For many people in nursing homes, $45 a month is all they have. From shampoo to socks, every small comfort becomes a difficult choice. This is what life looks like when dignity depends on spare change.

An eight-year-old was placed in front of a dying woman and told to read. No one asked if Margaret had the energy to comfort a frightened child. In hospice, even kindness has limits—and choice still matters.

She wasn’t confused. She wasn’t asleep. She was listening. And she felt invisible.