Give Me A Number

One day at a hospital where I volunteer, I overheard family members talking about an elderly patient.  "I'm not spending money on that," said one.  "She probably won't be alive much longer anyway so it wouldn't be worth it."

This isn't the first time I heard people talk numbers.  During the COVID-19 pandemic I heard several times that some people would die, but not enough to be worried about.  When should we be concerned then?  Please, give me a number.

There are many wonderful people in this world doing great things, and it gives me pleasure to be able to write about some of them here and about things we can all do to make a difference.  From time to time though I just have to comment on the other side of the coin.  There sadly are people who just don't care about others.  I don't get it.  I really don't.  I especially don't understand the preoccupation with numbers.

Every single person is entitled to the chance at happiness from the moment they are born until the day they day.  It's not a case of some being expendable.  It isn't that someone has lived a long time and therefore no longer deserves to live.  That is simply nonsense.  It doesn't matter who says otherwise - they are wrong.  There isn't an age when people are no longer worthy.