Random Acts of Kindness
For many months I worried about Joe (name changed). He is wheelchair bound and lives, in many ways, an earthly life that doesn’t offer much hope. He was very active the first thirty years of his life and might even be described as oblivious to anyone but himself.
One day, as he was riding his four-wheeler, he topped a hill that was familiar. The only difference on this day was that beyond the top of the hill was a newly dug hole. Instead of an exciting jump that would land safely, he crashed many feet downward and was paralyzed from the waist down. His way of life changed in a matter of seconds.
It’s been more than ten agonizing years since that day. He lives almost alone. There is a faithful mother who helps him, but all of those friends who once hung with Joe in the good times no longer come around. There is a lot of loneliness in Joe’s world. And bed sores.
Most of us would think that Joe would be comfortably taken care of by the safety net of our generous government. Wrong! Those safety nets are quite porous and hard to arrange. Many people like Joe suffer in silence.
I met him many years ago and have become a friend. But I don’t know about bed sores. I take him to the doctor and have run some interference with the governmental agencies. That’s how I know how frustrating it can be to deal with Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, etc. You do realize that they don’t come running when you call, don’t you?
Click through for the rest of the story, plus another Random act described by the same writer.
