A contemplative incident

A CONTEMPLATIVE INCIDENT.
 

Last night there was an incident,
which turned into an accident,
that made me contemplate my life,
my stoma, sicknesses and wife.
 
It had been quite a normal day
with nothing much out of the way,
and nothing to make me alarmed 
that I may be in some way harmed.
 
I irrigate just after tea,
so stoma stuff won’t bother me,
and I can go to bed at night
knowing everything’s alright.

Well! Yesterday was just the same,
until, at last, the night-time came
and early on it dawned on me
that I would need to have a pee. 

So, up I got and to the loo
I made my way because I knew
that sleep is very hard to get
if I delay and then get wet. 

But, as I stood there half asleep,
I found it very hard to keep
my focus on what I should do
whilst I was standing at that loo.

All of a sudden, I felt sick,
which made things much more dramatic,
for I must have been quite unwell
as I lost consciousness and fell.

I do not know how long I laid
so ignominiously displayed,
but when I started to come round
there were a few things that I found.

                                               (---Continued)

The first thing that I noticed was
I could not move myself because
I was so exhausted that
I simply lay there prone and flat.

When I came round , my wife was there,
showing her concern and care
by mopping up the pool of blood
that oozed upon the floor in flood.

For as I fell, I must have hit
my head, and thereby made it split,
so, as my world had been upturned
my bleeding made my wife concerned. 

This was the focus of discussion,
and secondary to concussion,
and, as far as I could tell
I was nauseous as well.

I could not move, but still I knew,
that to be sick within the loo
was better than over the floor,
which meant the cleaning would be more. 

After some time, I managed to
drag my head above the loo
to puke and wretch so violently,
mixing with blood coagulantly.

Once that was done, yet still I knelt,
only then it was I felt
something I barely could believe
the great weight on my stoma sleeve.

For I knew that to irrigate
helps to avoid this sort of state
so, why should my sleeve be so full
when I had been so dutiful?

There was no time to hesitate,
for pressure on my sleeve was great,
this meant that there was too much waste
which needed emptying in haste.

                                            (---Continued)

By my rapid calculation
in this dramatic situation
there was three or four litres
of foul-smelling excreta.

This gave me the bright idea
that I might have some diarrhoea,
along with sickness this would be
indicative of a bug you see.

And so, I go to bed again,
free from worry and from pain
to contemplate the night’s events
and ponder what it represents.

I feel so fortunate that I
am still alive and did not die,
for, at my age, collapsing thus
and come around, is just a plus.

I’m also fortunate to know
that irrigation goes to show
that if  I had not had my sleeve
the mess would be hard to conceive.

But the most fortunate of all,
in the case of such a fall,
was to have a caring wife
to make sure I came back to life. 

It’s times like these that we should seize
the moment someone tries to please
us by their kindness and their care
and the fact that they are ‘there’. 

It’s in those moments of great need,
that we can harvest that small seed
of love that we planted before
and nurtured ‘till it grew some more.

And so, I say with great delight,
we must have done something that’s right
to reach a point where we both care
enough to know that we’ll be there. 

                                                B. Withers 2021
                        (In: 'B. Withers - Be Kind' 2022)

Oh my God Bill, what a night  you had!  And what a dramatic verse to explain it all!  I'm so glad it turned out just to be a bug that made you sick.  I was transfixed while reading it, imagining all kinds of terrible things, like a stroke for instance, so I think you were very lucky!  It's good to look at the positives in situations like this, which you have done of course, in appreciating how lucky you are to have this loving and supportive partner to be there for you when you need it most.  How are you feeling today?

Terry

Bill, bless you.

 

Guess some bug or did you overdo it clearing your hard-working flood defenses, hey?

 

Sometimes when we need to respond in a timely fashion, we cannot pace ourselves as we usually do - so take care here, Bill!

 

But the falling and possible loss of consciousness... that Bill needs investigating...

 

Hope you are now comfortable and that you both will be able to access your GP to follow through...

And please make sure that you do follow through.

 

My best wishes

and hugs

for a full recovery...

 

There's certainly nothing that has interfered with the cognition - your Rhyming Report will be an interesting read for your GP!

 

Take good care

...

 

And, as you rightly observe... Mrs. 'Withers' was able to be on hand... Those of us who are loved and cared for on a regular basis are most fortunate.

 

 

~~~~ Waves to your resting and recuperation ~~~~

Hug

Jayne

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Jayne. 
Thank you so much for your kind thoughts. 
Just a reminder when contemplating a response to any of my rhymes.
Always read to the end, where you will find the year that the rhymes were written.
For me, there has always been a simple explanation for these sorts of falls and loss of consciousness, which is very low blood pressure, sometimes aggravated by getting up from chairs or bed. The problem arises when I am likely to hit my head in the process of falling, which is why I can sometimes avoid this by immediately sitting down if I get sufficient warning.
There seems to be plenty that the doctors can give people to alleviate high blood pressure, but not so much if it is low. 
Unfortunately, after my heart attack, most of the medication prescribed was to lower blood pressure, which made things much worse for me!
Best wishes

Bill  

Well, now I just feel embarrassed as I did not notice the date posted at the end.  Will try to pay attention in future!

Terry

How to Manage Ostomy Leaks with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Bill - I appreciate the low BP - must be very frustrating!

Hug

Jayne

Hello TerryLT. ( & Jayne) 
Thank you both for both your posts, as they are very much appreciated.
These sorts of rhymes are usually written at (or soon after) the time of the incidents. I feel that they help me to clarify and control the emotional and psychological aspects of things I cannot otherwise control, by a sort of catharsis, whereby I can let rip/rant and then move on.
There is no need to feel embarrassed about not reading the date, for once a poem is written and published, one of its functions is surely to 'entertain'. Many poets do not date their work, but I find that it helps me to put 'time' (& events) in perspective when I occasionally reread them. 
When you say "I was transfixed while reading it, imagining all kinds of terrible things, like a stroke for instance", this is a reflection of similar things that we were thinking at the time. However, it is worth noting that being reminded of these horrific thoughts can help to prepare for possible future incidents and accidents, knowing that we have overcome these types of difficulties before.
Experiences that are learned from can be a great support. 
Your response was particularly pleasing because it indicates that these types of rhymes can still seem relevant years after they were written.
The thought that some of this stuff can have a 'timeless' quality must be one of the greatest compliments for the writer. 
Best wishes
Bill
 

Thank you Bill.  When I cast my memory back, I do believe I read your post/poem when you originally posted it, and felt a similar response.  My memory isn't what it used to be!

Terry