[Intro — spoken]

Bernard had worked with pipes his whole life...

He knew exactly what happened when pressure built up in a weak spot...

He just didn't know it was happening inside him...

[Verse 1]

Bernard retired at sixty-eight with a workshop in his yard,

Built things with his hands his whole life — never found it hard,

Seventy-one years old and going for a scan,

Checking on his kidneys — that was always the plan.

Radiologist called the doctor — said look at this here,

Something in the belly — wide and getting near,

Bulging in the biggest vessel running through his core,

Bernard never felt a thing — never knew before.

[Pre-Chorus]

Bernard smoked for forty years — atherosclerosis deep,

High blood pressure all his life — vessels couldn't keep,

Father had the same thing — found it late one night,

Tearing pain that took him fast — Bernard knew that fright.

[Chorus]

Bernard's got a weak spot — vessel wall has thinned,

Pressure building every day — from deep inside the wind,

No pain yet — no symptoms — silent growing threat,

Bernard's got a weak spot — one he can't forget.

[Verse 2]

Doctor measured carefully — four point eight centimeters wide,

Said we watch it carefully — monitor inside,

Below the threshold for repair — keep the pressure down,

Check it every six months — watch it in this town.

Bernard quit the cigarettes — that day — right then,

Blood pressure medication — every morning when,

Two years later — five point five — threshold had been crossed,

Time to fix it now — before the vessel's lost.

[Bridge]

Surgeon said two options — open or through the vein,

Tiny metal tube inserted — holding up the strain,

Less recovery — less cutting — most would choose this way,

Bernard woke up in recovery — same day.

But some locations need the bigger surgery still,

Anatomy determines — that is always the skill,

Either way the goal is patch before it tears,

Bernard's vessel sealed now — free from all those fears.

[Outro]

Bernard builds things in his workshop — every day,

Blood pressure medication — keeping things at bay,

Scans every few years now — making sure it's right,

Bernard's vessel holding — sealed up tight.

“Bernard’s Story”