Ok, a confession. I actually wrote this one a bit over five years ago, right after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA to the initiated). But only one other person has ever seen a draft of it before now (miss you, Ros), and it fits the jargon prompt to a T. My apologies to the shocked; your regularly reserved Rebekah will be back after this brief msg.

Oh, yeah?
You write down that I’m damaged –
RA, mod to sev –
then hand me a fistful of Rx
and a card that says,
“Come back 2 wks, f/u.”

You’ve taken note of my DOB, SSN,
TxDL, Member ID, and Group #,
as well as my ht, wt, temp, and bp.

You’ve sent me to the lab for
C-RP-IH, CCP IgG/IgA-LC, and HLA-B-LC;
then on to X-ray: SI jts, 2 vws.

Don’t waste words on the pt;
you don’t have to – you’re the MD,
this is your SOP, your MO.

Well, fine. See ya,
2 wks, f/u.

~ Rebekah Choat