Notes About The Poem
Written when my husband had his stroke and the recovery, such as it was.
Odyssey
It’s a five-hour round trip,
What with the ferry, shuttle, a
Twenty-minute walk, sometimes the bus,
Just to see him for a couple of hours.
Sometimes he’s not doing well
Or is sleeping while I’m there.
It’s been such a long time!
First there was the back operation.
They said it went well, that soon I
Could see him in the recovery room.
But then he had the stroke!
Those weeks in intensive care
When they kept asking him
Every hour if he knew his name,
His birthday, his middle name,
The president, the year!
At least he could answer, if
Only haltingly. When the pain
Was dulled, he slept,
So lethargic it was scary!
He developed pneumonia,
Fluid around the lungs, too,
And had to have a drain,
Along with all the IVs,
And so many tests! EEGs,
X-rays, scans, ultrasounds,
Over and over again!
Finally, release to a room
Out of the ICU, but still tubes
And tests and more tests!
We sat by his bed, day after day,
Watching him sleep or trying
To engage him in conversation.
Putting his bed up, putting it down,
Getting nurses to reposition him,
Wetting his mouth with sponges,
Taking turns to get a break.
Then, after thirty-one days,
At last, to the rehab hospital!
Progress, pain, setbacks, complaints
(Who wouldn’t complain?)
At present he’s making small steps.
He is able to swallow all right,
So no more pureed food!
He can stand for a short time
In the standing frame,
A little longer this week than last!
The physical therapy is slow and
Sometimes discouraging,
Retraining those unused muscles.
Certainly it will be many weeks yet,
But now I can see a future when
He will come back home to us,
To me and to his beloved
Bernese Mountain Dog, Andy,
And his cats, Sweetie Pie and Sophie,
And he’ll be back to his old self again!
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