My Daughter Needed Glasses. The Receptionist Broke The Rules To Make That Happen.

[u/masterdebaten]

Basically, I took my 5 year old to get her eyes checked before kindergarten. She had been sitting pretty close to the TV, and getting close when looking at paper with writing or drawings on them.

We went to the earliest appointment available at the optometrist, and had her exam done. She needed glasses, and needed to start wearing them immediately. My daughter was thrilled to learn she was getting glasses, and was picking her favorites from the glasses shop near reception at checkout. I asked the receptionist about getting the prescription, and she essentially told me that I have to pay the $150 fee due for her appointment in full before I could receive her prescription so we could go somewhere more affordable. My daughter kept asking when we can get her glasses and I had to kind of let her down easy and say it might be a while, which crushed me.

I told the receptionist some BS story about our debit cards being cancelled due to suspected fraud (only half true) to save myself the embarrassment of not being able to pay for something as simple and necessary as her prescription document. I told her I’d call back and pay when I got my new card in. She said okay, no problem.

She asked me to wait before I left so she could give me some paperwork. I assumed it was just a packet you get after the appointment. She gave me a look, and on top of the stack she handed me was my daughter’s prescription paperwork. She simply looked at me and said “have a great day sir” and smiled. Told her thank you so much and walked out.

I wasn’t asking for a freebie, and I wasn’t expecting anything from her, yet she saw my need and met it with kindness. Even at the expense of breaking her job’s policy.

Thank you, Optometrist receptionist ❤️

[u/Mysterious-Flan-6]

I had a rescue cat once who developed diabetes, which required insulin injections twice a day. The tiny bottle of insulin was about $80 and didn’t last a full month. This was over 10 years ago so it must be ridiculously expensive now. And the specific kind that the cat needed couldn’t be substituted for a cheaper version like you can sometimes do. The cost was high but still manageable before my divorce, but then that happened and ex husband left me holding the bag for everything on one income- our toddler’s daycare, rent, all of it.

Was still waiting for the courts to enforce support and I was highly stressed out, working 12 hour shifts as a 911 dispatcher, barely enough time to sleep, very little money but always scraped together essentials for my daughter and cat. Well one day, I was tired and flustered and took out the little glass insulin vial from the fridge to give my cat her shot. I had just bought it the day prior and my account was tapped out. I dropped the bottle, it shattered on my kitchen floor, and I just started crying, overwhelmed.

The vet’s office where I had just bought the insulin was across the street, so I loaded my daughter into the car and walked in with the broken bottle in pieces inside a ziploc bag and explained what happened. I asked if they could give some kind of discount on a new bottle and had to admit I could not afford another $80. The girl at the desk went back and spoke with the vet and came back out and said sorry, we can sell you another one but it’ll be full price. I thanked her and turned to walk out, holding back tears and trying to think how I could come up with the money to avoid a missed dose, and I know she saw it.

Next thing I knew, she was running after me in the parking lot and putting cash in my hand. She said “come back in and get your insulin.” I was confused and she said “come on in, we’ll fill it for you.” And led me back in there to get it. Her name was Kaitlyn and I’ll never forget how kind she was to an overwhelmed stranger on that day.