Ten to One Ratio

 

November 12, 2020.

There is a newspaper story sourced to an Italian hospital, where a patient suspected of suffering from Coronavirus, died prior to being admitted to a hospital room. In fact, the story refers to the incident where the man died while using the restroom, presumably in the Emergency Department.

In the course of my career as a Nurse, death did occur several times in bathrooms. It is not advised, because usually the room is small, and should you be discovered unconscious on the floor, about 25 people respond to your Code Blue, and we can't fit in the room. Of the hundreds of Code Blue situations I attended, family was present at maybe 20% of those events. It is always hard for loved ones to grasp what is truly going on. 

Anyway:

A dead man was spotted

In a hospital restroom.

As a Nurse I can tell you

That's not the  best room,

To discover a death

The recently deceased,

Both administrators and family

Are most certainly not pleased.

Where were the attendants?

The authorities will ask,

The family will shriek

And take us to task,

Blaming doctors and nurses

For ignoring Uncle Jerry,

Hell, he was gasping for breath

Didn't you notice?; It was scary!

Normally ICU patients

Are but two for any Nurse,

In these COVID days

Take ten patients and curse,

And if you work in North Dakota now

It's okay if you're infected,

Just don't expect bonus pay

You're disposable and not protected. 

I retired two years ago

In just the nick of time,

I feel bad for my brethren

And that's why I still rhyme,

Expressing frustration

Regarding this dire situation,

We are all in this together

But that's no consolation.