WDAD 2025

 

Wondering every year what will change,

Delirium talked about only on this day,

All I see in papers is the damage it does,

Don’t know what else I can do,

2 minutes of orientation can hugely impact,

0 excuses for why screening isn’t being done

2 minutes to consider the drugs you use and there effects,

50-80% in ICU will have it,

Yet I was only told when asked to speak at a conference.

Delirium is like a puppy it’s not just for Christmas,

Delirium is not bad news on tv you can’t ignore it,

Delirium is not bad behaviour it’s something you intervene on,

Delirium is not pleasant it can be a fight for your life,

Delirium is not easy it changed my entire life,

Delirium has scarred me and nine years on I still bare the scars.

Count to One

 Count to One

 

I sat at home going yellow from the antibiotics I was on,

The itching was starting to make me break the skin,

I reached out and got creams and antihistamines,

The itching resolved as the yellow retreated from my skin.

But then they appeared upon my skin,

The little purple dots that chill me to the very soul.

 

Bloods taken to check my liver results and my blood count,

What we expected to be elevated was mildly so,

The problem came at 4 pm. I was called by Haematology,

Mark, are you bleeding? Have you got bruising,

No, Yes what is the number, I know what is coming,

The call only comes when it is dangerous,

Your count is one, and we’d like you to get reviewed.

 

Now the danger is extreme and the treatment slow,

Dose increase taking weeks to work,

The anxiety and fear building as I hide from life,

While standing with a smile and grinding through,

While your back is covered with the knives of doubt, fear and stress,

Life is not fair never has been but I will stand tall,

If I can inspire others to shoulder their burdens and make it through,

Then the struggles will have been worth it.

 

Never give me more than I can cope with,

I do not ask for the burdens to be lightened on my shoulders,

I only ask for broader shoulders so I might carry them,

Bare those of my friends and loved ones who need my ear,

I will stand tall until I fall I will move through until I’m done.

 

The count has me scared as a tap could make my brain bleed,

Every step I take is filled with worry and those around me look at me,

I can’t show the fear inside as it would break them,

I must be stalwart in my stoic nature being there for them,

So that they can hold me up when I fall,

The fear crushes me inside, anxiety gripping my heart tight.

 

Delirium Yearning

 

Nearly 40c my body it is burning,

My ex is calling to ruin my day she’s yearning,

But my wingmen tazocin and filgrastim do the blocking,

Made my white cells start rocking.

 

No infection could be found despite lots of trying,

25c ward had me feel like expiring,

Tests and scans show nothing but improving,

But when got home a stone started moving,

Next day it exited now I’m grooving.

 

Delirium sitting in my corner standing still,

My brain is still here by the power of will,

She can stay away of her I’ve had my fill,

Staving her off with every single pill.

 

The ward was hot but safe and secure,

I could move about not stuck in a tiny room,

Not feeling so weak when I escape,

Made me feel so dam great.