The other day, I had a patient whose situation deeply moved me. He had just lost his wife and was drowning in grief. In his despair, he began drinking, which led to a fall, blackout, and ultimately, his hospitalization.
As we spoke, he shared his plan for when he gets discharged: to sell his house and move into a motel. The house has no mortgage, but the annual property taxes alone, he said, were too much to manage on his limited income. He receives Social Security, but it's barely enough to cover essential expenses, let alone car taxes, insurance, and taxes on the house. Despite my gentle encouragement not to sell, and my suggestion to speak with a social worker for support, he seemed overwhelmed by the weight of it all.
What struck me most wasn’t just his personal loss, but how grief and economic hardship had collided, leaving him with few options in the country he had called home all his life. After decades of living, working, paying taxes, and contributing to society, he now faces the painful reality of losing everything, not because of irresponsibility, but because of rising costs and limited support.
Life, at times, has an ugly way of turning on us, especially in moments of vulnerability. The fact that someone can grow old in the very place they helped build, only to be pushed out by economic pressure, is more than a tragedy, it’s an affront to human dignity.
As a society, we must ask hard questions about how we treat the elderly, the grieving, and those living on fixed incomes. Because stories like this patient’s are not rare, they're reminders of a system that often fails the very people who once held it up. Im afraid he drinking will get worse.
I remain your pal,
Ronnie
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