Congratulations to Mr. Winkie, then. If either of you have questions about post-transplant stuff, click on my profile and email me.
FISH
A little over three years ago, I was in a bad cycling accident that put me in a coma, with a broken back, jaw, leg, and collapsed lung. Even odds for the first week whether or not I would survive.
My volunteer fire company invoked a special clause in the by-laws and handed me $5K to pay my daily bills until I could go back to work.
Ten years ago this coming August my father was terminally ill. My family (Mom, Sis, and myself) spent many, many days in the hospital with him. The last two weeks of his life he was in the cancer unit’s critical care unit of the Vanderbuilt Hospital in Nashville Tennessee. At the time my family actually lived in Decatur Alabama, about 120 miles away, but those last two weeks we stayed in Nashville; stayed at the hospital nearly around the clock. During that time my family was touched by two incredible acts of generosity, one for Dad, and one for the rest of us, that I still can’t describe without tears coming to my eyes.
As I mentioned my mom, sister, and I were staying in Nashville those last two weeks. We had a hotel room we would go to when visiting hours at the hospital were over, but we mainly stayed at the hospital. We didn’t know anybody in the city. However, my cousin’s wife’s parents lived not far from Nashville. Jay and Jean drove into Nashville every single day for two weeks to help support us. One day they arrived at the hospital with a full picnic basket and informed the three of us that we were getting out of the hospital for a few hours. We had a picnic at a nearby park…spent a couple of hours in the sun and fresh air instead of the hospital room. The generosity and love helped the three of us far more than we will ever be able to tell them.
Now, what did Dad receive? Unlike most of the other patients in the unit Dad still had most of his hair, he hadn’t lost it due to chemotherapy, mainly because his cancer spread so fast that it was determined that chemo wouldn’t help. Now, my father was not a vain man, but he was an executive, and he never liked to look disheveled, or sloppy. Said it didn’t look “professional”. As anybody who has ever spent a lot of time in a hospital knows, hair care and grooming are not high on the list of priorities. Another thing that anybody that has spent a lot of time in a hospital knows is that nurses are overworked. However, one of his nurses, and it shames me that I cannot remember her name, always took the time to comb his hair for him during her shift. Such a small thing, but you could tell by the look on his face how much it meant to him. My Mom thanked her one day, and this woman hugged my Mom and said she loved doing it, because Dad was her only patient that still had most of his hair. Such a small thing, I know, but so special.
Ten months ago I had to dismantle my family home. My Dad had died, the house was the holder of 45 years of marriage memories and three children, and it was a huge job. I don’t think my parents had ever thrown anything away in their lives.
A male friend very generously used up a few of his last remaining days holiday from work to help me take the place apart. I couldn’t have done it alone, and as my husband was unwilling to take the time off, I am completely grateful that he was there for me, when it really mattered.
Many times, pretty much strangers have done kind things for me.
Really makes up for all the crap you have to deal with.
My husband’s parents have gifted us with many, many thousands of dollars worth of improvements to our home even though they were very hurt when we moved out of state. My own parents don’t have the same means and generous natures so it’s a bit overwhelming to me.
Someone who has requested to remain anonymous (though I know who) gave me $2000 ‘just because you are some of the good guys, and that seldom gets rewarded - at least not in cash’. … That was right when I was wondering how the heck I was going to tolerate just 6 weeks of maternity leave. I got almost three more weeks with my infant son out of that (my salary being the larger). A gift beyond measure, that.
My half-sister gives us $100 a month to help pay for our son’s education. He’s in preschool, and that covers the difference between early pickup and ‘sane’ pickup, given our work schedules. When I recently let her know that we thought we could cover that now, with some changes in our finances, she said she’d be glad to contribute it to their college fund instead, and she was just happy to be able to contribute.
My mom has loaned me money any time I have asked, at good rates. Even SUBSTANTIAL sums. We’ve paid back, too, (and for some loans, are still) though at times it has been negotiated down to interest only. That’s her retirement I’m refinancing at 6%, but she does it gladly.
My dad, who had almost no money at all to spare, gave me $500 to spend in China on my first trip there. The only thanks he wanted was my help for my siblings should any of them want to travel and need help. I probably won’t need to do that for a sib at this point, but I’ll pay it down to the next generation, instead.
My parents have been generous with their time, their love, and their hard-won experience-based advice. And my husband is generous in his regard for me, which is something I could not get by without. I’m sure I’m leaving out others, too.
I’ve been really lucky with financial generosity so far. But my mom is an absolute hero. A couple years ago, my mom found out that my dad abused me for years behind her back when I was a child a couple months after, I had a stroke . (The revelation and my stroke were unconnected) My mom withstood both crises, handled organizing my friend and family Put her job search on hold to take care of me. Drove me to rehab every other day, took me shopping, held my hand when I needed to cry and rage at the world. Once I recovered, she moved out from my family home demanding that my dad get psychological help. Now, years later. I’m 99.9% recovered, my dad is in therapy and we’re a family still. An older, psychologically healthier family thanks to my mom’s strength. I hope this isn’t T.M.I. from a newbie but I’m a really open person. MOM RULES!
My parents fed me, clothed me, and taught me to be a good citizen for 23 years. Can’t get much more generous than that. Even now that I am an adult and live thousands of miles away from them, they still help me out financially from time to time.
For a non-family member, I’d have to say the SDMB’s own manhattan is the most generous person I know. He’s done oodles of nice things for people, including getting me a hotel room at the NYC MegaDopefest this year. I had a great time, and I wouldn’t have been able to go if it weren’t for his generosity.
I had my share of generosity. 
My parents for one - always helping me out financially when I needed money for tutition, bills etc.
My first taste of it was probably when I was about 7 or 8 years old. My friend used to go riding at this private barn and I wanted very much to learn. My parents wouldn’t pay for it and did not want me on a horse. I went with my friend to her lesson and begged the owner if she taught me how to muck stalls and help around the barn, I would do that in exchange for lessons. She agreed. I was in love with her horse (though I never rode him) and when she passed away two years later, she left him to me in her will. Most generous thing I ever experienced at that age.
I have been the reciepient of generousity the majority of my life. Nothing life-saving like a kidney transplant though. As a teen, I was gifted with parents who allowed me the freedom that I needed to develop in my own right.
My in-laws have been materially generous with us. In the course of our thirteen year marriage, they’ve provided us with a house, a sailboat, a couple of cars, and multiple computers. Not to mention the cash gifts. In my estimation, the gifts lay not in the material aspect, but in that it has allowed us to live out our desire to spend time together as a family unit.