proof of global cooling

rene says make a fist
pump it, make a fist, ties
the rubber beneath the patient's
elbow, taps the top of the hand
inserts the iv port while dr marlie
stands beside the saline pump
munching pretzel snaps from the vending
machine. the patient's mouth waters
her eyes follow the doctor's nimble fingers
as they move from the bag to her mouth.
/can i help you/ doc asks nurse /sure
twist that off/ duty done the doc grabs
the red chart and lays it on the patient's
legs, begins to flip thru the test results
informing the patient between
crunches. the nurse inserts the saline
drip into the port, applies tape. dr marlie asks
the patient /do you have any questions?/ the patient
nods no. well, i'm ready when you are rene.
i'm about to administer the pre and we have
contacted dr rosh, he should be here soon
for the general. good! snaps marlie , with a british clip
and she wisks out the curtain, leaving a gap which
rene turns to close, smiling. / too funny. doc coming
into pre op with food. that cracks me up/ she says
to the patient, who smiles wanly , trying not to think
of food, or water or non sterile docs wielding scalpels.
rene inserts the liquid valium into the small plastic
tubing near the patient's arm, who watches the clear
liquid as it plunges from 20 cc to 10 cc to a new
set of curtains, and voices saying how are you feeling
do you have any pain? a bit of cramping? i'll get you some meds
for that. doctor marlie says/two units of plasma , i think that
will suffice/ then speaks to patient whose eyes are closed
but answers are forthcoming. no. no pain now. yes i'm cold.
hi i'm elizabeth, your post op nurse dear, can you open
your mouth for this , inserts the digital thermometer. when the beep
comes she says, you're cold, we're going to put the blower
on you. i have to piss says the patient. elizabeth
gets the bedpan, leaves the curtains closed. she says
the doctor wants 2 units of blood, stat, it's been twenty
minutes is that stat? the patient is gray as a corpse, core temp
dropping. elizabeth gives the bedpan to an orderly
drapes the blower's soft expandable tubing around the patient's
body, like police tape, from foot to head to foot, turns
on the switch and for the first time in weeks--
ever since cold fronts began moving in waves
across the midwest, snow for thanksgiving, snow for xmas,
snow for new years, and this morning frost brittling green lawns
freezing oranges--the patient is warm, falls asleep
in the arms of blanket fresh from a dr yer while blood
hangs from the iv station now, turning gray to pink as if skin
was a rogue icebe rg from antartica, doused with spume
from the pierced ozone.