A Bone to Count

Halloween has a way of putting bones on our minds. Skeletons are appearing on porches, in front yards — and even in trees. My recent YouTube discovery had a surprising connection to the season: a famous racehorse nicknamed “Old Bones.”

Exterminator’s lanky, bony appearance earned him the nickname. Initially a training partner for his owner’s favorite, Sun Briar, Exterminator got his big break when Sun Briar developed a medical problem before the 1918 Kentucky Derby. At 30-to-1 odds, “Old Bones” galloped to victory. He went on to win 50 of 99 races, lived to age 30, and inspired the 1955 children’s book Old Bones, the Wonder Horse.

Bones can tell us more than a horse’s story, though. Some preserve clues about the past, while others offer a glimpse into how humans learned to count. The Ishango Bone, an artifact discovered in Central Africa and dating back roughly 20,000 to 25,000 years, has rows of carefully arranged notches. No one knows for certain what those markings meant, but they may have been used for counting or other mathematical purposes.

One mark. One count. One mattered.

One Patient Matters
In health care, one matters enormously.

When you or someone you love needs medical care, you aren’t thinking about statistics or how many people share your diagnosis. You’re thinking about one patient: the person waiting for test results, trying to understand a diagnosis, struggling to afford a prescription, or hoping someone will listen.

One patient can feel very small in a healthcare system filled with complicated rules, paperwork, and decisions. It’s easy to wonder whether one question will matter, one phone call will help, or one person’s concerns will be heard.

But one question can be the first step toward a diagnosis. One phone call can connect someone with needed help. One explanation can make a confusing medical bill or prescription benefit easier to understand.

Sometimes, one small gesture — a phone call, a listening ear, or a simple offer to help — is exactly what someone needs.

One Voice Can Change Things
The power of one extends beyond healthcare, too.

One voice can speak up when something isn’t right. One person can challenge an assumption, share useful information, or encourage someone else to act. One conversation can open a door that might otherwise remain closed.

One vote may seem insignificant in a world of millions, but elections are decided by individual votes added together. Each represents a person choosing to participate rather than leave the decision to someone else.

Of course, one person can’t solve every problem. One conversation won’t fix every flaw in our healthcare system, and one good idea doesn’t guarantee change.

But meaningful change has to begin somewhere. Often, it starts when one person decides that what they do — or say — matters.

Small Marks, Lasting Impact
Perhaps that’s the lesson hidden in those ancient marks on a bone. We may never know exactly what the person who made them was counting, but the notches remain — a small record of someone’s effort, one mark at a time.

And then there’s Exterminator, the lanky racehorse known as “Old Bones,” who proved that one unexpected opportunity can change everything. At 30-to-1 odds, he seized his chance and became a racing legend.

This Halloween, amid the skeletons and spooky decorations, remember that the power of one is no trick.

One may seem small. But one has a voice. And voices carry.

Happy reading,
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.