My patient did not come to their appointment today.  I think it was too cold outside.  I sat at my desk and checked news headlines.  I saw this.  

"Three children killed as temperatures plummet in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan."

My heart sank.  I thought about how I told my daughter to bundle up for school today and yelled for my husband to help her find her sweater.   I read on.

"One child died in a camp in Qastal Miqdad, Syria, when a tent he was in collapsed due to the accumulation of snow on its roof."

I just about cried in my cubicle.  Can you imagine living in a tent?  Can you imagine not being able to keep your child warm? Can you imagine snow crushing and killing your baby?  It's even too much to just imagine it.  You struggle to grow this baby, raise this baby, sleepless nights, acid reflux, potty training, limiting their screen time and now, funeral arrangements and finding a child size coffin.

As we sit at home on our $500 phones upset about a $15 subscription Netflix fee, we might feel guilty.  You don't have to.  You can feel blessed.  You can feel the blessing of being safe and warm.  You can feel the biggest blessing, which is the ability to help others instead of being the person who needs help.  This isn't a guilt trip.  It's an awareness check.  People need your help and they need your $5.  It isn't political or religious.  It isn't about refugees or foreigners.  It's about a kid who is freezing cold right now and a parent who has to sit there and watch.

Please take the time to click the red "Donate Now" button, plug in your payment info, and share $5 for this cause.

*Article I read today:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/19/middleeast/syria-children-middle-east-winter-storms-intl/index.html