Mary Rita Schilke Sill, a retired teacher and a Granger resident, surprised her son Josh Korzan this Christmas with a poem about him.
Josh, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from Clay High School, also writes poetry. Soon to be a medical student at Rush Medical College in Chicago, he wrote a poem about working in the ICU last Christmas Eve. Besides medical school and his writing, Josh also participates in powerlifting and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Both Josh’s and Mary’s poems appear below. In Josh’s poem, ROSC is short for “return of sponaneous circulation” while EEG is a test for abnormalities in brain waves.
Christmas in the ICU
By Josh Korzan (copyright 2021)
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all on the floor
All the nurses were doubled, tripled … or more
The bags were all hung, from IV poles with care
And bright Christmas colors, on the scrubs that we wear
The patients were vented, sedated in bed
EKG on their chest, EEG on the head
As the doctor and team, then started to round
A code blue alarmed, with its heart-wrenching sound
The epi was given, compressions began
The doctor directed, and called out the plan
Once ROSC was achieved, but a minute or two
The sharp, piercing sound, of another code blue
The team then did scramble, to save another man’s life
So he may go home, to his children and wife
And so this is Christmas, in critical care
The heartbreaking tales, of the sorrow we bare
If home with your family, give thanks to the night
Not everyone is so lucky … some are still in the fight
One of a Kind
By Mary Rita Schilke Sill (copyright 2021)
Just out of high school he was one of the few
A Marine, a patriot of the red, white and blue.
He served with his brothers from the Corps
Heralding freedom of untold more.
After a business degree and a job in L.A.
There was something still missing at the end of the day.
In a watershed moment he changed his life’s mission
And began his quest to become a physician.
To be a maverick — he would strive to aspire
With discipline, dedication and prolific desire.
No corners cut, no task does he shirk
You see, he undaunted by arduous work.
While he’s a paragon of strength and grit
He always holds space for light-hearted wit.
He lifts more than weights, he lifts spirits too
And breathes the philosophy of Jiu-Jitsu.
Before the big things, he gets the little things right
Taking time to love — well, always sharing his light.
He’s one of those guys on whom you can depend
He is loyal and true — the best kind of friend.
He’s a wordsmith whose verse is a work of art
Often reflecting the gold tucked in his heart.
He lives his life with intention and zest
Nothing detracts him from being the best.
He’s a stand up man, one of a kind
A better human you cannot find.
I’m prouder than proud to call him my son
Inspiring. Unrivaled. Second to none.