Hard Life
Lyrics to Anaesthetists Hymn by Amateur Transplants.
Everybody wonders what anaesthetists do
while the patient is asleep.
There were times were he wondered whether it was worth it, reassuring the patients who came in that everything would be fine, that he would be watching them to make sure they stayed alive and unconscious throughout the operation.
He didn't think many believed him.
Everybody wonders what we do for three hours
while that machine goes beep.
Everybody reckons we drink coffee and we gossip and we're generally subversive.
Everybody reckons we do crosswords and sudoku's and we chat up all the nurses.
For however long the operation takes, the moment the patient is unconscious and they nurses and extra staff help to keep the patient breath and prepared for the operation itself. His main job is done, he just needs to stay at the side and watch as the other's do the more important job.
He supposed that was why his brother kept teasing him, telling him that his job was really easy, that the moment thet patient is under he can leave and have a coffee.
"Ya get easy money for what you do bro!" Alfred had declared and he had bristled.
He had studied hard for this, it wasn't easy, it wasn't easy at all, he worked hard extremely hard! His job might not be viewed as important to many, but damn it if it wasn't for anaesthetics the people would be biting down hard on a bit of wood.
But do you really think that's all we do?
Well let me tell you now it isn't true.
He was always so close to shouting at his brother for saying such things, for daring to say that he had it easy. Easy! Like that idiot knew what hard work was!
Cause we sometimes check the screen,
and every now and then we write stuff.
And if we have to intervene,
we inject a bit of white stuff.
He carefully watched the heart monitor and looked at the patient, noticing a bit of movement. Wihout a word, he moved towards the patient and gave another dose of the drug, to keep them under. The doctor nodded at him and continued on with his work.
Matthew sat back down, not seeing any reason to offer assistance right then.
And we offer to alter the light,
or the height of the bed.
Or fiddle with the radio, change the CD,
we even check the patient occasionally.
And if they move, we turn up the vapour,
and then we go back, to reading a paper.
Cause when the patient's asleep,
we just sit and listen to the beep,
we just sit and listen to the
Matthew was careful when listening to the beeping sound, he sound it could be soothing to him, or it could also make him weary, but it also depended on the patient themselves, if someone was fit and healthy then the chances were they would be fine, but people with health problems make him weary and careful.
He glanced over the doctors and nurses, deciding that maybe he needed to do something else.
Maybe he should have studied something where more action was going on instead, because he didn't feel like he was getting enough fulfilment from his job, he needed to try and get something else, to expand his vision.
Once upon a time I took pride in my job,
but now I think it's time to depart.
Cause I just sit here every day
and listen to blips of the heart