Tuesday, February 06, 2024
The Scolding Machine
Let me tell you about the scolding machine
As his agitation would progress
When I arrived to this room
I think Jerry transferred to rehab
Patient Room Video Technology
Microbiome Trade-in
I don't really like writing about myself but this is a topic for our times; Microbiome.
It seems like every week I read about some new discovery regarding our digestive system. There are billions of microorganisms seemingly working in a sort of harmony with each other (healthy gut) and influencing all the other organs in the body including the function of our brains.
However, sometimes the gut microbiome can be wiped out by some really nasty entity such as C. Difficile or Norovirus. In 2013 I had a Norovirus correction and now in 2024, Appendicitis and Ileus.............each experience gave birth to a new gut environment.
After Appendicitis
My microbiome left the house,
This has happened before
Certainly not quiet as a mouse,
These are drastic changes
In the digestive system,
It happened to me 11 years ago
And the old gut?
I really missed him.
Believe me
This has happened before,
I can tell you
It is a vigorous
Not so pleasant chore;
Once you go down that road
It is initially bumpy,
And the end result is
Sometimes rather lumpy,
Anyway it does give one a pause
New ramifications
Without a rejection clause,
It is kind of like buying a new car
And having to learn
New gadgets and controls,
Not knowing if I will really like it
And kicking myself for not reading
Any customer exit polls.
The only persons who truly have a choice
Of selecting a new microbiome,
Are those persons who receive fecal implants
And even then it is not a simple road home,
Consider it a very new
Application of science,
The doctor will tell you,
“We'll just let your gut
Figure out how to use this new appliance”.
The microbiome
Is uncharted territory,
A trillion microorganisms
Telling their own unique story,
Manufacturing chemical precursors
Biomarkers and agents of change,
Enough to alter thought processes
And expand emotional range.
My old microbiome exited Stage Left
Not just a minor vacation
No, a vast uncrossable cleft,
A break into a new frontier:
2024 is turning out
To be a whiz-bang New Year!
Saturday, January 27, 2024
Out of Control Family
Crazy Foam
They said over and over
"Now, please don't forget,
If you remember this thing
We will be in your debt".
And every time after that
They said it again,
It would have been better
On occasion, now and then.
If you will, tell the doctor
The nurses and the tech,
Uncle Bob has a problem
His kidneys are a wreck,
Please measure the contrast
As careful as can be;
I said, yes I will do that
It's important, I can see.
When Hector from Transport
Came into the room,
Aunt Mary looked at him
All dire and doom,
And once again launched
The tale of the kidney,
Like a crazy old wombat
Down Under from Sidney.
Later on, after
Man, they wanted to book,
Uncle Bob and Mary
They just had that look,
Like coming down here
Was all a mistake,
A couple Wombats from Sidney
That stepped on a snake.
We bend over backwards
Primp and placate,
Give them sausage and capers
On porcelain plate,
But some of them leave
Good behavior at home,
Instead of proper manners
They spray crazy foam.
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Double Occupancy Room
I had 3 different roommates over the course of 13 days. The first one had a serious head injury following an MVA. He was totally disoriented, awake 18 hours a day, 4-point restraints and constantly trying to escape. The second roommate is the subject of the following story.
Stabby Roommate
He does not want a tetanus shot,
Maybe if he had been shot three times
He would throw in his lot,
To have a simple jab
That would provide 10 years of protection,
Better than a Kevlar vest
And natural selection.
He doesn't want wound dressings removed
Because that hurts,
He doesn't want blood drawn
Needles and blood spurts,
He hasn't walked yet
He is here Day #3,
But he wants food and cigarettes
Is what he asks everybody.
Stabby stomach wound
Equates to the Diet called Clears,
To advance in a couple days
He wants smokes and beers,
He was granted a Patch
To curb his cravings,
He's a 20 year old kid
Full of posing and ravings.
Stabby young punk
Brags to compatriots on the phone,
He changes his story each time
Like he is Al Capone,
Some family arrived
Three of them said he was a fool,
Going for a slugfest with girlfriends new man
You called him out to the yard
And he pulled out a sharp tool,
And oops, your rival had backup
With a knife also…………..
So you jumped in your car
Gushing blood all over,
Drove to a closed Mercy Clinic
And finally you called 911
They saved you from pushing up clover.
And still I overheard
Your secret silly recovery plan,
You’re going to hunt down your rival
And put him down like a man.
Stabby Roomate
What a kid,
Only one family praised you
For what you did,
And you get sent home with a walker
Now, that is a piece of work,
You need to go to school kid
And become a postal clerk;
Or at least, something useful.
An Unexpected Christmas Gift
The poem is a retelling of "The Christmas Story"