I'm currently compiling old writings into a cohesive shape, for publishing, and what not. Along the way, I have unearthed some gems. I like this one, because it summarizes the feeling a nurse has after a wild night in a University Trauma Emergency Department. Yes folks, even in sleepy Sacramento, we have blood, guns and gore. And heck, this was back in the bygone days, of the gay 90's.

Nightmare on Stockton Street

It was a nightmare on Stockton Street
I heard a thousand marching feet,
I saw the blood, the guns and gore
And it was only eight forty-four;

The patients came in groups of five
And half were barely still alive,
The remaining few were very brave
Though most had one foot in the grave,
They spilled their guts upon our floor
And it was only, ten forty-four.

The setting sun, it spelled our doom
It was a blood bath here, from room to room,
We began to feel the Lunar pull
'Twas no surprise, the moon was full,
Down on my knees, I prayed, “no more”
Because it was just, twelve forty-four.

Loose body parts were tossed aside
Later, we would have them fried,
My ears were ringing from the screams
This night was worse, than my worst dreams,
Please help me find the exit door
Yes, now it's almost ten-to-four.

This massacre, is finally through
I'm up to my elbows in bloody goo,
And management has the gall to say
Why don't you work a double today?

Fibril_late;
1995

I like to think that I'm pretty good about being able to simplify complexity, when I'm trying to explain treatments, procedures, therapies, medications and the like to our clientele. However, once in a while, that look of "uh, what did he mean", comes into their eyes. Well then, I guess I just have to start over.

Longer Short Life

A shorter half-life
What's that all about?
A longer short life
Do you want to jump and shout?

All of those ear-catching terms
Garner interest, that's a given,
It might mean something to a scientist
But surely not, to David Niven.

Fibril_late;
3/30/12

I do not recall in previous years, any hoopla revolving around "Doctor Day", but apparently, this is celebrated on March 30th. So, during my dinner meal break, I penned this little muse.

Doctor

Dedicated Doctors
Optimistic, with
Compassionate connections,
Terrific, talented teamwork
Offering
Repair, recovery and resurrections.

Fibril_late;
3/29/12

An oldy-but-goody. Not sure what year I wrote it, although I think it was when I was still an RT, maybe during nursing school.

Ode To Gomer

What do you see nurses, what do you see
What are you thinking when I take a pee?
Did you notice my bladder distended and firm
And that thing in my stool, it looked just like a worm;

Did you notice my sputum was crawling and green
Can't you see I need treatments, on my Bird machine,
I'm nauseous and nasty, whoops, up came my brunch
Please save it for me, I'll have it for lunch;

That IV solution is really poison, you know
And you're trying to kill me, but I won't let go,
So, I'm calling my Lawyer, to represent me
I'll have you all jailed, and I'll be set free;

Oh, my God, my heart's pounding, like it's hitting my ribs
And I hear a great voice announce, “Look, it's V-Fib”,
Someone's battering my chest, as ribs crack one by one
Why is everyone smiling, like this is all fun?

Now, I'm just an old body, lying limp on the bed
The crowd sighs with relief, 'cause this old Gomer is dead!

Fibril_late;
1980

The current, no longer so new job (6 months) is one where we are essentially a prep-go-and-recover-you procedure unit, where we close at 11pm, and any patient left over, spends the night somewhere else. We don't typically cater to ICU patients, because that's what an ICU is designed for; places full of experts and equipment to support all that fancy stuff. But we do occasionally have a patient designated "like ICU" (by MD orders as "critical) and then technically, I need to be around, or Ms. LL. Currently, we are the only available "certified ICU" players in our arena. Use your imagination and you can see that this might cause some staffing problems, right?

God Knows What

At work
Time passes so quickly,
But things are a bit different now
The patients I encounter, are not so sickly,
Although occasionally, there is that ICU type
Multi-system problems that are getting sort of ripe,
And for same strange reason
Dr. X, at such-and-such facility,
Decides that just when BillyBob is drifting
This is the time for us to exercise our ability,
To fix, some god-knows-what rhythm trouble
Do it now, and on the double,
Despite the fact, that BillyBob is slipping
Towards Nirvana, he's definitely tripping,
On a low blood pressure, with no Septic restraint,
Doing his best to become
Somebody's patron saint..............

Well, that's one thing
And then here is another,
We're not really an ICU
Even if it's for your best-friends mother,
Two of us, have the designation
ICU nurses, ready and willing to jump,
Just please don't tell me
You need a frickin' Aortic Balloon pump.

Fibril_late;
3/14/12