Start your day with a wonderful story.

"Nibby" (nibby68)
05/08/2015 at 07:43 • Filed to: None

This story is from Reddit.

“At the time I was a Project Manager in the IT Department for one of the most prestigious medical school and hospital in the world. We were in the middle of an 18 month project commonly known as the project from hell by everyone in the department. If you are familiar with the health care world, you are aware of seriously they take privacy and encryption. The scope of the project was encrypt and install central management on 10,000 cell phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops that belonged to students, doctors, researchers, etc. And they were also scattered across several locations around the city. I was given 4 temporary techs to complete this daunting tasks. 3 of the 4 were constantly unmotivated, calling out sick, and at times prolonging on the project on purpose because they knew once the project was over they would be out of work. However, one tech (lets call him Paul) had an amazing work ethic and was a natural leader of the group. He would double even triple the daily quota on a regular basis. So when he did not show up to work one day unannounced I knew something was wrong. We later found out he had a medical emergency but would be back in the office in a week or two.

I welcomed Paul back and asked if he was okay. He talked about his emergency with little detail and made it seem like it was nothing more severe than a common cold. It was only a few weeks later that I found out from his direct supervisor that he was placed in the hospital after a heart complication due to him not taking his medication. I decided to take him out to lunch so I could speak to him on a more personal level. And during that lunch he saw me as a friend, which i already considered him to be, and opened up about how he can’t afford his medication or to go to the doctor while dealing with several health issues all relating to his heart because not only does he not have health care but is also supporting his sisters 2 kids. The kids father was no where to be found, and his sister was in and out of rehab, so the kids were left to him. WOW, I can never complain about my “struggles” ever again.

Fast forward a month later. It is time to encrypt a high profile Doctor’s iPhone. So of course, I send Paul, our best technician. From what I heard from Paul later, this Doctor, was a “usual”. He did not understand why we needed to encrypt the phone, why we need to install central management, and why we needed to “spy” on him. Although i was not there, we did not get any complaints, so i am sure Paul handled the situation with great customer service as he usually does.

Fast forward 2 weeks. That very same doctor loses his phone in the back of a taxi, calls IT, we were able to wipe the phone within minutes. By the way, when patient data is compromised, the organization can be fined $1 million dollars per patient, and the doctor can lose all their license to practice medicine .

Fast forward 1 month. Paul misses his end of day check in. I just assume, he’s working late and I will just speak to him in the morning. Get to work the next morning, he is no where to be found. When i spoke to his direct supervisor i find out he had a stroke while he was at work and his in a recovering in a room in that very building. I instantly think about how he has no healthcare and also since he was a temp he will not be getting paid while in the hospital. How was he going to take care of him self and those kids?

A couple days go by, Paul’s supervisor come running to my desk with a huge smile on his face. Turns out the doctor who Paul helped a few months ago was one of the best heart surgeons in the world. And as soon as he saw Paul’s name, he insisted on performing the surgery and overseeing his recovery personally. When he found out about his lack of health insurance, the doctor covered all the costs, made a few calls, and had Paul hired as a full time employee. This instantly gave him the health insurance he needed and disability pay to help support his niece and nephew.

It’s been over a year and I am at a new job now, but i still think about Paul everyday. Whenever I have to deal with a less than ideal client or coworker, i think what would Paul do? Or, you never know, I might need this person to help me out one day.

EDIT: All this took place a little over a year ago. Paul is alive and well today. He still works there and has even been recently promoted!”

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