NFL player leaves server generous tip hours after prayer for surgery

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - On Wednesday at the O'Charley's restaurant in Panama City a server picked up a shift and a homegrown NFL player picked up the tab. It wasn't just his generosity that left his server speechless, though.

"Hi my name's Tailor I'll be taking care of you today."

That's how Tailor Thorne greets every one of the guests she serves. Little did she know that this time her guest would be taking care of her.

"It's crazy to think that it actually happened to me," Tailor said.

Thorne came to find out she was serving Detroit Lions defensive tackle and Panama City Native Khyri Thornton and a group of his friends and family.

"I just cut up with them, just had a good time. I didn't know who he was. I don't watch football," Tailor admitted.

When she cashed him out she discovered another surprise, this one in ink at the bottom of her receipt.

"It just blew me away," Tailor said.

Thornton's bill came to $304.94 but he left a tip amounting to $250, well above the general 20 percent for good service.

"I'm trying to say thank you and I just started crying again and I was just like 'thank you so much for you know what you did and it just it was a blessing in disguise and I just, I can't say thank you enough,'" Tailor said.

That very morning, Thorne and her husband had said a prayer.

"On the way to work I just kind of simply said a little prayer and I was like, 'God if it's your will let it be done. And whatever happens, happens for a reason,'" Tailor said.

Thorne needs surgery as soon as possible, but her insurance company just dropped her because she makes too much money for the coverage.

That's why Thornton's tip isn't just generous, it's exactly what she needs.

"Exact amount," she said, meaning $250 is exactly what she had needed to cover her pre-operation appointment in Gainesville, buying her some time and money to find new coverage.

"You don't know me from saving grace and you leave that much," she said in awe. "It was obviously laid on his heart to do it I think he definitely got way more fans that he did before."

"I got happy for her you know," her husband Ronnie Robinson said. "I was like, 'you do a lot of good things for people so you know it's about time you got blessed.'"

Robinson said he felt that many people who make it big claim other cities, and he respected the fact that Thornton hasn't forgotten where he came from.

"Much respect," Robinson said.

Thorne says if she could see Thornton again, she would say thank you over and over.

"He really doesn't understand how much of a blessing he was," she said.

Thorne said this Easter has taken on a special meaning and she definitely had a testimony for church.

"You just gotta be stay strong in your faith and He'll definitely show up and show out."