Hello, Mr. Stevens. We want to extend an offer of employment to you. The salary is 100K per annum, with full benefits and a matched 401K. Should you choose to accept, we would like you to start on Monday.

I must have read that email a hundred times before replying and accepting the position. I was going to be a project manager at Amazing Logisticals, the number one eCommerce company globally. It was my dream job, and I prayed every day that I would get it since the interview.

I couldn’t wait for my wife and son to get home and share the good news. These last few months of job hunting had been tiring and stressful, and I was happy it was finally over.

On Monday, I walked into my new job feeling like a brand-new man. It felt good to be back on my feet, and I translated that energy into my work.

Before I knew it, weeks had turned into months, and I was celebrating my first anniversary.

The job was not without its faults, though. The pay was excellent, and I moved my family under my insurance because it covered everything, but the hours were long and encroached on family time. Fortunately, my wife and son supported me, and I did my best to balance work and home life.

Shortly before my sixth anniversary with Amazing Logisticals, my wife and son were hit by a drunk driver. My wife was pronounced dead at the scene, and my son was transported to the hospital in critical condition, where he was eventually put on life support.

I had a lot of vacation time saved up, and management didn’t take issue with me using it. However, Human Resources started sending passive-aggressive emails, and my manager started complaining about deadlines like I gave a shit. But, because of their medical coverage, nothing came out of my pocket for my son’s hospital stay.

A week later, I went back to work, but my mind wasn’t there. I mean, how could it have been. My son was in the hospital, his life sustained by machines. I decided to take more time off to be by his side. To read to him. To be the first person he saw when he woke up.

After about a week, I received a call from my manager asking me to come into the office.

My manager, Human Resources, and their legal counsel were waiting for me when I got there. They told me that, while they understood what I was going through, my work had suffered because of it and that they were terminating me. They also informed me that my medical coverage had ended on the spot.

I tried to plead with them, but it fell on deaf ears, and security escorted me off the premises.

I went to the hospital to be with my son but was met with a high-pitched tone. The doctor said his life was no longer covered by insurance.