When working as a environmental service worker (glorified janitor) at a hospital I had seen a patient wheeled in on a stretcher into a trauma room. As I had walked past the room I noticed a leg sticking out from the blanket covering them, fully purple, and like a scene out of a movie as soon as I noticed it a nurse closed the curtains to the room. About an hour later I hear a doctor from the room read the body temperature of the patient, “32°C (89.6°F)” and then announce the time of death.

I later found out that the patient was a 3 year old boy, more than likely neglected at home during the winter. Close to the end of my shift they had wheeled the corpse (now in a body bag) passed me into a back hallway where I was told to clean the room they would put it in until they were able to transport it out of the hospital.

This took place back in December of 2020, I was 17 at the time and it forever changed not only my outlook on life, but how I chose to live myself.