Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes

Strange Timing!

Walking home from the library
A man rushing in the opposite direction
bumped into me, almost knocking me off my feet.
If I hadn’t stood with my mouth open
Wanting to let loose a few blue words
I would have stepped off the kerb
Instead of the young man just ahead of me
Now lying in the road in front of a black cab.
I should have been the one lying there
I couldn’t help feeling that death
would be waiting around every corner
to collect the soul he had missed.
Was it strange timing,
or an angel that had bumped my shoulder?

©anitadawes 2020

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Heartbreaking News!

Strange timing indeed, when I chose this poem by Anita for todays post, for late yesterday afternoon, we had to rush Anita to the emergency department as she was desperately ill.

She had been unwell all week but had really gone hill on Sunday. She was in a lot of pain, having trouble breathing and felt clammy, although her temperature was normal. I used my machine to test her blood pressure and that’s when the alarm bells started to ring in earnest. It was so high that we knew we had to persuade her to go to the hospital.

Not an easy job, as she hates anything to do with doctors and always refuses to go, even when we beg! Calmly and without letting the panic show too much, we finally managed to drive her to our nearest hospital. They took one look and led her straight through, past the triage and the waiting area.

Because of Covid 19, we were not allowed to enter the hospital, which was upsetting for all of us, and had to sit in the car park while they did their initial checks.

Two hours later, a nurse, complete with mask and gloves came over to us and delivered the worst news. Anita had fluid in her lungs and was having a serious heart attack. She was being given pain relief and oxygen, and a series of tests were being done. We were told to go home, as she would be staying overnight while they tried to stabilise the situation.

An angiogram was mentioned, something I knew all about, for I had one when I had my own heart attack. This usually indicates the need for a stent, a tiny device to keep the offending artery open, and mine is still doing its job, some six years later.

Driving home without her was terrible, but we know she is in the best possible place.

Today, we wait to hear good news and the house feels so empty…