There are individuals who truly have hearts of gold - the kind that they'd hand over to someone in need, quite literally. And then, there are literal monsters. One particular woman took it a step further and decided to “gift” one of her organs to her boss.
That's quite the generous move, don't you think? But alas, it appears the big boss wasn't exactly overflowing with gratitude. In a surprising turn of events, this woman found herself out of a job after her selfless act of donating a kidney.
It’s been years since the incident occurred but the story still lingers like a bad meme. A constant reminder that sometimes even your most heroic acts can be met with a plot twist.
In 2012, Stevenson took her grievances to the New York State Human Rights Commission, claiming that her boss, Jackie Brucia, had essentially used her for her kidney and then swiftly handed her a pink slip as if she was no longer needed once the deal was done.
According to an interview with ABC News at the time, she said: “After the surgery, she turned into this whole different person - mean, heartless, treating me like I was beneath her.
“It's hard to even find words to capture how badly she treated me... She'd yell at me for things I didn't do and went to extremes, she wouldn't even let me step away from my desk.”
She added: “It's like she hired me solely to snag my kidney.“
Stevenson used to work at the same car dealership as Brucia but she left in 2010 to move to Florida. However, she returned to New York later that year to visit her daughter.
During her visit, she decided to pop by the dealership to catch up with her former colleagues, only to learn about Brucia's health problems during the visit.
Eventually, Brucia revealed that she need a kidney to her employees. She threw in a 'wink-wink' mention about possibly needing Stevenson's spare kidney someday.
Additionally, individuals in need of kidney donations often have ESRD, which can result from various factors including chronic diseases like diabetes or high blood pressure, genetic conditions, infections or other kidney-related issues.
For many with ESRD, kidney transplantation is the most effective and often the only viable treatment option
Stevenson didn't need much convincing. Her willingness to donate her kidney wasn't driven by job security or financial gains. Her motivation was far more compassionate – she simply couldn't bear the thought of Brucia losing her life.
As fate would have it, Stevenson found herself back on Long Island a few months later. During her return, she took the opportunity to touch base with Brucia to inquire about the possibility of reclaiming her old job, a kidney for a job, you might say.
However, upon Stevenson's return to work following the kidney surgery, the situation took a concerning turn. Instead of warm welcome hugs and roses, she found herself demoted.
Everything changed when Stevenson decided to get some legal backup. It happened in a flash – within just a week of her lawyer getting in touch with the company, she got fired. Yikes, no job and a half a kidney.