Widow Runs Out of Money Treating Old Mom, Unexpectedly Finds $70K in Her Bank Account – Story of the Day

Sandra decided to take out a loan for treating her ailing mother. But when she went to the bank, she found a helping hand that she thought she had lost forever.

The 11-day-old wound on Sandra's thumb refused to heal.

Every brush, every accidental touch made it throb with pain. It was as if that wound existed to remind her that the love of her life was gone.

"You should probably get that looked at, Sandra," one of her colleagues at the factory was concerned about the ugly-looking cut. "That thing looks infected."

"You know how I got this wound? I was clearing the kitchen the day after Jeremy's funeral, and his favorite mug slipped out of my hands and smashed into a thousand little pieces all over the floor.

"So many shared coffees, so many conversations, such a wildly exciting life that was so close to creating something amazing - all gone.

"In the process, all I got was a gash on my finger. That's what's left of him. Of us." Sandra kissed her wound and wiped her tears.

Back home, Jeremy and Sandra's eight-year-old daughter Rachel was trying to find the last missing piece of shrapnel to glue the mug back together.

At the end of her shift, Sandra managed to push her way into the bus. Her wound throbbed again. 'Jeremy...'

True love survives death.

It was on a bus ride like this that Sandra had first met Jeremy. It was where they first held hands, shared their first kiss, and talked to each other about their dreams.

Sandra was about to surrender to the avalanche of memories that were about to replay in her mind when she got a phone call.

"Mama, it's grandma. She's crying in pain again! I can't find the pill. She's really hurting, mama. Where's the pill, mama? When will you be home?" Rachel was crying helplessly, and Sandra could hear her mother wailing in the background.

"Calm down, sweetie. It's going to be alright. Just look in the medicine cabinet once again. If you don't find it, that's alright. Mama's almost home. Tell grandma I'm almost home."

The sudden brakes caused her thumb to throb again. It would have been wise to get the cut looked at. However, if it did turn out to be infected, Sandra would need to shell out money for an injection and antibiotics. And she would probably need a day off.

'Both are luxuries I cannot afford right now,' Sandra thought to herself.

In the last few months, Sandra's mother had gone from being the active, cheerful woman with a sharp wit to a docile, withdrawn, fragile little person who couldn't get out of bed much.

'Everybody notices that their mother's feet are swollen at some point in their lives. But how many of us actually care to get them checked? How many of us brush it off as exertion from all the unnecessary standing?'

Sandra wished she had listened to Jeremy and got her mother's feet checked early on.

As her mother's painful shrieks resounded in her ears, she decided. 'That's it. It cannot wait any longer. I will gather the money for the next round of treatment. The laser surgery has to happen, and soon. I lost my husband; I can't bear to lose my mother, too.'

That night, Sandra sat down with her phone and called all her friends and colleagues again. Everybody was sympathetic. Everybody had wonderful things to say about Jeremy. And everybody had 'other financial commitments,' because of which they couldn't lend Sandra any money.

With every call that ended, Sandra pressed the 'end call' button harder with frustration. Her wound throbbed every single time. 'Jeremy…'

The following day, she woke up with a sense of clarity and purpose she hadn't felt in a long time. She made breakfast for her mother and Rachel, braided their hair, and walked Rachel to school. Sandra took a different bus, ditched her workday at the factory, and went straight to the bank.

"I'd like to take a loan, please."

Sandra found banks to be intimidating places, where people wasted money on air conditioning and hundreds of little bottles of water in empty conference rooms and spoke in a language that was meant to make a commoner feel illiterate.

It was clear to Sandra that there had been some major mix-up at the bank. After giving her details, she was told that her account had a balance of $70,000.

'$70,000! Hah! There's no way this is true.'

The officials had been 'checking with their supervisors' for the last hour. In that long wait, Sandra had thought of getting up and walking away at least four times.

"Sandra, hi. I'm Derek. I'm the manager here, but I was also a friend of Jeremy's." The young man looked at her with kindness in his eyes, and she could instantly imagine him and Jeremy being close friends.

"There's something Jeremy left for you for when you would visit the bank. Please, come with me."

In a conference room that was a few degrees too cold, Sandra sat around a table across Derek and two other men who looked like they ran the place.

"Sandra, we double-checked your account. We won't be offering you a loan."

Sandra was more confused than disappointed.

"Your husband wanted you to have this," the unfamiliar friend of Sandra's late friend handed her an envelope with a note in it.

Her thumb throbbed again as she gripped the letter that had Jeremy's handwriting.

Dearest Sandra,

I haven't been around for a while, and I hope life has been treating you with a hint of kindness. If you are here, reading this letter, it means you haven't given up on building a better life. This is a fight you weren't prepared for, and you are still fighting, my warrior queen. Rachel is lucky to have a mother and father like you.

Before leaving, I wanted to do one last thing for you. Actually, for your mother.

I wanted to get her feet checked out, but I couldn't do it because of my own illness. Now that I am gone, you have to be the one to take care of her.

There's some money I'm leaving behind for you. My friend Derek will hand it over. But before that, there is something you need to know.

When I flew to Boston to have my final surgery, I spoke to my doctor again and asked him for the truth. It was then that I learned that even with the surgery, I would live for a month at the most. That too, I would have to stay in the hospital, away from you and Rachel.

And I thought to myself: What good would that do? Sure, I want every extra second I can get with Rachel, mama, and you. But I would be buying those seconds only to kill them away in tears and drips and ventilators. That time would have been borrowed, but it wouldn't have been ours.

"I also asked the doctor about mama's treatment. He said there was a good chance that mama would recover fully with the laser treatment..."

With tears in her eyes, and her Jeremy's voice in his head, Sandra turned the page over and continued reading.

That night, the same night when we talked on the phone for two hours, reciting our whole love story to each other for no reason, I made a choice.

Don't be angry with me, sweet Sandra.

I flew back home without the surgery, ran straight into your arms, and hugged you until my heart stopped racing. That was the beginning of the last, the most beautiful, the most satisfying month with my family.

I wouldn't trade it for a second.

Now go, give your mother the easiest road to recovery. Bring her back to her old, witty self. And with every remaining penny, live a full life with her and my darling Rachel.

I'm sorry I kept this from you. I'm sorry you are in pain.

Right now, I'm an old wound that will close and fade. But give it time; I'll become your laughter again!

Sandra pressed the letter against her chest and wept uncontrollably. Derek offered her a bottle of water and waited for the storm to calm.

"It's an honor to have known a friend like Jeremy!" Derek said and hugged Sandra. "This may have been his final wish, but I'm here for everything you need for the rest of your life!"

Sandra noticed that her thumb hadn't throbbed in a while. And when she got home, Rachel had tied a ribbon around her father's old mug. The missing piece had finally been found.

What can we learn from this story?

• Your family is your ultimate strength. Sandra thought she was alone in her fight to move on after losing Jeremy. But ultimately, Jeremy turned out to be her strength even after his passing. And little Rachel found her own way of helping her mother heal.
• True love always survives death. Jeremy passed away, but his love stayed on in Sandra's life - not just as a wound, not just as money, but as a hand that helped her pick up the pieces of her life and move on.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a struggling widowed woman who receives a $150,000 bonus at work, thanks to an unexpected gesture from her three children.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.