By Jessiela Roberts
His age and comorbidities were now rehearsed and repeated without effort daily,
His short years of existence now condensed to a list of clinical diagnoses,
It has been 20 days on the vent, and hypoxia persists like a homeless drifter,
Organs in shock, insulted by the invasion of unwanted bacteria,
High flow oxygen serves as a useless currency to a resistant lung,
Pneumothorax presents like an unwelcomed guest,
Sedation weaned off several days ago, yet he remains locked in time,
His mother visits often and tearfully whispers prayers beckoning him not let go,
Through her eyes I no longer saw a disfigured member of humanity,
I saw the baby she took home from the hospital and groomed him into a man,
It’s unnatural to think about burying your own child, she said,
Through meaningful communication she came to the point of accepting it was time to say a final goodbye
We gathered at his bedside, prayers lifted, memories of good times shared,
The nurse caring for him stepped away crippled by emotions untold,
She had developed a maternal connection through caring for him and her goodbye was also devastating,
Doubt and hope tap dance on her emotions,
Gathered at his bedside she rushed to disarm the alarms that broke the silence announcing his departure from this life,
For a brief moment we were all connected with his family through grief,
Some more complicated than others, each tear sad but equally important
In that moment medicine had meaning and it was not just another day of rounds.
Jessiela Roberts, M.D., is a Family Medicine Specialist in Fort Smith, AR. She is a graduate of Trinity School of Medicine.