Quiet with a silent screen,
Oblivious to the unfolding scene,
Now powering to life with a flip of a switch,
To breathe for a patient you know not which.
“You will be the savior of us all,”
Cry the people from city hall,
“Thousands, no, millions, needed,” is the call from on high,
Though no one is sure exactly why.
Powered up with buttons pushed and dials turned
by a respiratory therapist from knowledge earned,
The curves appear, the patterns flow,
Sanskrit to those not in the know.
Another patient with the Covid curse,
With respiratory failure getting worse,
“Need oxygen, need air,” say those who care,
explaining to the patient they need to prepare.
Drugs are given, sedation is met,
The tube is placed and all is set,
The life saving machine is now put in place,
And attached to the tube extending from patient’s face.
Air flows in, the chest expands,
The therapist awaits any physician commands,
The size of the breath, the rate of flow,
And other things needed to know.
Oxygenation has improved, the patient at rest,
But no one thinks the time is best,
To feel relieved and claim success,
While the virus continues creating a mess.
So, to you, oh mighty machine!
With benefits galore but harms unseen,
You begin your mischief in the dead of night,
When workers are few and schedules tight.
Airsac overstretch with resultant inflammation,
Not evident with the usual information.
A collapse of a lung from a rent in a sac,
An emergency to take anyone aback.
Compromising muscles that help you breathe,
Another problem hard to conceive,
But all you do is what has been commanded,
All you’ve done is what has been demanded.
Through all your support you have sensed no slight,
As the patient struggles and continues to fight.
Eventually the day comes when you are withdrawn,
As the patient arises to begin a new dawn.
Savior of many, executor of a few,
What we know is nothing new,
Oh mighty machine, you support, not cure,
All you do is help the patient endure.
Now once again quiet with a silent screen,
Oblivious to the unfolding scene,
Now powering to life with a flip of a switch,
To breathe for another patient you know not which…
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