No, Bert, you don't have to be tougher. :-)
Indeed, how can we turn away a child who is sick, any person who is suffering? My mentor never turned away a patient. He never went to med school, had no fancy diplomas on the walls, yet he gave sight to the blind, enabled a paraplegic to walk again, healed all who came to him. He was born 2,000 years ago but is still revered as the Great Physician.
Yet, in caring for patients and not asking for payment for our services, we sometimes can do harm as well. It can lead to a sense of dependency. I often tell patients, "Pay it forward." The uninsured patient may have no money but everyone has some gifts that they can share with others. I say, "Pay it forward, do something of equal value for someone else in your life this next month."
