{"id":6062,"date":"2026-10-11T16:46:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T05:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/?p=6062"},"modified":"2026-10-11T16:46:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T05:46:54","slug":"about-haemostasis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/2026\/10\/11\/about-haemostasis\/","title":{"rendered":"About Haemostasis"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>3 Minute, 1 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

About Haemostasis<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Written by Summer Pan
Edited by Kyren Lavan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was an empty,
Aching, 
Hidden
Hole in my heart,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And somehow or another,
Someone has found it
And haemostasised it for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I. Vascular Spasm<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      <\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      It starts with a conversation
      (it always does),
      Question and response,
      Sending curiosity-stimulated 
      Nerve reflexes into
      Overdrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Vascular spasm;
      Sudden, involuntary;
      I didn\u2019t know it then, but we had lit a spark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Chemical factors;
      Thromboxane, serotonin;
      Bring me to life at the onset of dawn.
      The sun plays centre-stage at the sternal angle,
      Yet all I can watch
      Are the colours it revives
      And your silhouette against them
      On the beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      And all I can sense
      Is the empty,
      Aching,
      Hidden
      Hole in my heart,
      Contracting,
      Constricting,
      Reducing blood flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      II. Platelet Plug Formation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        My focus is disrupted,
        Akin to endothelium.
        My sympathetic nervous system,
        Overrun, and I can\u2019t help
        Checking for a word or two
        From you every second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Every second,
        Platelets swell,
        With radiating pseudopods that
        Attach to exposed collagen,
        Like how I\u2019ve become attached to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Proteins contract and release
        Adrenaline, more serotonin,
        When you make a promise to me,
        When you minimise my blood loss,
        When you say goodnight,
        Sleep well,
        Sweet dreams,
        I drown in ADP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        The platelets accumulate,
        Layer after layer.
        ADP and thromboxane,
        Molecules that you leave,
        Linger with every glance we sneak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        And finally,
        We take the metro home together,
        My head on your shoulder,
        My heart in your hands.
        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        And that empty,
        The apex beat at the midclavicular line,
        Aching, 
        Discovered
        Hole right there,
        Has been sealed with a platelet plug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        III. Coagulation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          <\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          But wait! 
          That\u2019s not enough,
          That\u2019s not enough to stem the blood,
          That\u2019s not enough to end this poem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


          You stimulate
          The coagulation cascade,
          Wrecking my sleep schedule when we
          Stay up late,
          Texting Factor XII, Factor XI, 
          Factor IX and Factor VIII,
          Activating Factor X
          To form a prothrombin activator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          When that catalyses 
          Prothrombin into thrombin,
          And thrombin catalyses 
          Fibrinogen into fibrin,
          You accelerate our reaction with
          Calcium,
          And a smile that strikes
          My favourite chord(ae tendinae).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Fibrin monomers polymerise,
          When I realise how often you check
          That I reach home safe.
          <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Stable,
          The fibrin meshwork
          Of platelets, red blood cells, and plasma
          Adheres to the 
          Hole in my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


          And within it,
          A new song pulses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          IV. Clot Retraction\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            <\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            I have a dream,
            I hope will come true (Murphy, J. F. (2015). Lava [Song]. Walt Disney Records.)
            That when we compare 
            The sizes of our hands,
            You\u2019ll fold down your phalanges,
            And let actin and myosin
            Contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            You ask to go together
            To something that suits 
            Neither of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


            And that pulls the edges of
            My damaged vessel closer,
            Leaves me light-headed with
            Anticipation,
            And the blood clot shrinks
            Like silk in the wash,
            Exuding serum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            I ask you to be my muse,
            And laugh when you
            Don\u2019t know what that means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            We tiptoe around
            The obvious, 
            Watching how gradually, 
            Gradually,
            Blood loss ceases,
            Gradually, gradually from the
            Hole in my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            V. Fibrinolysis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              <\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              You tell me you\u2019re not good with words,
              But the ones you say 
              Risk dyspnoea 
              Because you take my breath away.
              Sitting under the shade of
              An Australian banyan tree,
              Tissue plasminogen activator is released;
              Plasminogen becomes plasmin,
              And, SOCA,
              Plasmin lyses fibrin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              You know I\u2019m good with words,
              But I haven\u2019t told you 
              I\u2019m not good with compliments \u2013
              Yet I doubt that will stop you because:
              You\u2019re genuine;
              You make me feel safe;
              You make me laugh;
              You stimulate haemostasis,
              So that gentle,
              Quivering, 
              Physiological
              Blood clot in my heart
              Marks the entire organ as
              Yours to keep.<\/p>\n

              \n
              \n \n
              \n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
              \n Happy <\/div>\n
              \n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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              \n Sad <\/div>\n
              \n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
              \n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
              \n Excited <\/div>\n
              \n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
              \n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
              \n Sleepy <\/div>\n
              \n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
              \n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
              Angry<\/div>\n
              \n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
              \n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
              Surprise<\/div>\n
              \n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              There was an empty,
              \nAching,\u00a0
              \nHidden
              \nHole in my heart,<\/p>\n

              And somehow or another,
              \nSomeone has found it
              \nAnd haemostasised it for me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,9,39,1],"tags":[18,27,60],"class_list":["post-6062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-originals","category-poetry","category-uncategorized","tag-feature","tag-original","tag-poetry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t