Posted by Lieutenant Daphne Frankenstein (Chief Medical Officer) in Sickbay - Dr McCall checks in

Posted by Cadet Dr Alex McCall (Doctor) in Sickbay - Dr McCall checks in

Posted by Lieutenant Daphne Frankenstein (Chief Medical Officer) in Sickbay - Dr McCall checks in
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Stepping across the threshold and in to sickbay, Alex immediately felt somewhat at home in the familiar surroundings, the comforting beeps and trills of medical equipment, so often the background noise to his life, as reassuring to him as morning birdsong would be to another.

He glanced about, taking in the layout and how the chief medical officer liked to arrange things, quietly filling away a few changes he would suggest once he was more settled in.

“Hello? Doctor?” He called, unable to see the senior officer that his briefing PADD told him to meet here.

Cadet McCall, MD

“Back here,” a voice called out from one of the sickbay beds. The voice sounded a little bit strained and there seemed to be another voice talking in a hushed whisper creating the dull white noise of someone talking to a patient. “If you are here for a check-up take a seat. If you are a doctor I need you back here stat.” The voice had the calm control of someone who was in the middle of something important but the tension only those in the medical field would understand as I need help.

Alex quickened his step, tossing his holdall in to a chair as he passed it, the call to duty so ingrained as to make the actions automatic. A couple of years in a busy ER department had gotten him quite used to dropping whatever sandwich, coffee, or nurse he had been holding when he heard that tone of voice. As he stepped closer he felt the slight tingle of the auto-sterilisation field do it’s work, the familiar feeling instantly concentrating his mind on the task ahead as he got his ‘game face’ on.

As the person entering sickbay came around the corner, they would see the medical chief hunched over a small object on the table. At first glance, the size and shape might lead one to think it was a baby or small child yet this was a cadetship and not one with children. The other person in the room was blocking the entering medical cadet’s view of the patient on the table.

Daphne quickly glanced up and saw the man standing there was in blue and felt a sigh of relief. “You,” she said, “I need you to get a set of mico clamps. Bring the 1 cm and the 5 cm ones. They are in the cabinet behind me, left side, the third drawer down.” Blowing a lock of hair out of her eyes she directed her attention to the other person in the room. “Nancy, I am going to have him switch out with you.”

Alex nodded his understanding , moved quickly over to the cabinet, and with quick deft movements selected the paediatric clamps, glad that whoever had set up the theatre had done so in a fairly logical and standard manner.

As with all guests of patients, NE Nancy shook her head wide-eyed but before she could protest Daphne shook her head. “Nancy he is a doctor and Timmy is going to be fine. I need someone with better skills than dissecting to help me get the ball bearing out of his esophageal cavity. He is going to be fine but when he comes up next to you I need you to hand him the clamp and go get a cup of coffee in my office. Glancing up at the cadet, Daphne locked eyes with the man. “Ready. Count of three. One…Two,” she led and then waited for the cadet to indicate three and that he was switching with NE Nancy to help complete the surgery.

Daphne Frankenstien CMO

“Three!” Alex slipped quickly into position, easing NE Nancy to one side as he did so, gently but firmly. Alex locked eyes with the Ensign and gave her his best reassuring smile.

“It’s ok Nancy, I’ll take it from here.” Alex quickly ran his eyes over the available scanning data, assessing the patients condition, and then turned a questioning eye on the other Doctor.

“Yes but Timmy is starting to panic,” Nancy said leaning around the doctor. “He has anxiety with new people and experiences.”

Nancy, Timmy said in his mind, how calm would you be if you realized the thing you swallowed was not a blackberry but a ball bearing so yeah....kinda not happy here. For the rest of the occupants in the room, only the slow blink of the turtle’s eyes would indicate the creature was feeling anything at all. He was not squirming or flailing even being on his back with his feet straight up in the air.

“Don’t panic Timmy. For the love of God stay calm,” Nancy almost half shrieked as she moved forward slightly blocking the light McCall was using to create a shadow where he was working. “Don’t go to the light. Stay away from the light!” Nancy wasn’t sure if turtle’s saw a light but if they did, she wanted Timmy nowhere near it.

Daphne was about to say something about Nancy needing a hypo and to chill the hell out but restrained herself. Having a hysterical guest in medical was not a new phenomenon. It was better for her to gauge how McCall handled a distraught scientist over a turtle. One day, and unfortunately, it could be a screaming patient with an equally screaming guest trying to distract him from his job. Every cadet on the ship knew the textbook maneuvers. What this cruise was mainly about was dealing with the unseen things school didn’t teach you.

“Timmy…Timmy are you still with us,” Nancy stroked his head screaming at the turtle increasing her volume as most people did when panicking.

“So what do we have?” Said Alex, in the clipped, precise tones of a professional. His patients and colleagues had always found his soft voice, well spoken British accent, with just a slight lilt, courtesy of his Native Edinburgh, to be comforting in a stressful situation.

Cadet Alex McCall, MD

“Well, Nancy said Tim here was wandering the lab and began to make retching sounds, then rolled over and stopped flailing. She brought him to medical. I scanned him and found the ball bearing obstructing his airway. I sedated him but his vitials are worsening. I mean it seems like it. My turtle anatomy and physiology is a bit rusty,” Daphne let out a small chuckle. “I thought I could remove it but I don’t have enough hands.” Daphne had made the first incision and was holding the area open and suctioning. Can you get in there and remove it?” The operation was simple except for the fact it was on an impossible small scale.

Daphne Frankenstien CMO

“Should be simple enough, I’ve a fair amount of experience in removing foreign bodies from places they aren’t supposed to be.” Said Alex, trying to get a clear view of the ‘patient’.

“Understatement of the year.” He thought to himself, thinking of some of the more.... exotic… cases he had had to deal with that had required a fair amount of discretion on his part.

“Nancy,” He said, making eye contact again with the slightly hysterical ensign, his tone firm, “I need you to go over to the console and write down for me everything you can remember about little Timmy, here. Likes, dislikes, the temperature of his terrarium, salinity of the water, anything like that, it will be a great help when we plan his recovery.”

Busy work assigned, Alex set about treating the patient. he called up 3D computerized tomography of the turtle in question, rotating the image that hovered in mid air until he could clearly see the small bearing lodged in the critters throat, blocking the esophagus and noting the associate swelling that was starting to impinge on the trachea that was likely the source of the patients breathing difficulties. Rather than continuing with the mini-trach started by the other Doctor, Alex instead activated the medi comp and instructed the computer to create a miniature tube shaped force-field , similar to those created by the SIF of a starship that had suffered a hull breach, and activated this inside the trachea. With deft movements, Alex slowly expanded the field, creating a tunnel to allow the turtle to breath, his eyes watching the vital signs for any improvements.