Our shift begins
The telephone rings
As mayhem looms
A trauma comes
An MVA or bullet wounds
A cyclist bumped by teenage hoons
Another king hit in The Cross
A family close by, at a loss.
The hero Ambos do their stuff
Resuscitate with little fuss
Assess and treat, and cannulate
Preserving life they intubate
Push fluids in and stem the flow
Of life’s blood draining-getting low
To keep the precious cord in line
A neck brace added saves the spine
The Trauma Team are calm and quick
Routine to them, they’re cool and slick
Maintaining breath, as flesh is crushed
Some bloods are taken, fluids pushed
To balance this they catheterize
The body thus to stabilize
If there is time they have a scan
Which forms the basis of a plan
The OT Staff are primed and steady
Head, chest or abdo-they’re always ready
To crack a cavity with speed
Depending on the patient’s need
The Anaesthetic nurses rush
Prime Level 1 to saline push
While speedy Scout Nurse opens trays
And Instrument Nurse trolley lays
The Orderlies spring into life
Transfer the patient in a trice
Manoeuvre in correct position
On theatre bed – a swift transition
Applying calf compression device
And diathermy pad in place
Use J-boards to protect each arm
Bair Hugger added keeps him warm
Initially the room is hectic
The atmosphere feels quite electric
Till several surgeons gain control
Clamping the artery, finding the hole
Anaesthetists ensure the basis
Of the general haemostasis
And as we sense that we’ve won the battle
Collective pulses start to settle
In trauma centres everywhere
The staff will witness this nightmare
Repeat encounters day by day
Can tend to fill us with dismay
Reflecting on the ones we lost
In time we feel a personal cost
As years of this before our eyes
Can doubly serve to traumatize.
But finally we must be glad
Too much reflection drives us mad
For when the trauma finds his voice
We’re hopeful that he will rejoice
And so to Rehab with less strife
To recommence productive life
If we can learn to help each other
Reduce the stress- we too recover.
