When we had juuusssttt started dating, my husband kept cancelling or rescheduling dates to "go visit his sick friend in the hospital". It turns out the friend was real, not a made-up excuse, and had emergency brain surgery to relieve fluid buildup and pressure. He didn't have somewhere he could recover with help available, so my husband put him up in his little condo. When the tests came back that it was terminal brain cancer, he let him stay rent-free so that his disability payments would be enough to enjoy life without stressing about finances or pressure to return to work too early, and there would be someone there to help him if needed.
When we had a brief period where we thought maybe he'd live longer and he went back to work full-time (the original tumor was actually seemingly defeated, but then a few months later two new ones formed) my husband asked him to pay a small rent... And was secretly keeping it in an account to give back to him to help get him started if/when he could move out.
My husband re-arranged his one bedroom condo to make a permanent space in the living room so his friend could stay there and the space was still usable. I was amazed by his kindness and it spoke volumes about what kind of person he was, and how he would handle difficult situations.
(For those that are wondering... We all became great friends and had fun hanging out in that condo together, but sadly our friend passed away after about 2 years... However, he didn't have to worry about money or care, and he was happy for the time he had left. He said he didn't have a "bucket list" and just wanted to enjoy life with his friends and family, and he got to do that while staying out of palliative care for as long as possible. I really wish he could have seen us get married, but we dressed up the cardboard box with our portion of his ashes in a little custom box-sized suit that matched my husband's, put googly eyes on it, and it sat at the head table between us.).
When we had a brief period where we thought maybe he'd live longer and he went back to work full-time (the original tumor was actually seemingly defeated, but then a few months later two new ones formed) my husband asked him to pay a small rent... And was secretly keeping it in an account to give back to him to help get him started if/when he could move out.
My husband re-arranged his one bedroom condo to make a permanent space in the living room so his friend could stay there and the space was still usable. I was amazed by his kindness and it spoke volumes about what kind of person he was, and how he would handle difficult situations.
(For those that are wondering... We all became great friends and had fun hanging out in that condo together, but sadly our friend passed away after about 2 years... However, he didn't have to worry about money or care, and he was happy for the time he had left. He said he didn't have a "bucket list" and just wanted to enjoy life with his friends and family, and he got to do that while staying out of palliative care for as long as possible. I really wish he could have seen us get married, but we dressed up the cardboard box with our portion of his ashes in a little custom box-sized suit that matched my husband's, put googly eyes on it, and it sat at the head table between us.).