By Branson B. Bolden, M.D.
Early in the morning I rise,
while still dark and no surprise,
the ones I love still asleep in bed,
as I depart for the day ahead.
The drive is cold and routine
as roads course to a familiar scene.
Parking lots lit from above,
a new day dawning, a mourning dove.
A familiar nod to passers-by
of friends and colleagues whose lives cross mine.
Up to the nursery where new life thrives
but in the grieving box, a demise.
Last night full of joy and pain
for which nurses share a quiet refrain.
One room is full of hope and life,
another shattered, deep in strife.
Comfort, care and a listening ear
is what is needed as I draw near.
I wish to stay a little more,
but a call comes from the Pediatric ward.
A child in distress not quite two years old,
pneumonia complicates his common cold.
Turn up the oxygen and the flow,
lungs will heal but time is slow.
Another child now in better health,
and family so glad that he is back to himself.
Three days of missed work when money is tight,
means extra stress and sleepless nights.
Quick discharge orders, notes and scripts,
then I must go as I hear the clock tick.
The clinic day starts overbooked,
a quick chart review and one last look,
walk through the first exam room door,
twin toddlers playing on the floor.
They both jump up for an embrace,
a smile spreads across my face.
The stresses of the day erased,
this moment in pediatrics is commonplace.
The day is full of well and sick,
from newborns to teenagers, years pass too quick.
They aren’t our children, but we treat them so,
shepherding and praying as they grow.
Almost as soon as it began,
my last patient with mother leave hand in hand.
My mind now processing through this day.
What more must I do, what more must I say.
Oh yes, our almost two-year-old.
How is his pneumonia? How is his cold?
A call to the hospital and thankfully now,
his breathing less labored and heart rate is down.
Reassured by his progress, I travel home,
grateful that I don’t walk through life alone.
The weight of this world too great to bear.
We all need loved ones who will always be there.
I pour the last of my energy into being father and lover.
I have not forgotten their hearts need discovered.
Now lying in bed, I cast all cares aside,
for I know that in the morning I will rise,
while still dark and no surprise…
Branson Bolden, M.D., is a pediatric hospitalist with a heart for his family and for community involvement.