Mail carrier leaves surprise delivery for single mom battling COVID-19

Lisette LeJeune, a single mom, has spent the past two weeks isolating at her home in Houston as she and her two sons battle COVID-19.

Unable to leave her home, LeJeune said she has relied on her family members, some of whom live as far as 45 minutes away, to deliver medical supplies and food at her doorstep.

"I was really sick the first week, so it was really hard trying to take care of both of them," LeJeune told "Good Morning America" of her sons, ages 14 and 3. "It's so hard being a single mom."

On Tuesday, just as her youngest son was struggling with symptoms of COVID-19 and she was in need of supplies, LeJeune was surprised to find a package outside her front door.

"I thought maybe a family member brought something, but usually they call or text me to tell me," she said of the surprise delivery, which contained items to help with the family's recovery from COVID-19, including cans of chicken soup, orange juice, crackers and cookies.

When LeJeune opened the bag, she discovered a note from her mail carrier, a woman she said she had only waved to a few times before they spoke on the morning LeJeune learned she had tested positive for COVID-19.

That morning, LeJeune warned the mail carrier against putting her mail in the mail box because they would both be touching it and LeJeune did not want to risk infecting her. Instead, LeJeune told the mail carrier she would leave a bucket outside of her front door for the mail.

"She said, 'OK, thank you,' and that was it," recalled LeJeune, a makeup artist who has been out of work during isolation. "I guess she saw the bucket was still there in front of my door two weeks later."

Along with the get-well items, the mail carrier, a woman named Mary, left a note for LeJeune that read, "Get well wishes. I hope you all are feeling better."

Shocked by the generosity of a stranger she had spoken to only once and waved to just a few times, LeJeune checked her doorbell camera footage and saw the mail carrier delivering the package.

"What made me emotional was just the thought of her getting the bag ready, in the morning before starting work or the night before, just her having us in mind with her daily routine," said LeJeune, noting the package from Mary came just in time.

"We were having a hard time here at home getting anything delivered and our family was helping us, but still I couldn't run out to get anything last-minute," she said. "I had just run out of orange juice and I needed that to give to my son."

The mail carrier, Mary, who asked that her last name not be used, declined an interview, but issued a statement to ABC News through a spokesperson for the United States Postal Service (USPS).

"I was just making a small gesture of kindness. The customer expressed concerns about my well being with contacting the same mailbox as her while she was sick," Mary said in a statement. "After a few days, I left a get well gift at her doorstep because I appreciated her concern. I didn't expect it to get so big but I would have done the same for anybody."

LeJeune said she left a thank you note for Mary at her doorstep, and she and her sons plan to deliver an in-person thank you, from a safe distance, once they are out of quarantine. LeJeune said she has now tested negative for COVID-19 and is awaiting her sons' latest test results.

"She's a stranger to us and that was the kindest part," she said of Mary's gesture. "She just did it for us."