Ivy

Hey all,

I’ve been working at the Baylor Pediatrics clinic this week and it’s been quite an experience. It’s especially tough to see children having to live with so many complicated infections and illnesses. This is a poem that I wrote about one patient in particular, Ivy. She was HIV positive with a history of Tuberculosis and came in pretty sick this afternoon. She was supposed to wait for a slew of tests and as I was coming back to the clinic from lunch, I saw her and her mom sitting in the hot sun, drinking Fantas for lunch. As most of the patients here are very modest and humble, so were they. They didn’t want to accept any of my offers to get them some biscuits or other food items. Anyway, I think they got tired of waiting on test results and disappeared. They had taken a bus to get to clinic from a village that was 4 hours away, Ivy was very ill with fever, chills, cough and it was getting late. Luckily, Ivy tested negative for malaria and we had already given her antibiotics for the pneumonia that she most likely had.

Peach dress
Ruffles, lace, matching socks
And a pretty face.

Searching for clues
Piecing together the past
I try to make sense of this life – a child, a young girl
Staring inquisitively into my eyes.

This battered health passport
Is on its last leg.

Ivy. 7 year old female.
TB. Reactive.

Bright eyed hopeful,
Playfully poking and prodding
At my shiny, green stethoscope.

The chief complaint today
Is fever, shortness of breath,
Cough. Chills. Wasting.

Beautiful dark skin.
Arms intertwined with mom’s.

Right middle lobe crepitations
Forcefully make their way
from Ivy’s lungs to my ears.

Confusion, Bewilderment.
Smiles.
Does hope really live here?

Antibiotics. ARVs. Paracetamol. Chiponde.
Can you swallow all of that?

Xrays, Malaria parasite smears. FBC.
Tools to narrow the differential.

Ivy waits patiently. Wasted. Dusty road. Sweltering sun.
Orange Fanta is what’s for lunch.

Microscopes, stains and pains.
Ticking clock.
What will it be?

Gasping for breath, sweating.
Two beings embrace each other,
Holding fast while the sun sinks.

NPS. No parasites seen. NIS. No Ivy seen.
And the road ahead stands still.