Poetry Friday: It’s Been A Week…Or, Two

A diary-style post

Whew! It’s been a week! June itself has whizzed by, creating a “what happened to that month” feeling. I decided to record what happened in a diary-style post today.

Earlier this month

On June 8th I flew to New York to see my Dad. Many of you read about that visit. I shared his photos of his pond with you and a dragonfly haiku. I got home on the 13th, in the early evening.

The next day, the 14th, good friends came to the cabin with their two children for their summer visit. We always enjoy having them and they are like family. So it was a no-fuss, comfortable weekend, even if the weather did not cooperate. We’ve had a lot of rain in north-central Wisconsin this year.

They left on the 16th and we started watching our son’s cat that same day as well. He’s moving to Fort Collins, Colorado later this summer and had to go there to apartment hunt. He’s very excited about being closer to the mountains.

Mid-month

From Monday, the 17th until Monday the 24th, I tried to get back into a routine here at home. We have several projects underway, one of which is a third perennial bed that will be the front, south-facing border for our cabin. After our guests left, I busied myself getting plants and dodging the rain to put them in the ground. We finished the project yesterday. It looks great!

But, I had a slow and solemn mood that week. My sleep was interrupted by worries about my Dad. Last Saturday was especially blah for me. Look, I know this happens but I was bored and meh feeling. I might have a “low” mood now and then, but I am almost never-ever bored! I have too many hobbies to feel that way. But, as I said, it happens and it did!

We took a drive on Sunday, the 23rd, to get more perennials for the garden bed project. It was a good thing to do as it lifted me out of my low spot. Plus, getting the plants in the ground would be (and was) a priority for this week.

This week

I spoke to my Dad on Monday, the 24th. He had the cable guy at the house to switch out the box after a storm had knocked out the power to it. He called me back when they left and stated that he had a doctor’s appointment that afternoon for “more tests.” He’s almost 88 and can still drive – the office he was going to was in his small town and easy to reach. I wasn’t worried.

By 2 pm, my sister called to say that Dad was being transported by ambulance to the hospital for shortness of breath. Yes, this was the reason he was having more tests. They were trying to figure out what was causing it.

So from Monday afternoon until Wednesday afternoon, my Dad was in the hospital this week.
What an experience he had! He never got a bed – but stayed in the hallway of the ER! They did several tests and nothing showed as the cause of his dyspnea (difficulty breathing).

Luckily, my sister was able to go in on Monday night to be with him. A flurry of calls between myself and Dad’s neighbor, as well as back and forth to my sister ensued. After nothing was found, they discharged him but didn’t diagnose or treat his shortness of breath other than giving him some oxygen as needed in the hospital. He was not discharged with it. Hmmmm?!

I was able to FaceTime him on Wednesday night and he looked good.

Today, my sister is taking him to his follow-up appointments which include his PCP and a heme/onc specialist. My sister is retiring next month, so she’s been able to take the time to be with him. I am forever grateful for that.

But the whole experience (even virtually, as I’ve experienced it) has left me with a sour taste for our healthcare system. Now, you might (or not) know that I was a former Pediatric Nurse Practitioner with national certification. I was part of the “system” for many years. My sister has had a long career in nursing administration and as a bone marrow transplant nurse practitioner. She’s been part of the system for many, many years. My husband is a retired ER physician. He was part of the system for years.

And with that knowledge and experience comes the ability to make informed opinions.

The health care system is broken. Everything from treating a “number” instead of the patient to primary care doctors that fail to connect the dots to an overburdened University hospital – which once had the reputation of being one of the best in the nation – is broken.

Honestly, I don’t know what it will take to fix it.

I do know that I felt for my Dad this week. Thinking about him lying in a hallway for 2 days was hard. Thinking about him being short of breath was hard. Ruminating about the causes of dyspnea was consuming. Asking why something was or was not done was draining.

At times I miss the challenge of medicine. It can be a puzzle to diagnose and treat a patient. But, it also reminded me that I am like a dog with a bone. I can’t – and couldn’t – let things rest. I was constantly trying to figure things out. It was exhausting.

The Upshot

It is clear why our elderly are at risk. No one seems to have the time for them.

At least my sister and I are making time for our Dad. We love him.

Hopefully, this week will be better.

Poetry updates:

The summer poetry swap is underway and I got a lovely letter (along with a monarch poem) from Tricia Stohr-Hunt, who is today’s Poetry Friday host. I was thrilled to find out we grew up in the same area of Western New York and have a ton of other stuff in common! I sent her summer swap out yesterday! I hope that we stay in touch. It was fun to receive and write a letter along with her poem and gift.

My poem to The Toy was rejected. I expected as much. I have not had good luck with them. It is a UK publication.

I still have three poems out to TygerTyger Magazine and have a super short story I’m submitting today to another KidLit magazine – it reads like a free verse poem. I remain hopeful.

Book sales have fallen off for the anthology (to be somewhat expected – marketing is hard). There are copies for sale on this blog. Go to the top menu and click on Photography and Books for sale. You’ll get a special price if you order directly from me.

The fungi are popping in our woods…they’ll inspire some new poetry! I wrote a quick draft based on this mushroom I saw this week.

Popping up overnight

You delight me with your sight

A fly agaric mushroom, I’ve learned

Is a type to be spurned

Photos only, I will take

For a bite of you, I will forsake

I love life too much to take a chance

But your beauty shows at just one glance

Foraging for fungi on the land

With just my camera in my hand

© Draft, Carol Labuzzetta, 2024.

Our Poetry Friday host for this week is Tricia on her blog The Miss Rumphius Effect. Please check out her page for more poetry goodness! I feel like my impromptu fungi poem responds (indirectly) to the Wabi-Sabi sentiment she discusses in her post. Check it out! Thanks for hosting Tricia! I’m so glad we connected this week!

As always, you can catch up with me daily on Medium.com.

Thanks for reading!