I went to the hospital. I had to spend the day there. I’m fine, thanks. But I am not sure about humanity.

Seeing elders arriving at the E.R., alone or accompanied, made me reflect a lot and maybe made me sad. Is this the way to end your life after all of the struggles and the efforts?

An old lady arrives with her car near the E.R. entrance, where the ambulance gets in. She parks her car in a reserved spot.

The guard arrives and immediately rebukes her. Madame, you cannot stay here.

I am soooooorry, I am sooooooooory, goes the granny, just a miiiiinute, I need to check-in for something, otherwise, how caaan I dooo it? I’m soooooorry!

Slightly moved to pity, but evidently pissed-off, the guard gives her the ultimatum, OK, ma’am, but only for one minute! With the right-index finger well pointed in front of her nose.

The older woman gets off her car and closes the door without locking it. She doesn’t care about her car, left unwatched. She’s tiny, fragile. She starts to cross the road with great uncertainty.

With measured efforts, she puts one foot forward after the other.

Left. Right. Leeeft. Riiiight. Le… pause. Maybe she walked the length of a hand.

The hand that nobody is lending to her.

Again. Left. Right. Left. Right. Lef… no. wait. Pause. In the middle of the road.

After a time measured in eons, she arrived at the entrance.

My heart disappeared. I froze. I wasn’t able to do anything but watch. I couldn’t help but think about what it meant for that person to be old, alone, in a hospital. But also about her willpower and her spirit. She made it. She passed through the dungeon’s portal after having defeated the bridge’s Troll.

The more you get older, the more the experiences around you are perceived differently. Going to the hospital is not dull anymore. It’s terrifying.

Nevertheless, Medicine, Science, and Hospitals made our lives longer and better. They relieve our pains, and they give us hope when we’re helpless.

Most incredibly, some people choose this as their professional life, everybody who works in the healthcare system’s first line.

The hospital is one of the unique products of humankind’s ingenuity, but it is a very badly packaged product.

Design could elevate this place to a Temple of Humanity instead of a well of desperation.