Posted by Lieutenant Achilleas Petrakos (Scientist) in Side sim: Milling about

Posted by Lieutenant Solal Segal (Oncology and Immunology) in Side sim: Milling about

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Alexis Bonner (Assistant Chief Medical Officer) in Side sim: Milling about
Posted by… suppressed (13) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<snip>
Solal was a happy memory for him? That made Solal undeniably happy. He tried to suppress it though. He needed to maintain his control. He glanced away from Achilleas, studying the table and empty glass. “Even full-blooded Vulcans who do the Kolinahr have emotions. All Vulcans have emotions ‘under the surface’.” But they had better control than he did. Then again, he hadn’t even been taught by a Vulcan. “I don’t struggle with such things, when my control isn’t affected by external factors.” It was a bold faced lie, of course, and Achilleas would likely know it. Solal always struggled with his emotions. A lot. He just denied it, it was why he avoided counselors. He still hadn’t met Achilleas’ gaze again.

Achilleas let the denial go. This wasn’t exactly the time to call out a friend on their BS and it wasn’t the point he was trying to make anyway. He just hoped that his sincerity would get some traction for his point instead of devolving into an argument.

Achilleas looked at Solal in earnest and noticed that his distress seemed to be increasing and his breathing wasn’t getting better. Perhaps this topic wasn’t the most relaxing to have and he should have kept things calmer. “Hey you’re not looking so good. Just focus on my voice and try to relax. I’m going to keep talking about inconsequential things but let that wash over you.”

Sci Petrakos

“I’m fine!” Solal snapped, frustratedly. His frustration seemed to evaporate quickly and he then went, “Sorry.” Achilleas was trying to help. Solal did not want to shout at his friend for that. Solal was not anxious, but losing control of his emotions and becoming frustrated and angry. Even so, Achilleas seemed to be helping as Solal nodded and closed his eyes, trying to focus. He tried to pull in a deep breath, but instead found himself coughing into his elbow. Then he tried to relax, resuming the same troubled breathing pattern.

~ Solal

Achilleas didn’t get upset or angry at Solal’s outburst. He wasn’t an empath but he could feel the frustration radiating off of Solal. He was incredibly close to calling for Doctor Bonner but he didn’t want to further upset him. If his breathing didn’t improve in the next few minutes then he would do so regardless of Solal’s feelings. Hypoxia would have a much more detrimental effect the longer it was left untended. He shifted a little closer on the couch and began to rub Solal’s back in an attempt to further calm him and help. At the same time he watched Solal closely to see if his condition changed, specifically with color change to his lips.

Sci Petrakos

Achilleas’ actions seemed to help. Solal’s eyes stayed closed and he began to relax into the couch. His breathing did not improve. He was lucky it wasn’t getting worse. His lips looked normal, at first, and then the colour changed, the regular colour becoming less vibrant, tinged with a coppery color. Signs of lack of oxygen for a Vulcan. “What happened… To talking… about things?” Solal asked, eyes still closed. He surprised himself, the way he was missing the conversation.

~ Solal

Achilleas tried to keep a mild expression on his face, not that Solal could see with his eyes closed, as well as a calm inflection to his voice. “I want to keep a conversation going but you’re starting to get hypoxic. I’m going to call Doctor Bonner now and you’re not going to object or get stressed out. Just keep relaxing and try your best to get oxygen in.” How well Solal followed those particular directives remained to be seen, but he tapped his badge regardless.

If it was that bad, Bonner likely already knew. But Solal still tensed and shook his head slightly, eyes popping open. “I’m fine… I don’t get… stressed.”

=/\=Petrakos to Bonner, I have Solal Segal visiting in my quarters and his breathing isn’t doing well. He got terribly winded looking for me and hasn’t been able to catch his breath. Currently hypoxia is setting in as his lips are shifting to a coppery color.=/\=

Sci Petrakos

Bonner was already on her way. The continuous monitor Solal wore had already alerted her to a problem. =/\=I’m almost there. He needs to recline back, if he isn’t, to keep the air way open and allow more oxygen in.=/\=

Under 2 minutes later the door opened, on a medical override, and Bonner entered the room. She knelt down on the floor and opened her kit. In quick precise movements she had a mask over his face and a canister clicked into place and the medicine filled the space. She set the oxygen level high to get more into his system. Then she flipped open her tricorder and moved the scanner over him. “Slow breaths, Solal. Get the medicine into your lungs.”

Solal had already been reclined, still laying back with his head on the couch’s arm rest. In a quick moment a mask was placed over his face, uncomfortably pressing into his skin. Then he heard the click of the med canister. He nodded to Bonner. “Was hoping… It’d fix itself.” He said in the mask, his words muffled by it. “I was… lightheaded… too.”

The scanner showed more of the same. His body was attacking his lungs, hence the breathing fit. It was lucky it wasn’t worse. His oxygen saturation had dropped pretty low, but that was no surprise given the signs of hypoxia. His heart rate was high as well.

Bonner nodded, “Your O2 is very low. That would explain the light headedness. And it appears your lungs have become a new target.” She reached into her kit again and started preparing a cocktail of meds to counteract the attack.

“The lightheadedness started… Before the breathing issues.” Solal replied, fighting the urge to remove the mask to make speaking easier. Where had Achilles gone…? Oh, there he was, Solal spotted him out of the way.

She looked at Petrakos, “How long since it started?”

Bonner, AMO

Solal’s breaths began to deepen and ease after a moment as the meds helped his lungs open up. He wanted to answer the question but the truth was he wasn’t sure how long it had been. And the air finally really getting in felt good.

~ Solal

Achilleas had moved out of the way so Bonner could more easily get to Solal. Now that a professional was here to take the lead on treatment, his calm demeanour was replaced with worry and anxiety. It took a couple heartbeats for him to realize that Alexis was looking at him and asked a question.

“Oh! The hypoxia started setting in three minutes and seventeen seconds ago. The labored breathing has been for about twenty-two minutes. When I noticed he was having difficulty initially, I uh, picked him up and carried him here from the psychology wing.” Achilleas answered concisely and at an unhurried pace to make sure he didn’t stumble over his words or leave anything out.

Sci Petrakos

“In future if the attack lasts more than 5 minutes call medical.” She looked at Solal, “22 minutes is far too long to wait. Have him sit, don’t move him, it makes the body work harder.”

Bonner, AMO

Achilleas nodded in acceptance. “Most of that time he was reclined on my couch. I will definitely be more proactive if this happens again despite his protests. I’m sure you’re aware of how stubborn he can be.” He smiled softly at Solal to try and soften that statement. True though it may be he didn’t want to proverbially kick his best friend when he was down. “All of this is new to me since I’ve just returned. Is there anything else I should be looking out for when we have future visits?”

Sci Petrakos

“Anything out of the ordinary, anything at all.” Bonner looked at Solal. She was willing to answer the question but could not give Petrakos anymore details without Solal’s consent.

Achilleas gave an amused look at Bonner but didn’t comment. Anything out of the ordinary was easy to say but incredibly hard to look out for when dealing with a half-Vulcan who would stubbornly insist they were fine.

Solal nodded to Bonner when she looked at him. “It’s okay to tell him.”

Alexis nodded, “Difficulty breathing, increased heart rate, dizziness, sweating, slurred speech, suddenly loss of muscle control causing stumbling or falling or dropping things, mid to lower back pain either or both sides, sudden headache, difficulty staying awake or staying asleep. Impaired cognition, wild mood swings.”

Solal had already mentioned difficulty sleeping and Achilleas had witnessed his mood swings already today. His heart rate was increased as Alexis saw on the scan. Solal wanted to protest that not all of those things meant he needed medical called, but at the moment he wanted to just breathe.

“To be stubborn is a human idea.” Said Solal stubbornly. He looked away from Bonner when she said he’d waited too long. His breathing had eased considerably as the meds worked on his lungs, and he was starting to sound better. He looked at Achilleas like he was expecting his friend to come back over by him.

~ Solal

Achilleas saw the look Solal gave him but was confused for a moment as to what it meant. Fortunately he was only daft for that moment as the meaning dawn on him. Taking the cue he skirted around Bonner and knelt down next to the couch by Solal’s head, still out of the way in case Bonner needed to intervene but within easy arms reach.

“What were you doing when the lightheadedness started? It could be an early warning of dropping O2 levels or a new symptom.”

Bonner, AMO

Solal thought back. “I was in my quarters. It got much worse while I was looking for Achilleas, but it started before that. Comes and goes in waves.” He took a deeper breath after finishing what he was saying.

~ Solal

“You could’ve called me.” Achilleas said in a careful tone to not sound accusatory. “I would’ve come to you without any problems.”

Sci Petrakos

Alexis ran the scans again and began pulling data from the monitor. Perhaps a low or high blood pressure incident. “That,” she looked at Petrakos, “Lt is unusual. For Lt Solal to come looking for you when he could have called or asked the computer for your specific location.” She also took a small blood sample to run another metabolic panel.

Bonner, AMO

Achilleas didn’t really understand the logic behind that. Sure that would be more expedient but they tended to run into each other without trying to far more often than not. It seemed his common sense of things needed a readjustment but the question now would become whether Solal would confide the whole truth when prompted or the convenient half-truth like was his preference. “I don’t know that I would have called him if the circumstances were reversed, but I get your point and will be aware of this for next time.”

Bonner nodded conceding the point. “Under normal circumstances that would be perfectly fine. But with his breathing problems he can quite easily over do it. A walk to meet you is good, wandering the entire ship to find you leads to, well…this.” Alexis checked the canister, it was almost done. “Also, and you should be aware that Solal is immune compromised. Be on the look out for any sign of infection. Fever, phlegmy cough, wounds that won’t heal. He should also stay away from patient areas and large groups. Unless he wants to wear a mask like this while he is out, which he has not wanted to do.”

Bonner, AMO

“I needed the walk anyway,” Solal argued, though that did not explain why he did not just ask the computer for Achilleas’ location. An example of the impaired cognition Alexis had spoken of. That, and the fact he’d forgotten he should not be in patient areas like the lobby of the psych wing. Solal let Alexis take the blood sample.

The monitor showed a slight bump in heart rate and blood pressure, Solal’s mood swing in his quarters, and then a little while later, a much larger increase in heart rate and blood pressure that hadn’t gone down until after Solal had been resting on Achilleas’ couch for several minutes. His heart rate was still higher than it should be now, but not as high as it had been.

~ Solal

Achilleas wasn’t feeling very helpful just being nearby. He knew his presence was likely reassuring but he felt a bit powerless just being there while Alexis tended to his friend. It also didn’t help that things were being pointed out that he should’ve noticed or been privy to the severity of and it went blithely unnoticed by him. Was he a good friend if he didn’t even know how severely distressed Solal was? Clearly he should’ve called for Bonner in the corridors instead of hefting Solal like a sack of potatoes back to his quarters. Was he blinded by his desire to get as far away from the psych wing as possible? An incredible sense of guilt was spiraling in his head as the thought of harm coming to Solal due to his negligence began to percolate.

Sci Petrakos