October 24, 2026 at 9:22 am

He Changed His Work Travel Once To Support Her Recovery, But Now He’s Being Asked To Make Another Sacrifice

by Chris Allen

doctors performing a minor surgery

Shutterstock

Supporting a partner gets complicated when medical needs suddenly clash with a major work commitment.

This man already moved an important business trip once, only for his girlfriend’s surgery date to change.

Now she wants him to stay, while another cancellation could damage the job paying most of their bills.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for missing my girlfriend’s minor surgery for an important business trip?

My girlfriend of two years (37F) decided to ride her bike while drunk last weekend, got into an accident and broke her arm.

It’s (by any measure) a minor break and it requires a (by any measure) minor surgery to fix it.

I’ve been very supportive and very nice to her the last few days, even though I’m really (more than a bit) mad at her for riding her bike while drunk.

Understandable.

She is having the surgery next week. I have a business trip coming up next week, which I’ve already rescheduled to avoid going away during the surgery.

But the surgery date has now changed to the exact date I rescheduled my business trip to.

She really wants me to stay for the surgery, and of course I want to, but this is a very important trip and my job pays for the vast majority of our expenses. Sometimes I feel like she has no respect for that.

That’s quite the pickle.

If I cancel or reschedule the trip again, it will really negatively effect my reputation at work and will be a big missed opportunity.

If it were another circumstance, like a totally unpreventable accident or a more serious illness of course I would make every effort to be there.

But saying to my colleagues “sorry, my girlfriend rode her bike drunk and broke her arm so I can’t go to the very important meeting” doesn’t seem like a good look.

Nope, not at all.

She’s really making me feel bad about it.

AITA for thinking, as a 37yo adult, she should live with the consequences of her stupid action and not make me feel bad about it and jeopardize my job and our overall well-being?

This one is a bit of a mixed bag. Reddit largely sided with him—skipping a critical work trip over a minor, self-inflicted injury isn’t reasonable.

However, being present for major medical events is important.

This person says no one is really a jerk here…

Screenshot 2025 09 25 at 9.21.58 PM e1758849811902 He Changed His Work Travel Once To Support Her Recovery, But Now Hes Being Asked To Make Another Sacrifice

This person says both NTA and YTA.

Screenshot 2025 09 25 at 9.22.27 PM e1758849818857 He Changed His Work Travel Once To Support Her Recovery, But Now Hes Being Asked To Make Another Sacrifice

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a lifeguard who saves a child only to be confronted by parents angry about the paperwork.

And this person says he’s right, but it’s complicated.

Screenshot 2025 09 25 at 9.22.48 PM He Changed His Work Travel Once To Support Her Recovery, But Now Hes Being Asked To Make Another Sacrifice

She isn’t wrong to want her partner there, and he isn’t wrong to protect a business trip he already rescheduled once.

Finding another trusted person to support her on surgery day could protect both her needs and his work responsibilities.

One drunk bike ride somehow crashed into both an arm and a business calendar.

Enjoyed this story?

Readers who liked this also read this story about a daughter who feels hoodwinked after finding out the sick father she’s been supporting has plenty of money of his own.
Read Story→