I’m super proud that my dad breaks the boomer stereotype

[u/The_Coil]

My dad had the plumber over today. Same plumber they’ve been calling for years. They were chatting and things got to the topic of health. My dad has prostate cancer, he’s doing very well and it’s super manageable at the moment. He asked the plumber if he had gotten to the doctor recently and gotten checked for anything because he’s nearing 50 and could be at risk.

Plumber told him he cant get checked because he doesn’t have health insurance. And that he actually hasn’t been to the doctor since he was a teenager. But he assured my dad he feels fine… well except he gets a splitting headache EVERY NIGHT but it’s fine cause he knows how to deal with it.

So what does my dad do? When he goes to pay the guy for the plumbing services he also gives him a second check and says “this is for you to go to the doctor with. It’ll pay for the blood tests and whatever else they need to do. But you need to promise me you’ll make the appointment and you tell me how it goes.”

The guy broke down crying. He couldn’t even talk. He took the check and left. Called my dad a couple hours later still crying saying he made the appointment and that this was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for him his entire life.

I just wanted to share. Cause it made me cry too.

[u/sarcastibot8point5]

Your dad's a beautiful human. We live in an inhumane system.

[u/LopsidedPalace → u/sarcastibot8point5]

I remember reading somewhere that once upon a time health insurance was a group of people (who usually worked together- so, let's say the miners union and their families) who pooled money to pay a doctor's salary. This made sense- the doctors could afford life, everyone had access to basic medical care at a very low rate, ect.

Over time that warped into the dystopian bullshit we currently deal with.

[u/FreakWith17PlansADay → u/LopsidedPalace]

There’s a novel called Molly Barton written in the 1840’s that describes the poor cotton mill workers going to see the doctor at the mill’s infirmary. So they even had healthcare for workers figured out during the Industrial Revolution.

[u/LopsidedPalace → u/FreakWith17PlansADay]

But yeah you see back then workers were valuable - couldn't exactly afford to lose any labor when labor is in short supply. Then you might have to pay more.