Life is precious, and fleeting. If nothing else, the pandemic has made that really clear.

If you’re a regular reader, you’re aware that I recently lost a family member, through the saddest of circumstances — this person had been in pain for quite some time but, for a reason known only to them, refused to see a doctor. Maybe it was fear. When they finally did seek help, their cancer was already at stage 4 and there was no way of stopping its spread. From diagnosis to loss was only a matter of weeks.

We can only guess how different the outcome might have been if treatment had begun earlier.

I saw the same scenario play out a few other times when I was working as a pharmacy technician. Heartbroken family members would come in the store to share their pain and anger with us.

None of us ever want to hear the “C” word, or the name of any other dreaded illness, but many people have survived by getting treatment as soon as possible.

All of our choices have consequences, and not just for us alone. When we avoid treatment for an illness — or, in our current situation, refuse to get a vaccine to prevent the most serious versions of the Covid-19 virus and its variants — it impacts our loved ones and friends as well, and potentially thousands of other people.

Every day that we get to spend with those who care about us is a gift, so let’s not squander it. Be kind, be considerate, be diligent about your health. Enjoy the world around us and help take care of it. Help make the world a better place, and impact someone else’s life in a positive way. Then, when you draw your final breath, you’ll know that you’ve lived life well, and that’s all we can ask.