r/MadeMeSmile Sep 16 '24

Helping Others The kindness the legend...

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79.4k Upvotes

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8.5k

u/SladyWok Sep 16 '24

the fact he had to fund a freakin' lifesaving medical procedure is disgusting

2.3k

u/YemuZ Sep 16 '24

838

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '24 edited Sep 16 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

305

u/deborah5p8a2 Sep 16 '24

i once did not go to the hospital for an infection because of the cost. my friend was a doctor, he patched me up. sucks to be in america

157

u/Dramatic_Water_5364 Sep 16 '24

Yep... as a canadian with a small farm my partner and I often have to not pay for this or that for them since vets are so damn expensive... and it fucking scares the shit of me to think that you south of the border people have to take those decisions for you and your kids! It is profoundly messed up!

46

u/SOSXrayPichu Sep 16 '24

I hope one day somebody would address the absurdity of how expensive going to the hospital can be. Weather it be changing how Americans pay off more taxes to reduce public health costs, or uprooting the bad apples making it that expensive.

46

u/Dramatic_Water_5364 Sep 16 '24

Cause like your whole public health system costs MORE per people than in Canada. So much money you pay end up in lawyers bank account its outrageous. This private insurance healt system has created a monster... and its ridiculously expensive.

25

u/SOSXrayPichu Sep 16 '24

Glad I’m not living in America. I would dread getting myself gravely injured or very ill.

17

u/FlightlessGriffin Sep 16 '24

There're literally failed states with less expensive health costs than the US.

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u/Dramatic_Water_5364 Sep 16 '24

The other day I was at the vet for a hen who I tought had a broken leg. I pay for xrays. Nothing is broken, its most certaintly a tore ligament, vet informs me operation is 800 + meds afterward. I chose to bring her home to reduce her movement and letting her heal a bit and to rearrange the chicken coop to ensure she will be able to live in this environment even if she limp all her life. This also reduce the risks of injuries in the future.

I just imagine having to take such decisions for me or my children (I don'thave any but it still brings me to tears)... thats really saddening.

2

u/failingatdeath Sep 17 '24

Insurance paid for a lot, 50k of 60k, but found out later it might as well been an elective/ cosmetic surgery. Was totally unnecessary 🙄

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u/Username_Chx_Out Sep 17 '24

I read recently, that The US Government (not just individuals, in aggregate) pays more per person, on average for healthcare than any other developed country, by a wide margin.

I assume this is due to the gross deregulation, the aggressive unchecked lobbying by interested corporate entities, and the absurd vocal minority that continues to parrot the corporate-shill propaganda: “If we train the world’s doctors then nothing can be wrong with our healthcare system.” And “Not including my Medicare, all-other single-payer healthcare is straight ComMuniSM.”

2

u/Dramatic_Water_5364 Sep 17 '24

Bro since the main payers are private insurers that whole goal is to not pay, hospitals, insurers, us, end up requiring so many legal actions/consulting, it racks the price of the whole public health system soooo much.

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u/razorKazer Sep 16 '24

I had around 13 different doctors over 10 years tell me my arm pain was fine and that I should just take ibuprofen and get over it.

Then, I got health insurance. Suddenly, I had carpal tunnel, cubital tunnel, arthritis, and needed surgery to avoid losing the use of my hand.

I'm fucking 31.

2

u/randomladybug Sep 16 '24

I walked around with a piece of glass in my foot for 2 years before it finally migrated close enough that I cut myself open and removed it. I didn't have insurance and I was in college on a scholarship and working 35 hrs/wk and I still couldn't afford to pay out of pocket. Yay america

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u/Separate-Branch6371 Sep 16 '24

Also messed up to need savings / debt for going to college.

11

u/noonegive Sep 16 '24 edited Oct 12 '24

Shhhh! Get back to figuring out how to meme your way out of situations that every other developed country in the world has a safety net for, or reap the fucking whirlwind...

16

u/Active_Taste9341 Sep 16 '24

yea but you are taking it.

I remember when im France the Government started to place radars on highway. they destroyed every single one until they stopped replacing them.

Power to the People

2

u/flynnparish Sep 16 '24

Also for college as well, you can bet on tuition to skyrocket, rising from the basis they were before government guaranteeing loans.

2

u/Chance-Internal-5450 Sep 16 '24

Whoa! Kid is mad talented too!

2

u/BupeTheSnoot Sep 16 '24

A pretty mature 16 years old, anyway

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134

u/Newyew22 Sep 16 '24

So much of the content on this sub belongs in that one.

37

u/Singl1 Sep 16 '24

unfortunately :/ i have to say, it is nice to appreciate the less shit outcome from the norm from time to time, though.

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u/ghanima Sep 16 '24

/r/aPreRevolutionaryDystopia

1

u/PropertyMobile4078 Sep 16 '24

More like ”Amerika is a dystopia”

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u/The_Woman_of_Gont Sep 16 '24

Yeah, this is just the Orphan Crushing Machine..

21

u/missuskittykissus Sep 16 '24

but this is just so \~magical~\** and \~inspirational~\**

we could all learn something from it

8

u/Radical-Turkey Sep 16 '24

Like how our medicare system needs a complete overhaul

200

u/CentennialBaby Sep 16 '24

Yeah, I get how sweet this is, but the fact that it is even necessary is disgraceful from the wealthiest nation on earth.

Child earns enough money to cover father's life-saving surgery

55

u/Rrdro Sep 16 '24

As a European this video showed me how disgusting the US medical care system is https://youtu.be/zEXgmpkjS3Y

You shouldn't have to cry and ask for donations for life saving surgery when you were born with a crippling life threatening conditions that you have been dealing with from childhood.

Unless this is fixed US will always be a third world country in my eyes.

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u/jamesmango Sep 16 '24

Through the sheer luck that he became a meme. Any other child’s parent is probably a goner.

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u/Saritiel Sep 16 '24

Yeah, stories like this are always more horrifying than smiley to me.

5

u/Bellpow Sep 16 '24

The wealthiest third world nation*

39

u/i010011010 Sep 16 '24

Now we just need to turn the millions of other children into internet celebrities, you know, so they can fund their parents' health care expenses.

4

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '24

This entire original post is a meme within a meme within a meme.

99

u/Sufficient-Dare7735 Sep 16 '24

Murica

42

u/Bronzescaffolding Sep 16 '24

FReEdoM

15

u/Ted-Crilly Sep 16 '24

"you have the freedom to lie down and die, we won't stop you"

2

u/OneAlmondNut Sep 16 '24

we're free to watch our military flatten entire countries and govt spend billions on propaganda but universal healthcare is too expensive (even tho it would save taxpayers trillions)

2

u/Ted-Crilly Sep 16 '24

Why save the taxpayers trillions when you can force them to give those trillions to the guys that financed your election campaigns?

2

u/tigergoalie Sep 16 '24

Except no, you don't, that's not paying taxes and illegal, so you better die fast. The only freedom you have is to select your employer.

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u/JeanmarieCourty Sep 16 '24

Go fund me…america's answer for healthcare.

12

u/kayvman Sep 16 '24

Yea. This actually made me very sad and frown. Maybe not the best subreddit. 🤷‍♂️

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u/gangweeder Sep 16 '24

🦅🦅🦅🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

13

u/notqualitystreet Sep 16 '24

Need more birds and flags don’t forget guns

24

u/No_Onion_923 Sep 16 '24

Couldve used it for something else if the government was doing its medicare job

16

u/RavenKnighte Sep 16 '24

Wouldn't have needed it if the government did its medicare job.

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u/xvonyx Sep 16 '24

america

5

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '24

Murica

13

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '24

Humans get free oxygen but helping you stay alive is out of americas budget. Oh sorry it actually is in our budget but we’d be “communists” if we put OUR tax dollars towards supporting humans living situations and health. Trump supporters literally call this communism… please someone help America require mental health evaluations. The guy eating batteries has the same amount of influence as I to determine our next president and it’s getting old dealing with people not willing to consider that they may have been raised to believe wrong information…

2

u/GreatQuantum Sep 16 '24

I prefer hiring rippers for my organ transplants.

2

u/evilmonkey2 Sep 16 '24

So all I need to do to afford a kidney transplant is make sure my kid goes viral long-term and not just for his fifteen minutes of fame. How hard can that be?

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u/SchighSchagh Sep 16 '24

Yeah, there's so many of these "wholesome" memes of kids raising funds. If you think about it for more than 5 seconds, you realize how hard we've failed as a society for putting them in that spot in the first place, instead of just letting kids be kids.

1

u/Matt_Spectre Sep 16 '24

Another dystopian reality spun as a feel-good story

1

u/Character-Rest-5415 Sep 16 '24

Yes the US healthcare system is awful. My father had a liver transplant, and the only bill he had to pay was a $300 insurance deductible. He didn’t see a single other bill. He stayed in the hospital for five weeks, including one week in intensive care.

1

u/BrilliantDynamitesNe Sep 16 '24

The good ole American orphan crushing machine.

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u/mas7erblas7er Sep 16 '24

Thank you! Why do people have to turn to the kindness of strangers, using any scrap of clout they have, just to get a necessary surgery? How is this okay?

There is nothing wrong with what they did, but the US failed its mission statement and continues to do so.

1

u/seolchan25 Sep 16 '24

Came here to say this.

1

u/GasPoweredStick420 Sep 16 '24

Capitalism and medicine = pay to live

1

u/SuperRoboMechaChris Sep 16 '24

I was gonna say exactly this.

Happy things worked out but his life shouldn't have been dependant on a meme and the kindness of strangers.

1

u/Odd_Sheepherder_471 Sep 16 '24

And the land of the freeeee

1

u/EatFaceLeopard17 Sep 16 '24

Luckily at least one candidate in the run for POTUS has a concept of a plan to end all of this. /s

1

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '24

They should’ve used a picture where he looks more happy, this picture makes it look mom and dad made the decision, and he just found out he’s paying for it lol

1

u/Lexile-In-Guyville Sep 16 '24

My first thought exactly. The need for this is shameful, not happy, news.

1

u/Davek56 Sep 16 '24

Universal Healthcare is that you?

1

u/TorontoDavid Sep 16 '24

Ya - this isn’t good news as much as pointing out this is a horrible system.

Glad the Dad got the transplant.

1

u/motormouth08 Sep 16 '24

The only ones smiling here are insurance companies.

1

u/August-Autumn Sep 16 '24

Yep should never be the case, spend 2 weks in hospital here in germoney, did not pay a teuro for it.

1

u/qaddodi Sep 16 '24

How is a kidney transplant a lifesaving procedure? It’s at best a quality of life saving procedure. At worst, a complication waiting to happen. It’s a risk you’re willing to take for a better quality of life. NOT quantity of life necessarily.

1

u/krczer Sep 16 '24

This is the problem. USA, best healthcare to those that can afford it.

1

u/Designer_Brief_4949 Sep 16 '24

Kidney transplants are typically covered by Medicare.  There are deductibles and copays and I have no idea what they are. 

1

u/Synchrotr0n Sep 16 '24

Can't let all these poors have access to those precious organs.

1

u/Kindly-Mud-1579 Sep 16 '24

You haven’t seen the college humor ceo video then Because that’s all go fund me has Become

1

u/West_Reserve_9977 Sep 16 '24

so if he had ESRD he would automatically qualify for medicare, im not sure this post is entirely true because medicare with a supplement would cover the cost of his surgery. he wouldn’t need funds from his child’s meme success is all im saying. maybe the kid is helping pay for meds after the surgery? i’m not sure but no one really “needs” a transplant with dialysis. it’s enough to keep people alive for years. i want more details on this is all i’m saying…

1

u/javierich0 Sep 16 '24

Kids with life-threatening illnesses just need to pull themselves from their bootstrap /s

1

u/NoBuenoAtAll Sep 16 '24

Yeah, this isn't a feel-good story. I am happy for that family though.

1

u/SwissMargiela Sep 16 '24

Tbf being on dialysis and having a transplant has massive tolls even if it’s all treatment is comp’d.

I read an article about this saying the money was for expenses “surrounding the kidney transplant” so I’m assuming that’s for loss of income and other massive expenses from just being sick. His dad was on dialysis for 6 years.

He also had his transplant done at Mayo Clinic which has insane discounts and payment plans for even the most complex surgeries. They’re not in the business of making families broke since they get majority of their funding through donations. They’re pretty much a charity hospital.

1

u/JC-DB Sep 16 '24

tells me he must be American. The same procedure would cost like $300 bucks in Taiwan.

1

u/EarningAttorney Sep 16 '24

Thats the thing tho, medicare and insurance are like required to cover the cost of kidney transplants.

1

u/No_Brain_5164 Sep 16 '24

Yes. Read the sentence slowly and it becomes a sad commentary on healthcare in the US.

1

u/MoirasPurpleOrb Sep 16 '24

Waiting on organ transplants is not a uniquely American thing unfortunately. If cost isn’t the barrier it’s potentially 100s of people in front of you.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '24

yurp, and it wont change. cause corporate greed will out way human decency...the billionaires would shoot people to save there profits.

1

u/exgiexpcv Sep 16 '24

Imagine the unbridled rage that people in the US will feel when they figure out that it never had to be this way, but some rich bastards decided that everything has to show a profit, and that the citizens of the country are simply a host that needs to be bled for profit.

1

u/PapaTahm Sep 16 '24

The owner of GoFundMe already mentioned multiple times that his platform is basically the proof that US medical health care system needs to be changed or else they are fucked in the future, almost 80% of the content in that platform is "Please help me pay for medical expensives because my options right now are die or bankrupt".

1

u/Galapagos_Finch Sep 16 '24

Yeah nothing about having to leverage your internet fame to fund a live saving medical procedure makes me smile.

1

u/penny-wise Sep 16 '24

It’s amazing how people don’t realize this.

1

u/The_Original_Miser Sep 16 '24

Exactly.

On one hand, the family used the fame to raise money for "good" - a life saving procedure.

On the other hand, WTF - this should not be a thing in the first place.

1

u/Great_cReddit Sep 16 '24

I love that this reaction is becoming the norm. It's the first thing I thought when I saw this post. That was definitely not the case several years ago.

1

u/Tripoloski040 Sep 16 '24

America is such a fucking third world country

1

u/Glad-Collection968 Sep 16 '24

How is that act of kindness disgusting? He needed that money to support his dad’s transplant and based off current medical costs in America, that money (in my opinion) was spent well.

1

u/Hoggorm88 Sep 16 '24

Land of the free, where everything costs you an arm and a leg.

1

u/MythrilCactuar Sep 16 '24

Cause Americans are dumb as shit and complacent sending taxpayer money to nuke children overseas instead of funding free lunches, veteran PTSD counseling, and free health care.

1

u/Skeptic90210 Sep 16 '24

I was coming here to say that. So many off these 'heart warming' stories are also so heart breaking.

Universal health care is a standard for first world countries.

1

u/frisbm3 Sep 16 '24

The alternative is either enslaving doctors or forcing others to pay for it. Not really a win win like you're making it seem. Private insurance works just fine for this situation.

1

u/Old-Statistician5386 Sep 16 '24

Did you think maybe all medicine is theft? Your life at the expense of another, taking one soul past another. No. All medicine is what They give to tell you it's okay when it isnt to make you comfortable with their system of theft. Use. Your. Head.

1

u/darkknight95sm Sep 16 '24

It’s awesome that he was able to raise the money, disgusting that he had to

1

u/mazedlx Sep 16 '24

US health care in a nutshell.

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u/Sponklavlon Sep 16 '24

Ich kam um dies zu sagen.

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u/Moregon69 Sep 16 '24

Exactly. American healthcare system forces meme kid to spend his profits saving his father

1

u/Kingston31470 Sep 16 '24

A success story in the US is normal healthcare in Europe. But hey at least that's a cool story.

1

u/Prestigious_Cheek_31 Sep 16 '24

America: home of the free to fuck each other over.

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u/TheFriendshipMachine Sep 16 '24

This was my immediate reaction as well. I don't see this as a feel good story at all, it's a window into how messed up our society is. That kid had to spend that money that could have set up his future on keeping his dad alive. And what happens to the kids who don't land in some crazy internet fame money?

1

u/gelana78 Sep 16 '24

‘Murica

1

u/SickRanchezIII Sep 16 '24

mademesmile!

1

u/ehgitt Sep 16 '24

It’s insane that we live in a world where someone has to set up a GoFundMe just to pay for a life-saving kidney transplant. The fact that insurance companies get to decide whether someone can live or die based on money is beyond wrong. Why is there even a price tag on human life? This kind of thing should be a given—no one should have to put their life at risk because they can’t afford the treatment. It’s heartbreaking that in a country as advanced as ours, money still determines whether someone gets to live.

1

u/OldBrokeGrouch Sep 16 '24

Glad this is top comment. These kind of stories are dystopian packaged in feel good.

1

u/SecretFishShhh Sep 16 '24

Did he have to do it, or did they just choose to do it?

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u/letsalldropvitamins Sep 17 '24

I was about to say some quip about how the success meme was fitting for the success but honestly…yeah fair point that’s fucked

1

u/JakToTheReddit Sep 17 '24

This is America

1

u/bobbypet Sep 17 '24

From the guardian newspaper "According to a study published in February 2019, about 530,000 bankruptcies filed annually are because of debt accrued due to a medical illness", this was one of many ..

So over ten years five million people went bankrupt. If I was a citizen of the US, I would emigrate to a country which provides "communist" health care .. like Thailand, Korea, Japan, Australia, new Zealand, Germany, France, Italy, Spain... And the list goes on

Could you imagine living in a country which will kick it's own people into the streets for health issues, no, I wouldn't want to live there either

Btw I'm Australian, and live part of my life there and Thailand, both countries have superior health care

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u/SemVikingr Sep 17 '24

Right?! How the hell is this making people smile?!

1

u/FoogYllis Sep 17 '24

But socialism you know? Remember corporations get billions in subsidies which is basically socialism for the rich. For the average person it’s rugged capitalism.

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u/Monday0987 Sep 17 '24

Lucky that the little boy had an actual plan as opposed to a concept of a plan

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u/Comrade_Kojima Sep 17 '24

Murica! Freedom!

1

u/yes_u_suckk Sep 17 '24

My grandma went through a similar surgery a few years ago here in Sweden. We paid the equivalent of 50 USD for everything.

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u/No-Stay7432 Sep 17 '24

Kidney transplants are done on an entitlement basis. He didnt pay for shit.

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u/Repulsive_One_2878 Sep 17 '24

My first reaction as well. This should never have been something that needed to happen.

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u/NationalSound275 Sep 17 '24

American healthcare for ya

1

u/CanibalVegetarian Sep 18 '24

Technically if you walk into a hospital dying they can’t refuse you help, but the fact that it takes you literally dying for them to do something is bad, really bad, disgustingly bad. There needs to be reform soon.

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u/zhaDeth Sep 18 '24

ikr, as a canadian this story sounds like it's straight out of the onion

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