This is a little non-food catch up post. I worked all weekend and have a cold so I'm not moving real fast on Doctor's Kitchen Monday, although I have decided what I'm going to do. Hopefully will be able to knock that out tomorrow.
However, in the meantime, much more exciting to me is this. I'm officially a published poet. I wrote "Code Blue" following my first code experience as a student in respiratory school. It's been published by The University of Oklahoma's School Medicine literary journal called "Blood and Thunder: Musings on the Art of Medicine". I'm on page 8, I whisper to myself...
I've published a few other things: the recipe in the 2007 Farmer's Almanac, two cross stitch designs, several small online food articles, but this one is really special to me. I love holding the magazine in my hand. I don't know if I can explain it but all I've ever wanted to do is write. I am a writer. I've never doubted myself. I have always felt, when I finish a story or a poem, that it's the same as me saying "Here. This is me. This is a small piece of who I am, the best of who I am." That's what holding this magazine means to me.
Code Blue
By Glenna Anderson Muse
Your flesh still warm
Beneath my palms as I
Compress your rib cage.
Short spurts of blood
Travel your arteries,
A precious cargo of oxygen.
Your mouth slack,
Eyes half closed.
No light behind them
That I can see.
My biceps shudder
Sweat drips off me
To fall on you.
The whoosh of the
Ambu bag competes
With doctor orders
And nurse-called numbers.
And then as if
An actor taking a cue
You breathe.
Your heart pumps.
Back from vacation,
A hiatus of
Bodily indecision.
Released from duty
I step into the bathroom.
While washing my hands
I thank God
For your life.
I realize
I don’t even
Know your name.
It's a wonderful poem. Thanks for sharing it with us. You must be very proud.
Posted by: Kalyn | November 21, 2006 at 05:56 PM
Congrats cool kid!!
Posted by: Jeff | November 21, 2006 at 09:13 PM
I love that poem. It's really incredible. Very nice looking book jacket too.
Posted by: sher | November 22, 2006 at 02:23 AM
Thanks y'all. It's really very special to me. I still can't believe they accepted it. It almost feels like a tribute to my brother who died years ago of cystic fibrosis, in a way.
Posted by: Glenna | November 24, 2006 at 05:19 PM
WOW! I'm really impressed. I'm in medical school right now but am only an M2, so I haven't been on the floor yet enough to experience anything like this. This was such an artfully written poem. Thank you for sharing it.
Posted by: Claire | December 06, 2006 at 11:26 PM
Claire--Thanks for the comment! And hang in there. You'll be to plenty of codes soon! LOL! Have they made you take ACLS yet? I'm signed up for next March. Then I really can be the dudette in charge of a code. My understanding is ACLS makes everyone feel more comfortable because it's all about running algorithms. I was recently the first RT in the room at a code (for the first time)and it amazed me how the training kicked in and I didn't think twice about anything, I just ran the algorithms and it worked.
Posted by: Glenna | December 10, 2006 at 07:36 AM