Eoghan McDermott has shared a heartwarming story of a stranger’s act of kindness following an injury recently.
The 2fm presenter says that his faith in humanity was restored after an incident during his trip to Washington DC.
Eoghan was in DC for a wedding, but was injured almost as soon as he landed in the US.
“At airport, hailed Uber. Leaned down to pick up suitcase just as the driver opened the boot. *CRACK* as it slams into my head hard,” he reveals.
“Starts pumping blood, dripping on the floor type stuff. I get dizzy and sit down on ground. Driver in bit of a panic. The lady in the car behind hops out and shouts at him to get some ice and call for assistance. He runs off. She asks me if I’m insured & should we call for an ambulance or get to the hospital – safety 1st with head injury etc,” he revealed.
Eoghan suffered a head injury in 2016 when he was attacked outside a nightclub in Dublin which left him with lasting issues, and while he wanted to make sure he was okay this time around, he was concerned about having no insurance in the US.
“Panic sets in as I remember my policy expired a few weeks ago. I tell her no,” he reveals, before adding that luck was on his side.
“She then reveals that she’s a doctor and says it will cost thousands of dollars to call an ambulance. So, she puts me in her car and drives me to her own house! She was picking up her best friend’s daughter, who she never met, as she lives in France and is here on an internship. They literally met two minutes before the accident,” he reveals.
He reveals that when they arrived at the house he was well looked after and was even fed by the hero doctor.
“So we all go to her house, she cleans the wound, dresses it up, gives me painkillers, a liquid plaster, dressing and some food and drink. She told me to contact her if I felt dizzy, unwell etc. She ordered a taxi, I paid her a thousand thanks and headed on my way,” he added.
He estimated that he saved thousands of dollars due to the kindness of the stranger and added that it gave him lots to think about in terms of the healthcare system in both Ireland and the USA.
“Her name is Melody. She’s a hero who took a complete stranger into her home. I’ve been told uninsured that it could cost anywhere up to $10,000 to get treated in an ambulance. I was so appreciative of our health service, flawed and creaking and in need of desperate reform. My injury was superficial, but I got a glimpse of what it must be like to be uninsured in America and be denied care because you don’t have the means to pay. Imagine a child or elderly person cutting their head like that and their loved ones being too scared to go to hospital and check for concussion or worse because they don’t have the money. Terrifying.” he said. “What a wonderful act of kindness from Melody.”