Makes Me Want To Cry
Two years ago,
I posted about an unsung hero.
In short, several
years ago our accountant and his wife became surrogate parents to a two-year-old
girl so she would be eligible for a lifesaving heart transplant. Then they adopted her and she needed another
transplant. The trials and difficulties
they went through were heartbreaking, but they loved this little girl and her
health was now turning the corner. She
was going to school and was looking forward to living a normal life.
This made me
want to cry for just how special these people were to take on such a huge task
for this little girl who was now their own.
This last
year when we went to sign off on our taxes we learned the accountant was
separated from his wife. Apparently,
the stress and strain of this little girl’s health issues were too much. They had grown apart, but, he stressed, they
were doing whatever needed to not let the little girl feel the pain of the
separation, they still made sure to both stay in her life and to continue to do
things together as a family.
This made me
want to cry because I know how difficult divorce can be, especially when a
young child was involved, and I had some special empathy for this man because I
knew him to be such a good person.
Today I needed
some information on my previous year’s income tax returns. It is a long story, but Mrs. C uncharacteristically
had misplaced our returns. I called the
accountant. The phone was out of
service. I checked on line for information
and received a huge shock.
My
accountant had been arrested for forging checks against two of his customer’s accounts. Going back two year before my post on his
heroism, he had been writing forged checks to himself to the tune of $500,000.
I don’t know
the whole story, but this was not a dishonest man. He does not live a lavish lifestyle. He has no summer house, no plane or boat,
hell he worked his butt off most of the year.
I suspect he
had great money difficulties related to the medical expenses of this little
girl who had become his whole life. Maybe his insurance didn’t cover the expenses
before the adoption was completed, maybe it didn’t cover enough. I can only imagine the expense of two
transplants (If you are
reading this Mike from Montana, how much?)
Whatever the
reason, whatever the motive, whatever the pressures, there is no excuse for
stealing, any amount of money. Still, I
knew this man to be a good man. Now I
assume he is broke, alone, and at the age of 60+ is probably going to jail and
will certainly never work at his profession again. I feel for him, hell, I fear for him.
He is a good
man who made a bad decision for a wonderful cause.
Makes me
want to cry.
Makes me want to cry also. It seems like his heart was in the right place, though perhaps his actions weren't always in that same right place. As a parent, I probably would do a lot more than I would if I was single to protect those precious lives that I was responsible for. One can only hope the child is in a safe environment, wherever she might be.
ReplyDeletebetty
This is very sad Joe and I too feel for this man. I think we all know somebody who's done the wrong thing for the right reasons to some degree or another. I hope his daughter's health continues to improve and that our justice system shows mercy on this man.
ReplyDeleteJust to be clear, I do know his motivation, I am assuming it is related to medical bills...it is possible he is just a crook.
ReplyDeleteSo sad. I can't imagine how I would cope in that situation without the help of UK's National Health Service.
ReplyDeleteoh, that's terrible. took a terrible spiral.
ReplyDeleteYou'd cry even more if it was your account he took money from. There is NO excuse for stealing. Not in this day of "go fund me".
ReplyDeleteI'm speechless. I can only imagine what life was like for him on a daily basis. So, so sad. :(
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that about your friend. Life is cruel at times. I'm thankful for the situation I'm in. All the best to the little girl.
ReplyDeleteVery sad. I hope things turn around for him.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sad story indeed. I hope things go well for your friend.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
That must have been quite a shock for you. So sad for all involved.
ReplyDeletedefinitely a sad ending to what started off so heart warming
ReplyDeleteI certainly did not see coming the direction this post took. Wow, what an incredibly sad situation. Now, the child, wife and he have lost their way.
ReplyDeleteIt's always a shame when we feel we have to do the wrong things even when it's for the right reason!!
ReplyDeleteSuch a sad situation and a reminder that we we really never know someone else's full story.
ReplyDeleteMy heart hurts for the three of them, and for you and his friends.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, you don't really know his motive. But I would take any kind of punishment meted out in order to save my kids, if it was a matter of life and death, and money was all that stood in the way.
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