Kaitlyn Grasso
Nick Grajewski
Kinjal Mathur
Joe Walsh

Rick got the puck behind his own net
He got crushed into the boards; that hurt, I bet
After being hit with a stick in his left side
He was doubled over in pain, but did not cry
From his mouth he bled
Yet no trauma to his head
The coaches lifted Rick to the bench
And in the corner, his left side he did clench
Eventually the team pulled through with a win
The players stormed the ice, and Rick joined in
The coach thought that nothing was wrong
But he was not in tune
The doctor said “We must take a trip to the emergency room!”
They entered the hotel, and Rick felt tired
But he claimed he was swell when his roommate inquired
After lying down, he sat up too quick
And Orthostatic Hypotension overtook Rick
Rick’s heart was beating very fast
Without help, his time on earth would not last
After taking some tests, the results were not right
Rick was unable to go out with the team tonight
His pH was low, hematocrit high
PO2 low, but his PCO2 touched the sky
Heart rate up, blood volume down
Doc couldn’t do a urinalysis because there was no urine in town
With aspirations of playing at Lake Placid
His blood had an excess of carbonic acid
When the CAT scan came in, something was wrong
Blockage was in his left lung, the size of King Kong
After the CAT scan, the X-ray showed a blur
The doctors said, “It’s a hemothorax, we concur!”
Since we know what the problem is, we’ll fix him, you’ll see
All we need to perform is a tube thoracostomy
We stick the tube in and the blood drains out
Because healing people is what we’re all about
After all of these treatments, Rick is comfortably breathing
Thanks to Kate, Kinjal, Joe, and Nick’s very quick thinking

Jenna Allen
Julie Douglas
Allison Lee
Phoebe Ling

There once was a guy named Rick
Who was hit with a hockey stick
He fell over in pain
And the coach yelled his name
And quickly they scurried
and were o’er in a hurry

Red n’ swollen round his ‘phragm
His dad took him by the hand
He was bleeding from the mouth,
But seemed fine without a doubt,
‘Cause he stood back up
Like they’d won the Stanley Cup
And cheered endlessly—
Extra happily

He said he was fine
But later, couldn’t even dine
Rick skipped the celebration
And suffered from dehydration
Drinking and drinking so much cool water
His thoughts were in such a clutter
Bruising and pain in his left ‘domen
He’d probably hurt an internal gem

Then he stood up too quickly and became extra sickly
Fainting and losing all consciousness,
It wasn’t due to restlessness—
Instead, it was a lack of oxygen
And there was a lot of pain within…
So was it a collapsed lung, a pneumothorax?
Or was it a hemothorax?

Now he’s awake and gasping for air,
Oh Rick’s giving us all such a scare.
Off to the hospital he must go
And so in a hurry, the doc does show
A plethora of tests were quickly run,
Including x-rays n’ CAT scans—it was no fun.

His PCO2 was oh so high,
And all because he couldn’t breath a nigh.
His blood pressure and volume were also low,
And to think, all these problems from just one blow!
His blood was more acidic and his heart rate went down—
That explained why Rick had a frown
He drank so much water but no food on his plate,
6 hours passed and he still didn’t urinate

Soon the CAT scans were reviewed,
But nothing seemed to be askew.
Then at last, the x-rays were hung..
Oh no! They showed a collapsed lung!
There was a large collection of blood..
It was as destructive as a flood…
What to do, oh what to do??
Tylenol won’t help, he ain’t got the flu.

Quick! We need a thoracostomy,
To drain out the blood, so fine he’ll be!
Now from the lungs, the blood is out,
So he’ll need some more blood without a doubt!
Then he needs to re-expand his lung
So off to bed, for rest and no fun…
But don’ worry a tad, he’ll back in no time,
For no hemothorax can stop an athlete of this kind!

Lindsey Evans
Jessica Crampsey
Brian Beverin

It was just another Hockey game
When the other team double-teamed the star.
Rick was down, and on the ground
But it was only a bruise, not a scar.

" Get up!" said the Coach, "We gotta win."
"Let's go to the hospital," said Dad.
Then the whistle blew and cheers erupted.
The tournament was won and they were glad.

After the game Rich was acting funny.
He was dizzy, but not from postural hypotension.
He was thristy, but not because he was dehydrated.
And he was too tired to go to the dinner celebration.

When they came back he was still drinking
He looked worse, pale, ashen and gray.
Poor Rich was lost, confused and delirious.
He had forgotten what had happened that day.

He stood up, fainted, and then came back
Breathing hard, pulse fast, blood pressure low
Bruise near left diaphram painful as ever
" To the hospital." said the Doctor. "It's time to go."

Vital signs said he's missing 1.9 liters
His blood's in his lungs- forcing overtime
Not enough oxygen in, or CO2 out.
Makes the blood acidic like a lime.

The upper GI CAT scan proved to be normal
But the chest scan showed that something was wrong.
Density proves that Rick has a big problem-
His left lung appears only half as long!

When the results of the X-ray were brought in
Dr. Anderson told them to compare
The light was then turned on,
It was evident the left lung needed some care

This did not come as a shock
Rick had labored breathing and a dark bruise
The Doctor determined they caught it in time
and they had a procedure they should not refuse

The diagnosis was a hemothorax,
For there was blood in the plueral cavity
Rick's dad had brought him in the knick of time
any later and it would have ended in a tragedy

Rick needed a thoracentesis to relieve his breathing,
and a blood transfusion for his injury
they would require a follow up X-ray,
then he would be back on skates in a hurry.

Gabe Ting
Lindsay Mammarella
Melissa Rowland
Dan Millman

Here is a tale of a boy named Rick
Who received blunt force trauma from a hockey stick.
Even though collapsed was his left lung,
He got up to celebrate when his team won.

Rick returned to the hotel thirsty and tired,
If he was a professional, he would have been fired.
His father needs to renew his MD
Because Rick was suffering and Dad was too blind to see.

It wasn’t until gravity played a role
That to the hospital they took a stroll.
When his blood test came back at first site,
We could tell his pulmonary ventilation was not right.

His blood volume was low, his hematocrit was high,
And his heart rate was about to reach the sky.
His excess CO2 mixed with H2O
Which formed carbonic acid and lowered his blood pH as you should know.

Poor Rick, what should we do?
We’ll scan his thoracic cavity to get a clue.
A CAT scan showed his upper GI was normal but his chest was not;
It was full of liquid, really there was a lot.

The transverse picture showed doubled gray space on one side
Even from radiation that excess liquid could not hide.
Hmmm… what could it be?
Something with his lung? We soon shall see.

A correct diagnosis would require an X-ray;
The coronal picture showed more fluid in his left lung than in a bay.
Because Rick was hit during his activity,
We concluded he had excess blood in his pleural cavity.

We finally got it – left hemathorax!
Now is not the time to relax.
Since our diagnosis is done,
To the OR to fix his left lung!
First we insert a tube to drain the excess blood,
Which then creates a space for air to flood.
The second tube suctions that air,
And the lung inflates and is repaired!

Because of Rick’s initial macho way,
He almost let his left lung decay.
Thankfully we were able to treat him instead
Otherwise today Rick could be dead!

Anjali Gupta
Doug Behrens
Mark Brown
Maggie Digenero

Little Rick was the star of his hockey team
But one day, he wasn’t as healthy as he had seemed
He was skating across the ice, racing for the puck
Then some chump came up, and hit him in the gut
He fell down to the ice and got all confused
And doctor daddy came in, and said,
“Son, you’ve been abused.”
Then that evening Rick went home sick
Once again, daddy doctor said,
“Son, what symptoms do you exhibit?”
“Daddy, I’m tired and bleeding from the mouth
This bruise on the left side of my abdomen
Is making me pout
I don’t know what’s wrong
I’m starting to feel dizzy
Daddy I swear I didn’t drink
I’m not at all tipsy!”
“Son, you’ve been playing too many games
And you’re not drinking enough
You’re probably dehydrated
Here, drink some of this stuff.”
Into the oral cavity and onto the tongue
Past the uvula, but not into the lungs
Through the larygopharynx and past the esophagus too
Not doing too good, here comes number two
He was rushed to the hospital to get a diagnosis
“It isn’t too good,” was the doctor’s prognosis
Rick thought he was fine, and tried to rise
But fell back on his bed—it looked like his demise
“The ECG is slightly fast
His heart beat is racing
His blood pressure is slightly low,”
Said the doctor, while pacing.
“We know you’re dehydrated
We can tell by your hematocrit level
Just look at him,
He looks all disheveled!
Like a bum on the street, he’s got no composure
Look at the results
He’s even got low oxygen partial pressure
How acidic Rick’s blood pH is becoming
No H2O or carbonic acid to do any buffering
You’ve lost a lot of blood.
I think there’s blanching in your hand.
But I need more data,
We need a CAT scan.
What wonders Computerized Axial Tomography can show us
In a series of cross-sectional x-rays
Aha! His lungs appear to be in some sort of stress
Caused by his broken right rib cage
Let’s take a look at the x-ray of his chest. See all
this gray?
In fact,
It’s the collection of blood in Rick’s pleural space,
Oh my, it’s Haemothorax.”

Greg Rybicki
Keeley Russell
Erin Konrad
Shazim Uppal

There once was a kid named Rick
On the ice he was agile and quick
He was quite good at hockey
But got a bit cocky
‘Til his thoracic was jabbed with a stick

His dad was concerned for his homeostasis
And for this he had a solid basis
Rick’s respiration was weak
Perhaps there’s a leak?
Eventually he couldn’t recognize his teammate’s old faces.

After the game, at the hotel
Rick, alone, in his room would dwell
Rick was thirsty and tired
He strained to respire
Something’s awry, his roommate could tell.

Rick awoke from his slumber feeling poor
Where the blood in his mouth came from he was unsure.
" Something’s wrong with you Rick" his roommate mentioned
Then Rick experienced orthostatic hypotension
And he then collapsed flat on the floor.

Off to the ER, feeling sharp pain
His heavy breathing would not wane
His pulse racing like percussion.
Could it be a concussion?
Narrowing diagnoses would be a strain.

The Doctors at the hospital do an ECG
His heart rate was faster than it should be.
They questioned and prodded
but Rick just responded,
" It’s been hours and hours since I could pee."

His blood pressure was low and his blood volume too
But one thing that was high was PCO2.
His blood pH dropping,
His Hematocrit whopping,
But Rick just hoped for a room with a view.

The CAT Scan proved that his GI was all good.
But his left lung collapsed like a piece of balsa wood.
Rushed to be X-rayed, there was no time to be formal,
The Doctors determined the lung was anything but normal.
There was blood in the pleural cavity. This was understood.

The diagnosis the doctors now determined.
It was a left hemothorax for certain.
After the insertion of a tube and the stitching of the lung
After the blood transfusion Rick would be done
Without the surgery Rick would still be hurtin’

So Rick needs some rest and he’ll be just fine
And if not he’ll still be on the decline
Put on a flak jacket.
Rick’s dad’s in a new tax bracket
After paying for Rick to once again shine.

Mark Barineau
Marissa Campbell
Jenava Carty
Jason Chong

O Rick, O Rick tis ode is truly nice
It tells your story of injury on the ice
I wasn’t a cut, a jab, or a fall
Twas a brutal slam against the wall

After the fateful hit of the hockey stick
Your condition worsened and you became real sick
After doubling over in pain
We feared damage to your brain

There also was a bruise forming on your chest
The doctor suggested that you get lots of rest
You said you were tired and wanted to lie down
You weren’t yourself because you had a big frown

Your ravenous nature was quelled by your ache
You knew that dinner would be a mistake
Your dad thought you were fine, which was close to neglect
The events of the weekend, you couldn’t recollect

Your labored breathing commenced
Your thirst became immense
You lost consciousness for you blood pressure twas low
Off to the hospital you must now go

The results were in and didn’t look good
Your levels were low and weren’t as they should
No swelling in the abdomen region appeared
For twas only bruised and tender, but still much was to fear

Your PO2 was lower than it should be
Because your lungs weren’t working properly
Your hematocrit reading was slightly high
But your dehydration proved that it was a lie

Your heart was beating incredibly fast
For blood you needed was way due past
Blood pressure, blood volume, all too low
Internal bleeding caused your blood to flow slow

The incapability to discharge urine even after 6 hours
Must have made you angry and very sour
Nevertheless, you continued to endure the tests
For you knew that it would be for the best

In the GI image, the liver was large and the bones were white,
And everything else appeared to be alright.
But the chest scan, however, revealed a serious issue,
Cause there was a low density fluid where there should have been lung tissue.

It could be have been water, and it’s most definitely not mud,
So the doctors exclaimed “He has a collapsed lung and that fluid is blood!”
Soon after the doctors had a diagnosis to say,
The chest pictures arrived, taken by an x-ray.

Your lung was not healthy, it just didn’t look right.
In fact your left lung was almost out of sight.
A collapsed lung was the cause of it all.
It explains the poor tests results that we all saw.

Your condition is called ‘tramatic hemothorax’ as us doctors like to say
But given treatment and rest you will be on your way.
They knew they must empty your thoracic cavity of blood
Though not with the help of Vick’s Vapor Rub

They knew it must be done with a chest tube
To re-expand your lung without being rude
But first stabilization must occur
And pain medicine administered

At the conclusion of a fortnight of observation
Your release will be given as well as medication
The restrictions you must face are 4- 6 weeks
Of no playing sports to assure there are no leaks

While air and blood replaced the lung
More and more water begged your tongue
The organs needed the hydration
But did not receive Water’s participation

The blood pH into acidity dropped
For the water’s supply had stopped
A low blood volume was successfully achieved
As the blood load of the veins was relieved

To restore blood volume levels to a characteristic state
A blood transfusion would be needed to make you feel great
Over a longer period of time you will have to have check ups
To make sure you get sick with nothing more than the hiccups.

In conclusion we’d like to commend you for thy bravery
And send you off with a gift of gourmet gravy.