Posted by Lieutenant Commander Alexis Kane (Assistant Chief Medical Officer) in Side Sim Me and my BFF (Tag Alexis)

Posted by Lieutenant V’alura Belmont (Scientist on Medical Leave) in Side Sim Me and my BFF (Tag Alexis)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Alexis Kane (Assistant Chief Medical Officer) in Side Sim Me and my BFF (Tag Alexis)
Posted by… suppressed (29) by the Post Ghost! 👻
V’alura kicked her legs while she sat at the end of a bio bed. As much as she’d love to recline back she spent far too much time laying down or otherwise prone on whatever soft surface she could find. Constant fatigue and exhaustion meant she couldn’t exercise the way she used to. Day by day she grew weaker as muscle mass degraded. How long could she go on like this? Until she could no longer walk because her weakened legs could not support her own weight anymore? When she could no longer sit up on her own or feed herself? V’alura turned to face Alexis, “Have you seen the latest fashions out of Paris?” She asked, conversationally though her words were broken by soft gasps and wheezes. “I’ll admit I’m rather. . . intrigued by the theme. Fashions of the future.” It wasn’t a novel theme. Humans have constantly dedicated time and creativity towards predicting and anticipating what the fashions of a hundred years could look like. “Designers seemed convinced artificial leather will. . . make a glorious comeback.”

V’alura Belmont, Sick Scientist on Leave

Jt’nal raised the head of the bed for V’alura. She could sit back without laying down. Alexis prepped a breathung treatment and slipped the mask over the scientist’s face. She began running the day’s scans. The comment about fashiins went right past her. “Anything concerning you today? Any new or worsening symptoms? Anything better?”

Kane, AMO

V’alura sighed as the mask began its work. She now looked forward to her breathing treatments, they were the highlight of her day. Stars above she was so done being sick. “Fatigue all the time. Breathing’s about the same. Chest pain either worse or about the same. I swear I can feel my lungs opening and closing.” She shrugged, “Did you meet that new security officer?” She tried for a giggle but it came out sounding like a frog choking on a wood pipe, “Quite handsome don’t you think? Reminds me of an old friend of mine. . . from Juliard. He does action movies these days. Seen any good movies recently?”

V’alura Belmont

“You can have extra breathing treatments if you need it. You just need to page us or come in.” She scanned over V’alura again. “You are showing some decreased muscle strength. I am going to put you in for some light PT. Nothing overly strenuous, but it will keep your muscles healthy. I will approve aquatherapy as well.” She started on a white cell and antibody count to see how the immunosuppressant was working.

The new security officer? “Lt. Chalmers. Yes, I met him when I did his intake physical.” She honestly had no idea what V’alura found attractive, and Alexis had very definite opinions on what she found attractive. A brief smirk tried to show itself. Instead she dead panned, “Have you seen the Head of R&D? You should meet him. He is beyond attractive.” Then as if she said nothing at all, Alexis returned her focus to her work.

She ordered Jt’nal to fill a hypo with V’alura’s daily meds along with a vitamin supplement for the fatigue. Alexis didn’t socialuze at all, but she knew often patients rambled on out of nerves. “I watched a documentary on the newest procedure for repairing the vestibulocochlear nerve.”

Kane, AMO

Aquatherapy sounded nice. V’alura always loved swimming. Lots of fun memories of summer vacations going to the beach or mountain lakes. Of riding horses and taking breaks in the river to cool off. V’alura grinned, “He’s handsome too. Seems like the bossy type, but in a good way.” The kind of person that knew what they wanted and took no bullcrap, “I’ll take my chances with Lt. Chalmers though.” The Lt. seemed more easy-going and sociable which V’alura liked.

Somewhere in the back if her mind she almost rolled her eyes. This chatty young social scientist would find him bossy in a very bad way. Though she filed away that she agreed he was handsome as an oddity. Most people did not see Kane and think ‘Handsome’. Dangerous - yes. She was sure Chalmers was a much better bet for her. Kane would eat her alive not to mention what his wife could do to her. Alexis’ brow went up in surprise at herself.

“Oooh, is that the one with the surgical robot? With the microscopic tools and the new ocular camera lenses? I was. . . reading the latest developments on robot assisted surgeries.” Though V’alura didn’t specialize in medicine she did know computers and robots. Lately she’d been reading up on medical technology to have more to discuss with Solal and to have more relevant conversational topics with the heavily medical crew of the Ogawa.

V’alura Belmont

Alexis nodded. “It is, though most surgeries are robot assisted these days. The early tests are hopeful at best though. The procedure isn’t showing any significant success.”

Kane, AMO

“That’s true, I guess that was like saying, ‘say did you see that new space ship show?’” V’alura managed a small raspy chuckle. There were so many ‘space ship’ shows out there these days across a variety of space faring cultures. “Probably because. . . they’re not addressing the hardware. So many of these new experiments push software or new technology but don’t. . . reassess the current hardware that operates as the foundation. . . of the machines.” Whew, that was so much to say in so little time. V’alura hoped she made her point. So often she saw new technology or software advances pushed forward to see what new ground could be broken without consideration for the humbler mechanics that provided the base of the robots. Everyone so eager to see the new thing do it’s science thing and make everyone go ‘wow’! Often forgetting that the underlying machines, the work horses of their domain, also need testing and updating. Though, that work isn’t as glamorous as inventing the next big thing.

V’alura Belmont

Alexis understood what she was saying. “It’s not the robotics. They think it is, but it’s the procedure. They are not attaching the new vestibulocochlear nerve correctly. They are crossing the synapses at the connections for the cochlea, semicircular canals, and the vestibule. Each of those connections do specific jobs and must be placed correctly, not randomly. Until they figure that out the procedure will continue to fail.” She said it with absolute certainty that she was right. “Technology is only as good as the user.”

Kane, AMO

“You’re a sharp one, aren’t you?” V’alura complimented. She too had been focused on the robots, though, could any one blame her? Computers and machines were her science bread and butter.

Yes, Alexis was sharp in that way, but the compliment didn’t seem to phase her. She was smart. She was born that way. It was hardly worth while to compliment her on something that was a part of her DNA.

“Have you written them yet?” She asked, because V’alura would have. In a well-written email with the data and research to back her point of view up.

“Of course.” Alexis sounded as if she might be offended by the question. “I expect they will reply in a day or so when they need help working it all out.” It sounded conceded, but it was just the reaction Alexis was used to getting.

“And that’s true to a certain point.” V’alura’s breathing stuttered as her chest seized and she entered into a painful wheezing-coughing fit. “Goodness. . . hit me like a bronco. . .” After she caught her breath again she asked, “Ever ridden horses?”

V’alura Belmont

Alexis put a hand on her shoulder, pressing her back onto the biobed that she reclined. “Reclining will release some of the pressure and strain so your lungs don’t work so hard.” She watched the O2 monitor while the fit passed. “No, I have never ridden a horse.” Who had time for such things?

Kane, AMO

There was no resistance from V’alura, who folded like a bad hand of poker against the biobed. V’alura wheezed, her poor vocal cords making rattling, horse sounds that no one should be making. Oh hell, V’alura squeezed her eyes shut. Reclining did feel better physically for her but she hated it. Hated, hated, hated, hated being confined to the same spot, the same position all day long. Staring up at the ceiling until she’s dreaming about the darn thing. “You’re missing out. . . “V’alura kept her eyes closed, envisioned Wyoming in her mind. Big open skies and soft fluffy clouds, “I can teach you. Used to do rodeo as a teen. Became. . . barrel racing champion.”

V’alura Belmont

Alexis had no idea what barrel racing was, nor did she have any desire to be around horses. “I prefer dogs,” was her only comment.

Alexis watched the manitors as the treatment took effect her eyes narrowed. “I am going to start you on budesonide 4 times a day. I’ll set it up so you can use it where ever you are. The emergency treatments aren’t keeping the inflammation down. Regular doses will help and make you more comfortable.”

Kane, AMO

“Oh! I love dogs,” V’alura said, suddenly awash with a number of memories of her old pet dog from when she was a young tween. So many memories: good, sad, funny, nostalgic all seemed to rush forth at once and pushed against one another for attention first. V’alura’s eyes squeezed shut against the mental onslaught. Nausea rolled through her and her chest tightened. She blinked rapidly for a moment, taking some 15 seconds to refocus on Alexis, “. . . ‘orry, what was that?”

V’alura Belmont

Alexis watched her and the readings. She looked at her face and the sudden off color flush, the change in vitals. “How often are you having chest pains non related ro your breathing and nausea? I will give you something for both.” She ordered a hypo from the nurse.

Kane, AMO

“All the time?” V’alura said, “Chronic. . . fatigue and. . . pain.” At one point that dull ache simply never left. A constant as steady as her thoughts that she learend to deal with. Pain meds didn’t seem to affect it much, just lessen the ache into a barely there thrum but never gone. “Sometimes. . . worse. Sometimes. . . not so bad.”

V’alura Belmont

“Where is the pain? Lungs, heart, muscular, ribs?” That would tell her where to look closer while she started running a scanner over V’alura’s chest cavity.

Kane, AMO

“Lungs,” V’alura said straight away, “Chest. . . Mostly there.” Everything felt centered around her lungs and chest. Her lungs seemed to hurt the most, breathing painful and chest constricting so tight that it seemed she could never suck in enough breath. “Throat. . . from all the coughing. Wheezing.”

V’alura Belmont

Alexis slid a hypo over a vial and dialed in the dosage and pressed it to V’alura’s neck. “Anti-inflammatory. It should ease some of the muscular and tissue pain. I’m going to get some new imaging of your lungs. We may need to do some tissue regeneration to repair some damage from all lung issues.” She moved away and returned with a machine and set it up over the biobed to take images of the lungs.

Kane, AMO

Her mouth went slack for a moment, a sort of sighless-sigh since she didn’t have the breath for a proper one. Cheer up, girl, the show must go on. “Alright,” V’alura said, mustering as much cheer as she could. Day after day of medical treatments can wear a person down but V’alura was no ordinary person. She was a big girl and needed to act like one and take on each day with grace and thankfulness. Not everyone gets sent to the high-tech medical ship for care and treatment. “Image. . . away!”

V’alura Belmont

Alexis nodded as if that was the only possible answer that V’alura could possibly give. She had already keyed in the commands for the imager so she simply pressed the start button and the machine began its work. “Have you eaten, Lt? I can have the nurse bring you something as soon as we are done with the imaging.”

Kane, AMO

V’alura laid back and tried to relax as the medical machinery was moved into place. She listened to the soft thrum of machinery and kept herself distracted thinking about circutry and hardware, “Hmm? Oh, I. . .” She couldn’t remember when she last eaten, but she didn’t feel hungry. “I’m not hungry,” She said. The results returned on the screen were not good, showing signs of severe damage across her lungs. The damaged tissue hindering her lungs ability to stretch and expand and further impacting her ability to breathe.

V’alura Belmont

Lack of apatite was very detrimental. “Your body must have energy to heal, Lt. You must eat. If you have no apatite, I will give you something to make you hungry. I would rather you eat than have to give you infusions.”

Alexis looked at the scans as the nurse moved the machine away. Then she turned a very stern and disconcerting look on her. “You have been downplaying your symptoms, Lt Belmont. If I had not taken these scans and you continued to downplay, your body would have suffocated to death. The damage can be repaired, but will take some time.”

Kane, AMO

“I can try,” V’alura said, already thinking about the energy the act of eating would consume. She’ll watch a movie or something while eating. Something to distract her from the depressing energy calculus and her own lack of appetite. “But no appetite stimulants,” She said, not nearly as firmly as she liked, but that was one medication she could never accept. I’ll make myself eat if I must.

Alexis nodded, “Alright, but you must eat or we will have to give you infusions.”

V’alura blinked, caught off-gaurd by the doctor’s reaction to her results, “What?” Panic spiked her heart-rate, “D-downplay? How bad is it? What were the results?” She’d never been nothing but honest about how she felt, answering questions when asked and describing her current ailments. Some days were harder than others but she’d lived with all these symptoms for so long that the pain and aches were her new normal. The baseline that she compared each day and challenge against but were things far more dire than she imagined?

V’alura Belmont

Alexis moved a monitor over, “This is a picture of a healthy lung,” then she switched the images, “and these are your lungs.”

Kane, AMO

“Oh god!” V’alura gasped, which suddenly and violently shifted into a coughing wheeze. She was horrified. Is that really how bad things had gotten? Living each day in chronic pain and with labored breathing must have gradually shifted her scope of normal. “I’m the frog-” She gasped for air, “In the goddamn pot.” The words got caught in her throat but she tried to plead with her eyes that she never tried to hide her pain, or downplay it. All she tried was to stay positive and make the most of a bad situation.

V’alura Belmont

Alexis brows went up slightly. “Breathe into the mask, don’t talk. Jt’nal get her a smoothy.” The Vulcan nurse hurried off, “Eat with a spoon, not a straw. Your lungs can’t do that. Then we will set up the tissue migrator and do some repair to your lungs. You should feel significantly better afterwards.”

Kane, AMO

V’alura nodded, words just didn’t seem there. She focused on breathing into the mask and attempting to reign in her wild heart rate. A smoothie and spoon were set beside her. V’alura thanked the nurse with her eyes, conveying what she could not verbally. A straw sounded a lot easier than using a spoon for small sips but who was she to doubt the good doctor’s advice. Better start mentally preparing herself to eat now.

V’alura Belmont

Alexis left her alone to eat, but the nursing staff was very attentive and hands in about caring for V’alura and making sure she was as comfortable as possible.

Lt. Cmdr. Kane, AMO

It took V’alura what felt like ages to eat. Constantly starting and stopping to rest and work herself up to the next bite. The act made harder still by her lack of appetite but she pushed through. The last thing she wanted was appetite stimulants. Too many unpleasant memories associated with those. When she finished her last bite she laid back with a heavy sigh. Maybe she can sleep through the tissue migrator, she felt like she could sleep for days.

Lieutenant V’alura Belmont Scientist on Medical Leave

When she had finished eating the nurse summoned Alexis. “This will take awhile. I want to go slowly. Your body has been struggling and accepted the struggle as normal. I do not want to shock your system. If you can sleep, go ahead. When we are done, you will feel much improved. However, this is not a cure. We will need to continue all the other treatments until we find the underlying reason for your autoimmune disease and how to treat it.”

She moved the tissue migrator into place and set her eyes to the microscope lenses and got started.

Lt. Cmdr. Kane, AMO

V’laura tipped her head to nod her consent. A medical treatment she could sleep through? Why that sounds perfectly peachy to her. Even of there was no cure yet anything that helped her feel better was more than welcome. V’alura tried to relax into the bed, eyes closed and breathing even. When she wakes up again she’ll be a better person and maybe be feeling well enough to have a proper friendly chat with Dr. Kane.

Lt. Belmont Scientist on Medical Leave

While V’alura tried to rest, Alexis worked steadily. She was thorough and patient. They had plenty of staff, and so there was no reason for anyone to interupt her. If they did, they were ignored, unless it was truly an emergency.

The procedure took almost two hours. Alexis paused several times to allow Belmont’s body to adjust. Alexis did not want her to get a rush of adrenaline and endorphins from the sudden increase of oxygen and drop in pain and struggle. It could also suddenly drop her blood pressure too. When she was done, she was satisfied with the improvement, though she knew it would happen again. She needed to press the Vulcan medical counsel for the data she had requested. She removed the equipment and left Belmont to rest while she could. Her body certainly needed it.

Lt. Cmdr. Kane, AMO

Bump