Altruism

One day while visiting my grandfather at Fatima Hospital, I was confronted with a heart breaking scene. There was an older man sitting alone in his hospital room, looking out of the window. He looked so lonely and sad; you could see it in his eyes. I noticed him every time I went to visit my grandfather. What occurred to me was that I never saw anyone in his room or visiting him and he always had the same clothes on. He wore a black sweat suit with holes and rips and looked too small and didn't fit properly. After spending some time with my grandfather I went over to this mystery man's room. I walked into his room and introduced myself. He seemed so excited to see me, and his eyes lit up with joy. We started talking and he told me that his name was _______ and that he had no family, and just recently lost his wife to cancer. He told me that I was the only person that had come to visit him in 6 months. His story broke my heart.

After leaving the hospital that day, I couldn't stop thinking about _______. I tried to put myself in his shoes, and it hurt just thinking about it. So I went to the bank and took out some money and headed to the department store. I bought an extra large sweat suit, a package of socks, shirts, and some slippers. While checking out at the register I grabbed 4 snickers candy bars, which _____ had mentioned were his favorite. The next time I went to see my grandfather, I brought my bag of things for him. He was so grateful so see me, and delighted with the gifts I had brought for him. I thought I would introduce him to my grandfather that way they would both have someone to talk to and hang out with to pass the time. To this day, my grandfather and _____ still speak, and I still bring him a snickers every once in a while.

Recently I was put in the hospital for kidney stones, which are extremely painful. To my surprise my friend_____ somehow found out I was at the hospital and paid me a visit. He also went out of his way to bring me a snickers bar, which is also my favorite. Just seeing him lifted my spirits, and made me feel a little bit better that day. I didn't expect him to do anything in return. I was just trying to be nice. It made me feel good about myself, knowing I made someone feel good also. _____ is definitely a person in my life that will never be forgotten.