A couple of things ran through my brain on this one. First, in my early years as a Respiratory Therapist, I did know of a patient that "exploded". Some weird edema thing that blew up their head. It was ugly. Then another time a patient that had a violent skin reaction to pronestyl, where their skin peeled off like the sunburn from hell. And last of all, it's about the horrid state of end stage diseases, where you'll hear the stupidest comment on earth, "Oh, he's lucky to be alive". Ya, just like that Ariel Sharon guy in Israel. Hello! Brain-dead isn't anything to rejoice about -- "lucky to be alive"; yes, quite easily the most unkind statement ever.

Lucky Man

Itching uncontrollably
Flesh in patches peeling,
When I explode, they'll need a knife
To scrape me off the ceiling.

Veins that once were viable
And a heart that pumped the juice,
I've had a bowel infarct
And now my stools are loose.

Since a nasty brain stem insult
I can not take a breath,
They tell me, I'm a lucky man
I've somehow cheated death.

Fibril_late; 10/94