{"id":1814,"date":"2023-02-01T09:00:01","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T09:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/?p=1814"},"modified":"2023-02-02T09:10:53","modified_gmt":"2023-02-02T09:10:53","slug":"its-not-about-the-antibiotics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/2023\/02\/01\/its-not-about-the-antibiotics\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s not about the antibiotics"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr Joseph Hawkins, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Clinical lead for End of Life Care, Ashford and St Peter\u2019s NHS Foundation Trust. Twitter: @JoeHawk75825077<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The cough is getting worse,
\nBreathing-once a silent unnoticed activity
\nPunctuating the stillness between sentences
\nNow a cacophony of rasps and gurgles
\nSuch an undertak-\u2026 a challenge
\n(Let\u2019s avoid some words).<\/p>\n

The doctors round was good,
\nA change in antibiotics, the third this month.
\nWonderful what medicine can do.
\nThat noise, though.
\nIt reminds me of the sea, washing shingle
\nI wonder idly -is the tide receding or coming in?<\/p>\n

Moving in bed is good,
\nHands rub the sheets and chest heaves with each rattle of inhalation.
\nA few mouthfuls of porridge- a positive thing, I think.
\nThe cough is getting worse.<\/p>\n

CRP is just 55, last week it was 200.
\nThat\u2019s good, they say.
\nHe\u2019s not talking but then breathing seems
\nSo much effort.
\nAt least the cough is less<\/p>\n

The bed is quiet,
\nAll sound seems absent, lost in a void.
\nA nurse just came to check the blood pressure
\nI don\u2019t think he\u2019ll need the antibiotics, I say.
\nThe silence is a relief, at last there\u2019s peace.<\/p>\n

We met, you and I.
\nAfterwards.
\nI asked what happened and you
\nSaid the antibiotics didn\u2019t work.
\nI wondered, but it felt rude to contradict you.
\nWas it ever about the antibiotics?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Also by this author:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Poem: My bubble<\/a><\/p>\n

Poem: A New Year Resolution<\/a><\/p>\n

Poem: No Longer in Vogue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dr Joseph Hawkins, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Clinical lead for End of Life Care, Ashford and St Peter\u2019s NHS Foundation Trust. Twitter: @JoeHawk75825077 The cough is getting worse, Breathing-once a silent unnoticed activity Punctuating the stillness between sentences Now a cacophony of rasps and gurgles Such an undertak-\u2026 a challenge (Let\u2019s avoid some words). […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":467,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2409],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poets-corner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/467"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1814\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}