Getting up to date. - medical physicals 1

Posted on Fri Oct 6th, 2023 @ 1:29am by Lieutenant Callisi Veera & Lieutenant JG Phinix Vander

2,504 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: New Home
Location: Sick bay

ON:

The doctor sat at his desk combing over the laundry list of things that required his attention. He had managed to squeeze in a few exams today and was currently expecting his first of the day. A one Veera, Callisi. A Ts'usugi... He'd had to do some reading up on that race. He hadn't come across one yet in his career. Still he felt confident. Chief operations officer.. so far he was pleased with her past medical updates. He saw that she had a prosthetic eye, a notepad been added to the record about a certain sensitivity emotionally in regards to it. To which he took note. His nurse was waiting for the operation officer to arrive. Then he would introduce himself.

Prompt and even a minute or two early, the doors swished open and in walked Callisi. She was everything her record and file said she was: Confident in stride and stance, determined in her glance.

Broken.

"I have an appointment for an exam." she informed the answering charge nurse, before being announced to the medical staff. "Name, please?" they asked, and Callisi replied in kind, "Callisi Veera. Head of Operations."

The nurse Martha Touk brought the Ts'usugi back to the private exam room. She took vitals and weight and height. The standard really. Then left to grab the doctor.

Callisi did not have to wait long before the doctor came in padd in one hand he looked up from the file with a genuine smile.

"Hello there, I am doctor Vander I will be your physician today. The nurse informed me that you are due for your 2-20 booster and the new Carlitian flu vaccination. But before we get to all that fun why don't you take a little bit of time to tell me how you are doing? Are you sleeping alright? Any discomforts or concerns you'd like to go over?" He asked motioning for her to take a seat on the exam chair so he could do a body scan to check her vital systems for any abnormalities in comparison to her last few exams.

She worked with the nurse through the usual checks, then she sat as offered, returning the smile with a soft smile of her own. "Thank you for seeing me, Doctor." she offered, getting comfortable on the exam table. "I've always slept well enough. Comes with the term of service. Sleep anytime you can, anywhere you are. So, well enough." she offered, then brought a hand up to touch her temple, or rather where her temple would be if she had them, behind her prosthetic. "There's a dull throb here, usually just in the morning, though if I had to guess it's not so much 'going away' but more 'I get used to it'."

"Aside from that, nothing outside of the normal wear and tear of life." she left out the 'life after service'. Her record showed it, as did her records. Three years of service.

"Hmmm." The doctor remarked stepping closer he pulled out a pen like scanner and ran it over the indicated area. "May I? " He asked indicating that he'd like to touch the area with his hand.

Touch. It came so easily and natural to most, if not every species in the galaxy. Every, except for hers. "If you must, Doctor." she allowed, moving her own hand out of the way and moving to bring emphasis to the region in question.

Trying to not be anymore invasive than he already was, he reached out and felt around the area probing gently with the tips of his fingers. After a few moments he stopped and scanned one more time with the pen scanner.

"The good news is that there doesn't seem to be any reason to worry. Just some mild irritation. Sometimes with the prosthetics over time such issues come up. Nerves flare up and cause some pain and discomfort. It is one of the reasons we try to avoid prolonged use of prosthetics when possible. Still I read in your file that you are objective to replace it with a more biological solution. Which is of course your perogitive. However I would like you to perhaps reconsider the idea of a biological replacement sometime in the next couple of years to prevent worse possibly more painful such flare ups. In the meantime I will treat it before you leave. I'm glad we caught it before it caused you any real distress this time." The doctor said typing in the need for a neral regeneration kit in his padd so the nurse could bring one. "Any questions so far? I'm going to be laying you back in the chair for a full scan in just a moment. I'll also need some samples once that's done. Just to double check the scans. I like to be through and double check my work just encase something goes wrong with the equipment." He said in a way of hinting towards the issues with the updates and the chaos it caused.

She listened. She'd heard it before, and when the exam had halted she shook her head, "I understand the risks my choice has, and that the road ahead is not the most comfortable." she began, "I... prefer that something false present as false. The notion of something pretending to be real, be authentic... doesn't sit well with me. Thank you for understanding."

"No questions so far, nothing that I haven't been told before. I'm looking at a lifetime of eventual discomfort and routine check ups. I appreciate your attention to detail and dedication." with that, Callisi turned to lay down on the examination table. She reached up slowly towards the simple eye patch that covered the prosthetic, "Will you need to remove the patch?" she asked, with the first hint of hesitation in her voice since the exam begun.

"Not for the scans, I will have you remove it for the treatment of the ocular nerves though. Just lay back and try to relax this takes a few moments." The doctor said with compassion. He did understand where she was coming from and respected that choice. Still he felt heart sick that she'd be dealing with alot of pain in the future as a result. Still it was her body and her choice.

As she lay back the table lit up and a soft light shimmered over and around her. The doctor went from head to toe with his little pen scanner taking notes here and highlighting a few things there. Finally after a few minutes he finished. "You can sit up when you are ready. So I can see you put on a little bit of weight. Nothing alarming but it puts you close to the line for federation standers. My suggestion is to just try to get a few more work outs in during the week when you are able to. Heart rates a bit faster then your usual, however that could be due to the issue with your oculus nerve and sleep issues. Still nothing to fuss or worry about.". The nurse came in with a oculus regeneration kit and the kit to take the samples. "Now I know this is usually and invasive but the nurse is going to draw some blood and do a couple swabs. Then before you leave I will need you to pee in the little cup there and leave it with my head nurse." He said all this while he was double checking the settings on the ocular repair kit. He wanted to be sure it was in perfect order.

She sat up as offered, and at the conclusion of the basic scans she scoffed, "I blame the softer life of Starfleet, but I can coordinate a few extra trips to the simulation gym." she concluded, necessary. It was true, though. Starfleet life was much softer compared to life back in the home Navy. Then again, the threat was more real back home. Real, and constant.

A dry chuckle at the nurse's role in this, "Ahhh, the BPEC's. Blood, Pee, Ears, Cheek." she gave a nod, and took a moment to find the medical restroom for whatever sample she'd need to offer. His diligence and professionalism put her at ease. There was no judgement, no condemnation. Nothing to force her to reconsider or second guess any of her options. These were her choices.

As he concluded his technical inspection of his tools, she reached up to undo the straps of her eyepatch. A simple piece of cloth, hiding the object beneath. Sitting in an array of rings to allow for smooth motion was a prosthetic eye. Blue anodized exterior to keep the unit free of ruin and tarnish, while allowing it to rest in the socket without truly aggravating the scar tissue within. A bright point of blue light indicated where the pupil was, and it lined up perfectly with her living eye. The design of the optic was elegant, as equally concerned with how it LOOKED as with how if PERFORMED. Alien hands, and alien minds, designed this, though from the looks of it it was not designed for HER specifically. There were too many differences in her aesthetic and its to make this a custom job. Still though, it was nice to look at.

"Ready." she offered.

Taking up the instrument he'd inspected he put on the scanner glasses so he could trace the nerve in question and get a solid reading as to the area of inflammation. He carefully aimed and began the therapy to ease it back to it's normal range. He used the low setting not wanting to irritate any of the surrounding tissues. It was delicate work and lasted several minutes. Finally he smiled and put the instrument away. "Well we're done with the fun part. I must say that is a very beautiful prosthetic I've never seen one quite like it. Now if you don't have any other questions for me I will leave you to Martha hear to gather those samples. And no worries I had her practice on myself just recently to make sure she's up to specs on it all. She's gentle as a butterfly. Still if needles make you nervous we won't force you to get the draw."

Martha smiled sweetly, she was the same nurse to check Callisi in. "Just let me know when you are ready."

"It's Dalacari made." Callisi offered as she returned the patch, covering the elegant filigree and form back into darkness. "Our oldest allies. Back home." she gave a moment or two to check for immediate pain. "No pain, all seems well. I'll keep you informed doctor. Thank you." before she turned her attention to the nurse. "No concerns, no allergies. Ready."

The doctor headed out to go do update his report. Leaving his patient in the nurses capable hands.

Martha ticked off the information about no allergies and motions for Callisi's right arm where she put a special band around the upper arm before she sprayed the area just bellow the elbow and checked for a good vein with her gloved fingers, and gently moved the soft hairs on the forearm to reach the skin bellow. She cleaned the skin carefully before producing the needle. It was quick and painless the sign of a practiced hand even though such practices had not been used in starfleet for a number of years if ever. She released the upper band and filled two viles then removing the needle she secured a gaze pad over the wound with another bandage that wouldn't pull the soft fur like hair but would still keep the pressure on the spot needed. "Keep that on for at least 10 minutes to avoid bruising okay. Next I'm going to swab your throat and then each nostril. They tickle a bit." She says reaching back to place the vials in the marked packs and grab the swabs. "Sorry about all this. The doctor doesn't like to put his faith much in technology. He's a bit old fashioned that way. Especially after what happened recently. He takes the care of the crew seriously. Go ahead and lean your head back let's get the worst over first."

"There's something to be said about the old ways. This seems a bit archaic but, if this is the doctor's request then by all means." She paused, remaining still as th e nurse went through the rounds. Blood, in vials. How archaic. "It's been a while since someone brought out my own blood." she joked, trying to make light of the situation.

"So, seriously, up my nostrils? He does know they're much narrower than his, yes?"

Martha held up the extra small swab. " Yeah I'm afraid so. He had these special made for you "

Callisi gave a smirk, "If I had known he went through the extra trouble just for me..." she mused, before leaning her head back for the nurse. "Can't be the worst thing that I go through..."

"That's the spirit." Martha said as she took the swabs as carefully but quickly as possible. " Doctor is very detailed when it comes to those under his care." She put the samples away and took the last one out for the throat swab.

The look on Callisi's face said it all. Having a swab up the nostril was not a pleasant experience for her. She rubbed her nose after the experience, "Back of the throat?" Callisi inquired, before she shook her head and opened her mouth for the nurse.

When confronted with the unusual biology of an alien certain things start to make things more bearable. Comparisons, for example. Something that looks like a cat, the unprepared mind might expect them to exhibit qualities of a cat. Something that looks like a dog, same.

The Ts'usugi looked like rabbits, so one might be forgiven for expecting certain traits. When Callisi opened her mouth for the nurse, Martha would see a selection of teeth not quite fit for a rabbit to have. Sharp ridges, pointy midrange teeth, the telltale sharp incisors, but these were not the teeth of a peaceful herbivore.

If it phased Martha she didn't show it much to her credit. She took the swab and the only mention of the teeth was, "Oh I'm supposed to remind you that Doctor Donatelli the dentist might want new scans of your teeth next week. ". She put the swan in it's tube and then handed the Ts'usugi a cup with a lid. And a plastic bag with a couple wipes. "There's a restroom just through the door there just leave the sample in the white basket when you are done. I'll come get it. Then your free to go."

Callisi took the swab like a champ, hardly a reflex to speak of. Then she claimed the bag and cup and left to handle the final specimen. "Thank you nurse. Do take care." was all the rabbitess had. Get this test out of the way...

 

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