Anybody else got classmates like this?

[Nickel]

I am an MS1. My husband is having an operation soon. It's not life-threatening, but we're busted financially. As it is, we have to scrimp and pinch, and it was nowhere in the budget to pay for an operation and time off work for recovery.

Anyway, we mentioned this to "Bob", my classmate, because Bob is organizing intramurals, and I was letting him know that my husband and I could no longer participate because we couldn't afford to pay the fee. Bob says, "Don't worry about it, I got you covered, I want to make sure you get to play."

Already we thought that was generous of him. The next day, he hands us a card, with $200 of his own money to help us with the operation expenses, and a note saying that he hopes that this will help me to focus on my studies and that we should make no attempt to repay him.

We're pretty sure he's not rich, just generous. It's incredible, and I didn't know where to shout it out, so I guess I did here.

Does anyone else have a great story about great people?

 

[southerndoc]

The wife of a paramedic with whom I used to work suffered from a cerebral aneurysm. She required surgery and a lot of rehabilitation. The medic couldn't work because she needed extended care -- not to mention they also have a kid.

Nearly everyone at the EMS agency where I worked signed up for extra shifts. We donated all time worked to the medic in need. We did that for nearly 3 months. The hospital gave him money for the leave time he had accumulated, plus they gave him money for his normal shifts (which we worked).

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

That's an amazing story! Just goes to show there still are generous people out there.

 

[Badgerbabe]

There's a third year at my school whose wife got pregnant with triplets last spring, and ever since, the whole class has been collecting money/volunteer time/donated baby items for them as he is on loans, and his wife won't be able to work. I thought that was pretty cool.

 

[Hero]

yea i know a few people like that. people don't suck as much becuase of them

 

[Street Philosopher]

i opened this thread expecting a rant about anal and mean students, but i was pleasantly surprised. thanks for the story.

 

[Wahoo07]

Originally posted by Street Philosopher
i opened this thread expecting a rant about anal and mean students, but i was pleasantly surprised. thanks for the story.

Me too. Thanks for the awesome story nickel. I guess it reminds you of why medicine is such a great field: people can be so good sometimes.

 

[Ryo-Ohki]

Me too.


Great story.

 

[Jalby]

I personally think that this has more to do with the classmate being a good christian than being a classmate. (Nickle goes to Loma Linda)

 

[panda01]

Jalby you're dead wrong--being a good Christian has nothing to do with behavior like this in the world. Touching other people with your kindness and love is not dependent on what religion you are, and debatably has anything to do with religion at all.

 

[Nickel]

Originally posted by panda01
Jalby you're dead wrong--being a good Christian has nothing to do with behavior like this in the world. Touching other people with your kindness and love is not dependent on what religion you are, and debatably has anything to do with religion at all.

I'm glad to hear that other people were encouraged by the story.

I think Bob's actions had a lot to do with the fact that he is Christian and I think it is a good testimony, but I agree that kindness and love is not exclusive to Christians. When I made the post, I was certain I'd hear stories about good deeds from people from all walks of life.

There were other stories in this post about people coming together to help someone in need, and I bet they run the whole spectrum.

 

[delayofgame]

aint got no classes, therefore aint got no mates....

 

[Cochira]

my uncle, who's a physician needed to have a liver transplant but his insurance didn't cover the operation and he didn't have a paid leave of absence so his famliy was in a bit of a jam. The hospital staff took up extra hours to cover him. When he recovered, he anonymously circulated a Christmas wish list. He played secret Santa and bought EVERYONE the gift that they listed (these were big time gifts too).

 

[LJoo83]

i agree with street phil-
i thought this forum would be about mean, anal fellow med students..
your stories gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Yea....

That's an amazing story...

There's a few people here who are great!

I was having problems with my back. It was really hurting. I was talking to a couple nice girls in my class....I was saying how the excess studying was really affecting my back. They told me it would be ok and the next evening they dropped by my room. They came in and we talked and chatted. One of them even brought me some Juice. That was nice of her. One of them offered me a massage and it felt great! I am amazed at the giving nature of these people here! They gave all night long....wonderful people here....I must say...

Not nearly as endearing as your story....but still....a lot of giving went on that evening....

 

[Scooby Doo]

Originally posted by Moleculo
Liar.

Don't be bitter....I understand that stuff like this doesn't happen at those PUBLIC schools....

 

[California]

Scooby Doo,

You are a freak as well as a pretty boy. No girl would ever do that for you unless you begged. I know this, by the way, because I went to high school and college with you. You are a big liar.

By the way, public schools leave you with enough money so you can at least pay for that kind of treatment if you wanted it. You, on the other hand, have to beg for it on the streets of New York.

See you all later. This is my final message on SDN forever. I have to study hard so I can beat the rest of you folks on USMLE Step I. (Please realize I am kidding. NO need to bombard me with hate mail.)

Your Old Buddy,
California

 

[Delvonik]

Once,a proffessor of mine was walking down the hallway.She dropped some change.A whole 4 cents to be exact.I picked it up and told tld her she'd dropped it.She said "You can keep it." Wow early retirement for me! Maybe I should invest it.Hmmm....not sure.

Actually she's pretty nice.

 

[care bear]

this is a great thread.
i just wanted to say however that being a Christian really can have a huge impact on the ability to be kind and generous. Not that others can't, of course- that's not what I'm saying.
Just that as a Christian , we believe that we are all inherently selfish and sinful, but it's only through Christ's power in us and Christ's love that we are best able to truly love others. By truly I mean love that approaches selflessness- a love that I know I can't have on my own, but that I can when I'm connected to God.
sorry, just couldn't pass up the opportunity to say that.
feel free to pm me if you have any other questions about Christianity- so many people have such a negative or cynical impression of religion, and believe me, there's nothing I like better than to talk about what it really has meant in my life.

thanks!

 

[DAPLAYA]

Please don't post about religion on this forum. It is a MEDICAL forum, so stick to topics and issues related to medicine. Everyone has their own personal beliefs and I don't have a problem with anyone being religious. I just don't think this is proper site to discuss it. By doing so, a discussion about medicine can quickly turn into theological one and that's not what most of us want! Thank you.

 

[Gator05]

Let's please not relegate kindness to Christians alone; I know this isn't anyone's intention, but the conclusion drawn from previous posts is kind acts are only done through Christianity. Personal beliefs aside, that's not respectful of other religions.

As a matter of disclosure, I am Christian. I also understand there are quite a few denominations within Christianity, each with a slightly (or extremely) different set of beliefs. (You don't realize how much so until you've had your own religion trampled on by another "Christian".)

Please be very careful with "we" when speaking of Christianity.

 

[pillowhead]

So because I'm a Jew I can't be selfless and generous? Uh huh.
And my best friend who is a Jain and vegan to avoid causing any animal suffering? She doesn't even eat plant roots to avoid disrupting soil life. She can't be selfless and generous either? Okay.
How about my atheist boyfriend who believes in generosity as a human principle and therefore has money automatically deducted from his paycheck to go to a charity every month? He can't be generous and selfless either?

The self-righteousness of some people never ceases to amaze me. Gator05 (I'm a Gator too!), you are very right about Christians running the whole spectrum and so I in no way want to imply that all Christians think the above statements would be true. And DAPLAYA, I apologize for continuing any religious discussion; I understand this really isn't the place. But sometimes it's more harmful to ignore ridiculous comments than to continue a the dialogue, even if it isn't exactly appropriate to the forum.

 

[care bear]

ok, pillowhead, i was going to pm this to you:
but i realized you don't have pm enabled. so i'll post, at the risk of being flamed- i'm sorry, and this will be my last open post on the subject. but feel free to pm me with any other concerns, etc-

of course i don't think non-Christians can't be generous and selfless. and of course i don't think all ppl. who call themselves Christians are generous and selfless.
all i mean is that knowing Christ for oneself can make it much, much easier- no, i'll rephrase. for me, knowing Christ has made it much, much easier to have a sort of love that i never had before. and it's not self-righteousness. i think *i* am a terrible person. but, i think that *Christ* is my redeemer, and it is His righteousness alone that I seek.
thanks for replying though. i'm really glad that we can engage in dialogue, and I'm truly sorry if i offended you by my earlier post.

 

[leorl]

Ugh. Can we please just stick to the absolutely wonderful endearing message the original poster posted, please? No tainting this thread with anything !

 

[Ninja]

There was this guy, a year ahead of me in med school. He had some mystery illness. Many students in med school donated him much money, and many units of blood, plasma and platelets. The money they collected was more than the average annual income of a Physician.

He was diagnosed with Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) a week after the onset of illness. It was believed to be virus-associated hemophagocytic syndrome (VAHS) in his case (a rare condition, with a high mortality). He died another week later, in spite of the best treatment by some of the best specialists in the country (India, in this case) in a very good hospital. The hospital discounted much of his expenses, as the hospital's CEO also graduated from my med school.

It was sad to see his family after he died. About 1000 students, residents and faculty and staff from our med school attended his funeral. A very nice guy, and an excellent cricket player (a terrific all-rounder for my college's cricket team).

The incident moved me deeply. Proved me the limits of modern medicine - it was a humbling incident too. Doesn't matter whether you're a med student or a Physician, you may be helpless in certain medical situations.

(By the way, to whoever is altering the focus of this thread, the people who donated blood and money for this guy's medical treatment were from atleast 3 very diverse religions, as far as I can remember. Please do not forget everybody's blood is red, and your blood can save my life and vice versa. Religion has nothing to do with humanity. Period.

Sorry Mods, I was compelled to respond. Feel free to delete the previous paragraph if you wish).

 

[CatsAreKillers]

Originally posted by Nickel
I'm glad to hear that other people were encouraged by the story.

I think Bob's actions had a lot to do with the fact that he is Christian and I think it is a good testimony, but I agree that kindness and love is not exclusive to Christians.

Hello Nickel,

I hope everything worked out with the operation.

I'm just curious. How do you know what Bob's religion is? Did he come right out and tell you his denomination?

Also out of curiosity, is he older than most of the med students? Not that a 23 year old guy can't be sensitive to others' needs, but Bob sounds very mature if he is indeed a typical 23 year old freshman med student.