When my 68-year-old father had a massive stroke while riding his Harley, the ER staff greeted him with chilling indifference.
As they wheeled him in, I overheard a doctor mutter, “Another organ donor who thought he was invincible,” not realizing I was close enough to hear.
He lay unconscious, leather vest still on, stained with blood. His silver hair was matted, his arms inked with fading tattoos. I saw nurses exchange looks, judging the smell of engine oil, the patches from military tours, and the rough exterior.
Then one of them pulled a photo from his pocket: me, in a graduation gown. Their expressions shifted. Surprise softened their faces. But their first impression had already framed him—an aging biker, not a man worth saving.
What they didn’t see was who he really was: a decorated combat medic, a devoted single father, a weekly volunteer who read to children with cancer. A man who built a nonprofit that raised millions for veterans struggling with PTSD. None of that mattered to them. They had already reduced him to a stereotype.
For illustrative purpose only
That night, as I sat in the ICU watching machines breathe for the strongest man I knew, I made two promises: he would receive the care he deserved, and when he recovered, they’d regret how they treated him.