Shock Diagnosis

A February Saturday, Dull and cold and wet, A visit from my daughter, That I never will forget. “Hello dad, you’re looking tanned”, “Oh wait, no, you are yellow” “Get on to 111 she said”, Before even saying “hello”. Put on hold for half an hour, And finally got through, They took down all my details, Then said hospital for you. I travelled to the hospital, At this point so naive, I thought they’d treat my symptoms, And then tell me I could leave. But no, I’d need an X-ray, To see what was going on, And then I’d see a doctor, And the afternoon soon gone. You’ll need to be admitted, “There’s a blockage we’ll explore”, Your pancreas not working, But for now, why? We’re not sure. You’ll need to go to AMU, The word “acute” was key, I’d never been in hospital, Meant bugger all to me! A cannula put in my arm, And then they took my blood, To find out what was going on, I hoped that soon they could. I had another X-ray, And a few times I was jabbed, In my few days in hospital, I’ve never been so stabbed! They said I needed medical attention, But from surgeons too, I didn’t really understand, What I was going through. They said I’d need to have a stent, I checked what I had heard, 57 years on earth, I’d never heard the word! So drugs and care, more jabbings, Then as Tuesday did arrive, Procedure at a different place, An ambulance trip drive. I had a camera down the throat, Got fitted with a stent, An MDT on Wednesday, Next significant event. Alarms had started ringing, But I wasn’t really sure, The MDT would talk about, The cause and then what more. Invited to a meeting, And your kids can come along, The fear for now then kicking in, But still hoped I was wrong. I’d met the specialist nurse, But I hadn’t realised, What her specialism was, Cos was quite traumatised. The meeting happened Thursday morn, And worries were confirmed, They explained really clearly, And so much this week I’ve learned. The good news that I could go home, But this is just the start, With help I’m gonna fight this, It’s no time to fall apart! I still need some more scanning, And more tests to go through too, But then they will confirm with me, What next I’ll need to do. I’ve got some medication, And my journey has begun, So many people on my side, This cancer hasn’t won! I know it won’t be easy, As the journey’s starting here, So grateful for support I’ve got, I hope I’ve made that clear!