Did you tell him goodbye?
That was the rhetorical question that my colleague asked me. I was speaking of a man whom I picked up as he was begging on the streets and ask me to drop him off at a homeless shelter. When he got into the car, he related to me his recent hospital discharge for pneumonia.
It was a short ride. The aroma and the other parts of the story made it seem long.
As we approached the homeless shelter a crowd of men stood outside waiting for the doors to open. It was getting cloudy and cold. Their tattered coats and layers of clothing would offer extra comfort in the crowded sleeping areas. It was clear that personal hygiene was a problem. Clustered together, they shared body heat and of course any viral and bacterial infections borne by coughing.
Did you tell him good bye?
It reminded me that more than likely I had left this man in a place where he was likely to suffer a more serious illness for which he had been recently treated.
Now more than ever, ministries like Miriam Medical Clinics are vital for serving the poor. We cannot diminish the epidemic or pandemic, but we can address the co-morbidities which allow weaken the immune systems of the poor.
Please join us.
Give so that we can give.
Dr. Michael Johnson Medical Director Miriam Medical Clinics
215-644-8745
1237 Spring Garden Street Philadelphia PA 19123
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Matthew 25:44-45 KJV