If I had a dollar for every time I’ve typed out a broken heart emoji in response to yet another tragedy, I’d probably be able to take a break from work for a while. But here I am—because I love what I do despite it all.

There are many days my heart breaks.

Not in the cliché, romance-gone-wrong kind of way. It’s deeper than that. It’s a kind of heartbreak that sneaks up on you, heavy and unrelenting, building up like layers of grief that never end. It’s the kind of heartbreak that comes from watching injustice after injustice stack up, one on top of the other, until you feel like it’s all just going to crash down any moment.

Every day, there’s a new tragedy. A new headline. A new loss. And we barely blink anymore. It’s become the new normal. And that? That’s what’s terrifying.

A story that should have never been written

I recently read about a young man who died because he couldn’t afford his asthma medication. And he didn’t have it. His family didn’t have it. So, two weeks later, he was gone.

I don’t know all the story’s details, but here’s what I know: It’s not some rare, isolated incident. This is the reality for so many people. It’s the system at work—the same one that makes people choose between paying rent and buying insulin, between putting food on the table and getting their heart medication, between staying alive and staying financially afloat.

How many more lives have to slip through our fingers like this? How many more people have to die from preventable causes before we finally say enough is enough?

We need a heart surgeon.

Our hearts are pretty remarkable organs. They start beating before we’re even born, and they don’t stop until we take our last breath. They work nonstop, pumping life through us with each beat.

But I can’t help but wonder: Why do we even have hearts?

Because when I look at the world, sometimes it feels like society is doing everything it can to make them irrelevant.

Every single day, more hearts break. Another family is left grieving, another community is left mourning, and another person loses hope in a system that’s supposed to protect them.

And it’s not just a metaphorical heartbreak. It’s real. Stress, despair, and chronic anxiety are damaging our hearts. Studies have shown that grief and constant stress increase the risk of heart disease. Even broken heart syndrome—yes, that’s a thing—is real. And yet, we continue to ignore the cracks in the system, hoping they’ll magically heal.

It won’t.

Charity begins at home.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “You have to fix your own house before you try to fix someone else’s.”

But how often do we ignore that when it comes to health care?

We send billions of dollars in aid to other countries, but we let our citizens die from preventable causes. We pat ourselves on the back for the medical breakthroughs we’ve made but then turn a blind eye when life-saving medications are priced out of reach for the people who need them most.

How does that make sense?

How can we look at our neighbours, colleagues, patients—and even ourselves—and convince ourselves that this is OK?

It’s not. It never was. And it never will be.

To everyone with a heart

This is a call to action, a plea, and a desperate request to anyone who still has a heart that works the way it’s supposed to.

Doctors. Nurses. Health care providers. Policymakers. Everyday citizens.

We need you. Now.

We need change—real, meaningful change. We need to start seeing health care not as a luxury or a privilege but as a right.

I, Dr. Tomi Mitchell, am using my voice to speak up. But we can’t do it alone.

To all of you who still believe in something better—who still feel that gut punch when you hear stories like this—now is the time to act. Speak up—demand change. Refuse to let this be the status quo.

Because if we don’t do something, the heartbreak won’t stop.

And one day, it might be your heart on the line.

Tomi Mitchell is a board-certified family physician and certified health and wellness coach with extensive experience in clinical practice and holistic well-being. She is also an acclaimed international keynote speaker and a passionate advocate for mental health and physician well-being. She leverages over a decade of private practice experience to drive meaningful change.

Dr. Mitchell is the founder of Holistic Wellness Strategies, where she empowers individuals through comprehensive, evidence-based approaches to well-being. Her career is dedicated to transforming lives by addressing personal challenges and enhancing relationships with practical, holistic strategies.

Connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and book a discovery call to explore how she can support your wellness journey. For those interested in purchasing her book, please click here for the payment link. Check out her YouTube channel for more insights and valuable content on mental health and well-being.