Dedication To Alex Braes

The early hours of a Wednesday morning in a small country town. An 18-year-old boy struggles to sleep He had pain so bad all he could do was weep he, knee was so painful he had to go to the hospital his father took him there once there it seemed nobody was to care the failure in regional hospitals is undeniable in this story this ending has no glory the odds were against Alex from the start with lack of medical resources and staff before his death management refused to listen to critical concerns about safety with no concern of patients and no liability 20/09/2017, 3.18 am Alex arrived in Emergency In pain, hoping for attention Was neglected and sent home Left to lay in bed And grown No-one did vitals, no-one checked anything He was told to come back in the morning They played the downswing Wednesday 8 am Back he came, for an ultrasound Couldn’t get results No-one could see him Claiming they were busy He sat there feeling grim Vital signs not checked again Told to go home, come back later By this time, Alex’s pain Was getting greater Wednesday 6 pm Where they going to be seen They didn’t know when Alarm bells should have been ringing This boy was deteriorating All check points were missing Failure to do vital signs were indefensible The results came and showed possible torn ligament sent home again this hospital is impotent come back in two weeks it maybe too late for Alex’s feet Thursday 10 am In excruciating pain, he could not walk, The pain was so bad, he could barely talk His father called an ambulance But none was available Who could he find That was attainable Put into the family car For another round trip This story is hard to write It sounds like a Hollywood script Alex couldn’t get out of the car It took 25 minutes to get him A wheelchair How much can this hospital Actually, not care Thursday 11.39 am Arrived in reception and was told to wait He complained and told them He was going to faint Asking for a pillow That they did not get Alex was clammy Beginning to sweat Thursday 12.17 pm Thirty-three hours after he first Walked in the doors Staff finally did vitals A little too late His family had lost Their faith Thursday 12.28 pm Vitals got severely worse Rapid response team Where called By this time, he family Was appalled Cold, clammy, significantly blue, mottled And not responding Meant he had been unwell for hours And his leg left rotting Barley conscious, Alex’s pain Finally discovered, Infected Toenail, no-one picked up on This poor young boy suffered Alex now in toxic shock for a deadly skin eating disease Necrotising fasciitis Lies on a bed lifeless Kidney failing with sepsis Not having the right resources This whole trauma is senseless Thursday 1.25 pm Resuscitated Thursday 1.47 pm Ready to fly Alex to another hospital Royal Adelaide had no beds, by this time The family where banging their heads Traumatised of what was happening To their beautiful boy It did destroy Thursday 2.05 pm The royal flying doctors Could not fly Alex Now they were all sick To the stomach The Pilot had reached his Maximum hours Regulations By the Civil Aviation’s Thursday 2.32 pm Sydney Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Found a bed and an air ambulance came to collect him Chances for Alex, are very slim A five-hour round trip I told you This is like a script His parents shell shocked, just sat there grasping the reality of what they were facing the whole time their heart racing Thursday 5.30 pm Suddenly deteriorating sharply Alex needed life support before He plane trip This was critical There could be no slip Alex fighting for his life He was unsure if He was going to survive Thursday 9.30 pm The plane took off, with his mum on board Declined so quickly They prayed to the Lord How horrifying for his mum The feeling of hopelessness She couldn’t succumb Friday 12.50 am 14 hours after the father Called the ambulance They finally arrived at hospital The journey to get there Was despicable It was way too late He had a cardiac arrest The doctors felt hard pressed Friday 2 am 18-year-old Alex Braes was Pronounced dead Had he had help From the first time The disease wouldn’t of spread. A preventable death That no one is accountable for Makes me sick to stomach Forever more I will never forget writing this As I think of the family Giving their final kiss.