller. Was this the mystery woman in the dress? Tony clicked in to find out more.
Social Media Fame
Mandi Miller had captioned the thread with her own text, but it turned out that the girl in the dress was actually a friend of hers called Sydney. Tony smiled when he realized that his kids' photo was trending on Twitter - they were famous and they had no idea!
Mandi Miller had pinned the tweet to her profile. It had been retweeted 170,000 times, had 680,000 likes and more than 500 people had commented on it. Sydney hadn't replied to Tony, but was crazy! Tony decided that he'd put a comment of his own on there, saying hello from the person who took the photo. Little did he know how this would turn out!
Introducing Himself
Tony typed a response to Mandi Miller, telling her that he was the one who had received the text message that was originally meant for her. He explained that he'd just wanted to do something nice and that those were his children in the photo. The story might have ended there, but it still would have been quite lovely. How many people who receive wrong numbers even consider spreading some goodness around?
Tony also added in some information that he didn't know would turn out to have quite a big impact. Tony was simply stating some facts about the Wood family, but soon many more people would know about them. This is a random act that would make one believe in karma.
Where Was Kaizler?
Everyone who had already seen the photo would just have seen five cute kids giving goody grins and a thumbs up to a stranger. What they didn't know was that the sixth child in the Wood family was not in the photo. He was at the hospital with his mother, Rachel, when the photo was being taken.
Tony was simply explaining that he'd been at home with the other kids when the text to the wrong number came through. Kaizler's illness was such a part of their lives now that Tony didn't think much of it when he mentioned it in the tweet. But other people did.
A Persistent Fever
A few years previously, Kaizler Wood came down with a fever that really dampened his spirits. Rachel and Tony knew kids got sick and didn't take too much notice initially, but when Kaizler didn't perk up and the illness continued they decided to take him to their doctor.
When the doctor examined him, she knew it wasn't just a simple childhood illness that the boy had picked up. She took blood and sent it to the lab immediately, and hoped that it wasn't what his symptoms suggested.
Infection or Worse?
Tony and Rachel waited impatiently for the results of Kaizler's blood work. When they received a call from the hospital saying they had to bring in their son, they tried to stay positive. Doctors told the couple that that they worried that Kaizler might be anemic, or that there could be a viral infection in his blood. Then they mentioned that it could be Leukemia. Tony and Rachel actually started praying that it was a severe infection.
It wasn't an ideal situation and the couple worried day and night about it. Christmas was coming and they hoped for the best present of all: that Kaizler would be ok. This was a couple of years before Sydney's text, but it provides a background for what the family had gone through.
The Diagnosis
On the 23 December 2015, the day before Christmas Eve, Kaizler was diagnosed with Pre-B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. A doctor called to deliver the news to his parents. It was a devastating blow and initially they were completely overcome with what they were facing into. Then they gathered themselves and decided to keep hope, for Kaizler and the whole family.
Tony and Rachel had faith in God that everything would be ok. They were good people and they prayed that their son would recover from this horrible disease. They would stay strong for him.
The Facebook Page
When they researched about treatment, Tony and Rachel began to understand that not only would Kaizler's illness take all of their strength to deal with, but it would also take a lot of money. They started a Facebook page called "Prayers for Kaizler" hoping that people around the world might see it and keep their son in their prayers. One of their friends started a GoFundMe page to help the couple, when they heard how much Kaizler's treatment was going to cost.
The Wood family didn't expect any money to help their son, they just wanted to stay focused on his treatment and recovery. However, they knew that raising awareness could help them. They didn't really know how they'd afford the treatment, but they figured that they would just keep going. It seemed that their prayers would be answered in more ways than one.
The Kindness of Strangers
When the story of the wrong number text went viral, one Twitter user obviously did some more research on Tony and came across "Prayers for Kaizler". The user, who has the handle @illuminaughty, playing on the word Illuminati, joined the group. This account was pretty anonymous - they had no photo in their profile and had not completed any personal details.
The Twitter user initially liked the tweet about Tony's text and the photo of his family, but then the person decided to do some good of their own.
A Photo of Kaizler
Obviously picking up on the photo, @illuminaughty asked if the world could have a photo of Kaizler doing his own "thumbs up". They also posted the link to the GoFundMe page for the boy, and it was quite unexpected what happened next.
Other people began requesting a photo of Kaizler and Tony decided to respond, capturing a cute photo of Kaizler with both thumbs up to followers on Twitter. Tony didn't know that it was about to start a flood of well-wishing to Kaizler's page.
The Best Promotion Ever
The tweet featuring Kaizler with his thumbs up was quick to go viral. Now all the Wood kids were known on Twitter. When Tony told his kids this, he didn't receive much response, mostly because they didn't know what Twitter was. However, Tony could see the likes and retweets building.
It was amazing that this was all from a text message that had been sent to the wrong person. Then Tony noticed that the GoFundMe page was also getting plenty of hits. Strangers were going on and donating towards the fund. This stunned both Tony and Rachel.
Good in the World
No one actually knows if @illuminaughty had made the connection from the wrong text message or whether it was a complete coincidence. What Tony and Rachel do know is that it had a massive effect of donations. When an extra $1,000 had been raised on the GoFundMe page, it was absolutely huge for the family - Tony wasn't clear how he was going to continuing paying for treatment and this would be such a help.
The family had never stopped having faith but this showed that there was so much good in the world. It was like @illuminaughty had stepped in and become their PR person. Tony wondered was the person something to do with Sydney, or Mandi Miller, but he couldn't find out any more.
What Happens in a Day
A mere 24 hours later, people from all over America and the world had donated to the fundraising page. The Wood family had been bowled over at receiving $1,000 in just a few hours, but now the amount had climbed to $10,000. This was the goal they needed in order to fund Kaizler's treatment and they wept tears of joy knowing that they would no longer have the financial strain in trying to achieve it.
Kaizler needed several rounds of chemotherapy to treat his Leukemia, and even then there were no guarantees. He also had to take special medication to stop from getting sick and his immune system would be compromised from the chemo. There was still a long road ahead of the Wood family, but they were overwhelmed at the kindness of strangers.
Bringing Out the Best
Everyone knows that the Internet can bring out the worst in people. No matter where you look, people are trolling one another, making nasty comments about people's lives, hair, choices and make-up. However, this story just shows that when people come together with good intentions, the Internet can actually be a pretty nice place.
As days turned into weeks, the donations didn't stop coming. As Kaizler attended treatment, money flowed in, even when Tony Wood explained that they had enough to cover medical bills. People had been stirred by the family and the photo of the little boy. Eventually, donations came to $62,000 and the Wood family expressed their gratitude and stopped the page. However, they showed Kaizler all the prayers and well wishes that were sent to him from complete strangers all around the world. The positive energy buoyed every member of the family as they supported Kaizler on his journey.
The Last Post
Tony Wood says now he's not sure what they would have done to fund Kaizler's treatment if they hadn't received such generosity from people on the GoFundMe page. In March 2019, he took to the page to update everyone who had donated and let them know that Kaizler was on his way for his last dose of chemotherapy.
Everyone kept their fingers crossed that there wouldn't be a relapse. So far, so good. Kaizler is thriving and healthy. It was a tremendous group effort made by people on Twitter and it had really played a role in making this family's life easier. It wasn't long before the media started knocking, eager for a feel-good story. One like this doesn't come around that often.
Media Interest
Everyone from Fox News to the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom covered the story. Tony started to get used to more unusual numbers popping up on his phone. Tony was happy to express his gratitude to the world media. He repeated over and over how much it meant to them as a family.
He said that they had been stunned at the outpouring of love and prayers, not only from their very supportive friends and family, but also from complete strangers who had come across their photo on Twitter. When asked about why he decided to reply to Sydney's message on that day in February, Tony gave a lovely explanation.
Support From a Stranger
Tony said that young women have so much pressure put upon them to look a certain way and subscribe to societal norms. This girl asking her friend thoughts on the dress may have seen that Tony had read the message and not responded. He knew that this might make her stress out over how the dress looked and he wanted to do something nice.
He said he hoped that he could instill the confidence in his own daughters to not worry about what others think, but he saw it beginning already. He simply sought to give the girl some reassurance in a nice way. He had no idea how this would unleash a torrent of goodwill towards his own family. So, what are the Wood family up to now?
No More Real Estate
Tony had been working in the highly pressured area of real estate when the whole story began. This was purely an attempt to earn more money to pay for Kaizler's treatment. As of October 2018, he had decided to leave real estate and pursue smaller jobs that keep him with his family more.
It's been a tough few years seeing Kaizler through treatment and raising five other children in the meantime. He says he might go back to real estate at some point but right now he wanted to focus on his family. He also paid forward all the goodwill that he had received by directing donors to another GoFundMe for a little boy from Nashville, Finn Shafran. Finn was fighting a rare form of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma and unfortunately he lost his battle with the disease, but not before his family had received $25,000 in donations, which went to pay for his medical bills.
What About the Anonymous Twitter User?
Tony Wood tried to find out more about the Twitter user @illuminaughty. However, this user clearly wants to stay under the radar. Recently, the handle was changed to "Hedge" but no one is sure why. All Tony knows is that the user is Indian and male.
His Twitter feed supports that with posts about Indian culture, society and politics, but his profile imagery is of a Simpson's character. Tony doesn't know why his story struck a chord but says he is grateful to this kind man who started a crazy run of donations that made Kaizler's treatment possible. His Twitter bio simply read "Stop Hating Start Loving" and if only the rest of the platform lived by those words, what a better place the world would be.
35 'Wrong Number' Texts That Will Make You Laugh Out Loud
Ever since the invention of text messages, people were bound to start sending them to the wrong numbers. Whether it was because they copied down the wrong number or because they were intentionally given the wrong number, wrong-number texts are just an everyday part of life.
Thankfully for all of us, some of them are downright hilarious, even if they are sometimes awkward for some of the senders or recipients. And we’ve got the screenshots to prove it! Here are 35 wrong-number texts that will make you laugh out loud!
Everyone Sucks
Most people tend to just ignore wrong number texts. But then there are some kind people out there who like to let the other person know that their message has missed its mark. Just like this person did.
While the chances of encountering a wrong number text where the other person doesn’t suck are slim, it’s still not very nice to tell them that. Especially if they went out of their way to let you know your message went to the wrong person.
Grow Up
It’s not uncommon for someone to give another person the wrong number when they don’t want them to have their real one. It’s one of the best ways to keep someone away, especially if they creep you out or give you weird vibes.
And, clearly, this next sender did just that to someone named Kaylee. When they texted the number they were given, they told Kaylee to grow up. And even after being told they had the wrong number, continued to patronize “her.” Can we say “denial?” Just like the recipient said, it’s not hard to tell why Kaylee gave the sender the wrong number in the first place.
Call Your Mom
It’s easy to dismiss texts from numbers you don’t recognize. But when the message is simple as, “call your mom,” it can really make you think twice.
So when this next person got a message that said, “Mom wants you to call her,” they thought that maybe they should call their mom. You know, just in case they were really in trouble or something. But, as it turns out, it was truly a wrong number. And after the person wrote back hours later, they were already too late. They had made them get into an unnecessary 30 minute phone call with their mother, after all.
The Picture She Didn’t Know She Needed
If you want someone’s phone number, get it directly from them or else things could go wrong. Just like it did for this next person. When they got the phone number they needed from a friend, they were either sent the wrong number by accident or they copied it wrong. Either way, they didn’t get the right contact.
And when they texted the person who clearly should have been expecting a message looking for a picture, they did not receive the picture they were expecting. Instead, someone sent them a Nicholas Cage meme. At least they took it like a champ and everyone got a good laugh out of the mishap! But now, the way we see it, the only appropriate way to reply to wrong number texts is with Nicholas Cage memes.
The Employee of the Month
You would think that bosses and employees would be better at exchanging phone numbers than to either give out the wrong number on purpose or make a mistake when copying it down. But we guess not after seeing this next exchange. Here we have Anthony looking for his employee who is already 20 minutes late for work. He first responded that he was coming in. But then says that he’ll be there whenever he gets around to it.
If Anthony wasn’t suspicious by then, then he definitely was by the time a picture came in of someone, not his employee by the way, dressed in a bandana and sunglasses with a Hannah Montana clock and a sheet as a cape. There are so many things to unpack here, we can’t even get started. But we just hope his employee is actually okay and is still employed.
No, Not You
It’s a good rule of thumb to send a simple “Hi” to a number you haven’t texted before just to make sure you have the right person before diving into messages that express your innermost hidden emotions.
But, hey, some people like to get right to the point. Just like this next person who seemed to be hoping that their heartfelt confession right out of the gates would score them bonus points. Unfortunately, they just confessed their attraction to a man with a handlebar mustache. They immediately replied with a hilarious “NOOOOOOOOOOO.” And capped it off with a “SORRY SIR.” Hopefully, they learned their lesson.
Cheap Green Beans
Not all wrong number texts are bad ones. In fact, some can even turn your day around or change your life! That could be what happened here when someone received a random text message from a number they didn’t know informing them that the green beans were cheap.
They were immediately intrigued as to what green beans and which store they were at. More importantly, they wanted to know who was informing them of these grocery deals! We hope they got all the answers that they were looking for. More importantly, we hope they got their hands on some cheap green beans!
Give Me a Puppy
As soon as this next person received this wrong number text, they were interested in what they had to say because of all the adorable puppies in the photo! Unfortunately, the person realized their mistake almost right away. So they told the person not to dismiss them so fast. They wanted a puppy!
That’s when they were informed that their number had been listed as a vet’s office. And while they were not a vet, they happily informed them that they take really good care of dogs for free! The no they got in reply must have really hurt their feelings because then they said, “No one needs 7 dogs. You are being selfish.” Which, to be fair, they kind of have a point.
Just Interested in the Car
We’ve all made the mistake of sending a text to the last person we messaged instead of the actual person we meant to text. However, in this case, the mistake just so happened to turn out to be hilarious. This person had gotten a text about a car they were selling. That exchange went as normal as they get it. However, when they later sent another text, things got a bit awkward.
The new text said, “Good night beautiful can not wait to have u in my arms love n miss u heaps xoxox.” It’d be a pretty sweet message, if he had actually sent it to the right person. Instead, he sent it to the guy who wanted to buy his car. And he replied, “Look man, I'm just interested in the car.” Fair.
Mystery and Intrigue
This next wrong number text was the perfect combination of mystery and intrigue that immediately hooked the reader.
It was a picture of a panty and a message that read, “Don’t ask what the rest of my kitchen looks like LOL.” Top it off with the fact that it was from an unknown number, and the person who received the message just had to know. So they texted back, “What does the rest of your kitchen look like?” No explanation that they had the wrong number or anything. They just wanted the cold hard facts and we can appreciate that.
Yas Queen
Now, we’ve all heard of “stranger danger.” So the minute we get a message from an unknown number, we’re usually pretty hesitant to respond. However, when that unknown number calls you Queen, sometimes you just can’t help but respond. And that’s exactly what this person did!
After they asked who was texting them, they were taken aback. After all, who else would be calling them Queen? But then they realized their mistake and apologized. Unfortunately, the reader immediately started to miss being called Queen. And we can’t blame them! They texted them back saying, “Wait. I’ll be your queen. Come back.”
She Thique
This is another one of those moments where the sender realizes they sent the message to the wrong contact just a little too late. Here, it seems that Rachel had just quit her job. Thanks to technology, all she had to do was text her boss and she was able to avoid that awkward face-to-face conversation!
And when her boss texted her back to confirm, it appears that things ended pretty amicably between the two of them. However, it went downhill from there when Rachel sent her boss a picture of chocolate chip cookies with a message that read, “Ooh she thique.” Welp. She almost had it all.
Who’s Cat Is This?
When this next person got a wrong number text, they wanted to get to the bottom of it and find out who was behind the message. Instead of answers, they just got a picture of… a cat? Clearly someone sent them a picture of their chihuahua mix puppy in response to their question, but that wasn’t enough of an answer for this person. So they kept asking. And they kept getting more pictures.
Finally, they had had enough and they told this person to stop sending them pictures of their cat. Unfortunately, that’s where this interaction ends. But we have so many questions. Did they really think this was a cat? Did they ever find out it was a dog? Did they ever find out who was sending the messages? What is the dog’s name?! We need answers!
Hi Mom
When kids are learning how to use the phone, they are prone to making mistakes. For instance, typing in the wrong numbers! So when this kid was trying to text their mother, they accidentally texted the wrong number and got ahold of someone who wasn’t their mom.
Instead of just telling the kid that they had the wrong number, this person went above and beyond and checked in with the kid later to make sure that they had actually been able to contact their mother! What a kind and considerate thing to do! What they weren’t expecting was a full report from the kid as to what their mom’s real phone number was!
Yoo Hoo
You never know what you’re going to get when a wrong number texts you. It could be an honest mistake. It could be a person you forgot you gave your number to. Or it could be a full-blown creep. No matter what, it’s always a good idea to play it cool until you figure out what’s what.
Just like this next person! When they got a text from an unknown number that simply said, “Hey baby,” it could have gone south real fast. But they played it cool! They simply sent back a picture of the guy from Frozen with a message that read, “Yoohoo.” That way, if it’s someone they know, they’ll get a good laugh. And if it’s a real creep, maybe they’ll be creeped out themselves!
Don’t Eat the Cookie
We have to admit that this next wrong number text is pretty funny. Someone was minding their manners and sending a thank you text to thank someone for getting them a cookie. What they didn’t know is that they were accidentally texting the wrong person.
Whoever they were texting was pretty clever, though, because they replied back not to eat it. They continued on playing mind games with the person insinuating that maybe they shouldn’t eat the cookie and were upset that they did without ever giving a good reason. Hopefully, they eventually fessed up so they could actually thank the right person!
I Love… Selfies
When this next person was texting a new number for the first time, he didn’t even check to make sure that he had the right number. Instead, he just went right ahead with sending a selfie with a message that said, “I love ya.” We don’t know what message he was expecting to get back, but we bet it wasn’t the one he got.
In response, he got a message from another man who sent him a shirtless selfie of himself with a towel around his head with a message that also said, “I love ya too, dawg.” Hey, it never hurts to hear an, “I love you!”
One Crazy Night in Oz
This next person saw an opportunity and took it! When they received a text message from a number they didn’t recognize asking for pictures of themselves that they should have had in their phone, they wanted to know who was asking.
When they replied that it was Dorothy, naturally only one Dorothy came to mind and they replied with a picture of the one and only Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz. Even better, they captioned it with, “good times,” like the two of them had actually experienced it!”
Dr. Google
This next wrong number text is a wild ride! For starters, we’re just going to gloss over the fact that trained medical professionals are texting each other for advice and information on how to treat patients because we’d really hope that would be unnecessary.
However, when Matt needed to text Dr. Park about one of his patient’s symptoms, he accidentally texted the wrong number. Which could have been seriously bad considering this was a medical procedure we were dealing with! Instead, the message went to someone named Hannah who was not a doctor. Instead of ignoring the message, she simply Googled it and gave her best advice. And as it turned out, she was right! Even better, she figured out the solution in three minutes versus the three hours it took the actual medical staff to get to the bottom of the problem! Go figure!
Just Chillin’
Sometimes, you just have to shoot your shot! After all, great things can happen when you take a chance. Unfortunately for this guy, things didn’t turn out so great for him. He texted the girl he was interested in a selfie-and told her that he was just chillin’ if she wanted to come over.
However, he did not expect the response he got. He then received a selfie of a scrawny boy with a message that said, “she gave you the wrong number brotha.” Oof. Tough luck. Clearly, this boy burst his bubble with his information. But his reaction was priceless!
Modern Day Love Story
There’s a lot to unpack here. First and foremost, we do not recommend coming out of the gate with, “I’m in love with you.” Especially if you have never texted this person before! At least make sure you have the right number first!
Second, the person who received the text was awfully formal when they responded with “To whom do I owe the pleasure?” Even after figuring out that they had the wrong number, that didn’t stop the person who received the confession from stating that they were worth loving. Finally, the person making the confession had the nerve to ask for a picture. And the best part is, they sent a picture of Ron Burgundy from Anchorman! Sounds like a modern-day love story if we’ve ever heard one!
What About the Vacuum?
If you were to look back at some of the texts you sent someone like your parents, your roommate, or your partner, we bet some of them would seem pretty random when taken out of context. And it seems like that’s what happened here when this person received a text about a problem with a vacuum. They even went as far as to ask if they could turn the vacuum off.
After asking who was sending the message and realizing they didn’t know who Tae was, they decided to mess around with them. They told them never to turn the vacuum off. Ever. We just hope the vacuum was okay.