Single Dad Works 17 Hours a Day to Give Son Chance to Walk Again — Story of the Day

After eight hours of teaching his students at school, a man would head to a nearby warehouse for his second job. The single father wanted to save money for his son's surgery so he could walk again but had no idea how his life would soon take an unexpected turn.

"I have bad news for you, Mr. Damien," the doctor said. "Unfortunately, your wife is in a coma at the moment, and Maddox cannot walk on his own."

Damien, a 34-year-old loving husband and father, shook his head after hearing the update from the doctor. His wife and son, Maddox, had met an accident a day ago on their way to school and were currently in the hospital in critical condition.

"I will do what it takes to save my family," Damien told the doctor.

"Well, Damien. We will try our best to bring your wife out of her coma, but let me be honest: Her treatment will be expensive," the doctor replied. "And you know Maddox needs spinal surgery to walk again."

"Don't worry about that, doc. Please start my wife's treatment as soon as possible," Damien rose to his feet inside the doctor's room. "I'll pay for the treatment by tonight."

While driving home from the hospital, Damien began thinking about his savings. His teaching job didn't allow him to save a lot of money, but whatever he had in his bank account right now was enough for his wife's treatment.

Later that day, Damien paid for his wife's treatment before the doctors began the procedure. He had exhausted all his savings for her treatment while his son was still in the hospital. The doctors said Maddox had lost his ability to walk, and the chances of seeing him on his feet again were slim.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Damien," the doctors said to him the next day. "We couldn't save your wife."

Damien felt his heart pound while his knees began to lose strength. He sat on one of the chairs in the hospital waiting area and buried his face in his hands. "Mr. Damien? Are you okay?" a nurse asked.

One day, Damien was at the warehouse loading heavy cartons in the truck when he felt a sharp pain in his body and collapsed on the floor.

The heartbroken man forced a smile on his face while looking at the nurse, who had no idea he had just lost the woman he loved the most. How am I going to tell this to Maddox? he wondered while heading towards his son's room in the hospital.

Maddox was sleeping peacefully when Damien entered his room, so he decided not to wake him up. However, looking at him made Damien realize he couldn't lose his son or deprive him of his chance at walking again.

I won't let you go, Maddox. You will walk again. Damien thought to himself and promised that he would get his son back on his feet. The only obstacle in his way was the money he had to pay for Maddox's spinal surgery.

A few days after his wife's funeral, Damien turned on his laptop and began searching for jobs on the internet. Since he had spent all his money on his wife's treatment, he had nothing left for Maddox's surgery.

Two hours later, Damien closed his laptop and took a deep breath. He had sent his CV to multiple hiring managers who needed workers for afternoon shifts. He had planned to work another job after teaching kids at school.

Since Damien was a devoted teacher, he could never think about quitting his job. He knew his students needed his help, and he could never abandon them by leaving his job.

Two days later, Damien received a call from a hiring manager of a warehouse near his school. They called him for an interview later that day, and he agreed to visit their office.

During the interview, he told the hiring manager about Maddox and that he wanted to work two jobs to pay for his son's surgery. After hearing his story, the warehouse management hired Damien as a loader.

"Thank you so much!" Damien said before he exited the warehouse. He was delighted to get the job because working day and night was the only option he had to get Maddox back on his feet.

Damien would leave his home in the morning and return at midnight while Maddox was still at the hospital. Working 17 hours a day was exhausting, but he didn't give up.

A few months later, Damien had saved enough money to cover the costs of Maddox's surgery. He told the doctor to begin the procedure, despite knowing the chances of success were very low.

"Mr. Damien?" the doctor said, standing near Damien's seat in the hospital's waiting room. The tired father had fallen asleep while Maddox was inside the operation theatre.

"Is Maddox okay? How is he doing?" A worried Damien asked the doctor.

"Calm down, Mr. Damien. Maddox is absolutely fine!" the doctor told him. "The surgery was successful, and we think your son will be able to walk again. Congratulations!"

Damien breathed a sigh of relief as the doctor smiled at him. He had worked tirelessly for his son's recovery, and now he could finally watch Maddox walk again. However, he had no idea that his son still needed therapy.

A day later, the doctors told Damien about the therapy charges, which meant he still had to work 17 hours a day until his son could finally learn how to walk.

"Don't worry, Maddox," Damien told his son in the hospital. "You'll be on your feet in no time!"

While Maddox underwent therapy, Damien worked seventeen hours a day. He worked as a teacher during the day and as a hardworking loader after school hours. He worked without breaks in between and soon faced the consequences of working too hard.

One day, Damien was at the warehouse loading heavy cartons in the truck when he felt a sharp pain in his body and collapsed on the floor. Minutes later, an ambulance arrived and took him to the nearby hospital.

Damien had suffered a stroke because his body couldn't bear the strain. He worked tirelessly without adequate rest, which affected his health. When Maddox learned that his father was in the hospital, he quickly reached there in his wheelchair.

"What happened to Dad?" Maddox asked his father's doctor.

"Look, Maddox, your father needs to rest. He just suffered a stroke that could have claimed his life, but he was lucky enough that the first responders brought him here on time."

Maddox nodded and asked the doctor if he could see his father. "Yes, you can meet him. But please don't talk to him about anything stressful."

"Hi, Dad," Maddox smiled at Damien after entering his hospital room in his wheelchair. "How are you feeling now?"

"I'm fine, son. There's nothing to worry about," Damien said.

"Dad, you need to rest," Maddox said sternly. "The doctors told me you had been working too hard the past few days. Were you doing extra hours at school?"

After a few seconds of silence, Damien told his son that he had been working as a loader after school and barely rested during the day.

"You worked 17 hours a day? Why, Dad?" Maddox asked worriedly.

"I had to pay for your surgery and therapy, Maddox," Damien replied. "I couldn't deprive you of your ability to walk."

"Oh, Dad!" Maddox held his father's hand. "I had no idea you worked so hard for my surgery."

Later that day, Maddox visited his father's school with a friend who helped him enter the principal's office in his wheelchair. "Hi, Mr. Brandon. I'm Maddox, Mr. Damien's son," Maddox said.

"Oh, Maddox!" Brandon said. "How are you? And how is Mr. Damien?"

"I'm on the road to recovery, but Dad is still in the hospital," Maddox smiled forcefully. "I wanted to talk to you about Dad."

"Sure, Maddox. What is it?" Brandon asked.

"Umm... I wanted to know about the promotion policy at school," Maddox said after clearing his throat. "Is Dad eligible for it?"

"I don't think so, Maddox," Brandon replied. "Look, something is going on with your Dad. I have caught him sleeping during multiple lessons in the past few months, and even the students have told me about it. I have been thinking of firing him."

"What?" Maddox's eyes widened.

Then, Maddox told the principal what Damien had been going through. He told him why he worked seventeen hours a week, which didn't leave him with time to rest.

"Oh, God! I had no idea Damien was going through so much," Brandon said. "He could have told me about it. I am always ready to help the teachers of our school."

After talking about Damien for a while, Brandon suggested creating an online fundraiser to help Damien. "That's a great idea!" Maddox exclaimed.

Later that day, Brandon set up a GoFundMe page to help Damien cover the hospital expenses. To his surprise, the students, parents, and teachers donated generously. Two days later, Brandon visited Damien in the hospital to tell him about the donations.

"Everyone helped raise funds for you, Mr. Damien! You have so many well-wishers in school!" Brandon told Damien.

"Thank you for setting up the online fundraiser," Damien smiled at his boss. "I had no idea everyone would step forward to help me. I'm eternally grateful for the support!"

"Damien, you could have asked me for help when you ran out of money," Brandon sat by Damien's bedside. "Asking for help isn't a weakness at all. We're all here to support you!"

"You are right," Damien replied. "I should have asked you for help."

What can we learn from this story?

• Never feel shy to ask for help. Like Damien, many people think asking for help is a sign of weakness. But the truth is that sometimes, we need our friends' and family's support. We should never feel shy while asking for help.
• Friends and family make you stronger. Once you start asking people for help, you will never feel lonely. Support from your close ones will only make you feel stronger.

Share this story with your friends and family. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

Click here to read another story about a teacher who needed a costly surgery. When the school staff learned about it, only a janitor came forward and gave the teacher $15K.

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.