Posted by Commander Brad Walker (Chief Of Staff/Second Officer) in Primary Sickbay- Private Consultations

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Alexis Kane (Assistant Chief Medical Officer) in Primary Sickbay- Private Consultations

Posted by Commander Brad Walker (Chief Of Staff/Second Officer) in Primary Sickbay- Private Consultations
<snip>
Brad stood back during the intimate moment, eyes glued to the monitors that assured him the sedative had taken effect with no side effects, and the Captain was now getting some much-needed rest. He let out a sigh of his own, wondering what it was about Command in general, and this ship in particular, that drove the four-pipped to perpetual overwork.

She knew Walker would get her if she was needed or if Dira woke up. She had to trust the people and the process here. This weirdly, was almost comfortable territory given how much she used to deal with this exact life when she was with her mother. Her eyes scanned the readouts above Dira’s bed. Some of it was very familiar, and some not. She took in one more long deep breath and let it out before she turned and left Dira to her rest.

Haven, CoS

“Commander,” Brad said quietly, following her out and letting the door to the suite close behind them. “A word, in my office, before you go?”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Perhaps she should not have been surprised that Dr. Walker wanted to talk further, but it had and her brows rose in response. “Of course Doctor.” She replied as she followed him to his office. She felt the tug of being away from Dira, the worry she felt for her partner weighing heavily on her heart. She seemed almost resigned to whatever he want to say, afterall, she had spent a great deal of time with doctors in her life. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Haven, CoS

“First of all, I want to make sure that you’re all right as well,” Brad said. “I won’t say not to worry, because it’s a natural reaction, but to be confident that we’re taking our best care of Dira.”

“Oh!” she said in reply, showing surprise in her face. Usually she wasn’t very expressive around people on the ship, but here, she let down her guard. She knew better than to hide anything from a doctor, especially one who was caring for her loved one. She smiled softly to him, “I am very confident that you are. I am worried. I don’t like that there is something unknown plaguing Dira, but I know she is in good hands.”

He then sighed. “I also want to know if you’ve seen anything in her actions or behavior lately that could help us figure this out.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Zoi sighed and shook her head. “I wish I could say yes, but I honestly do not recall anything unusual.”

Haven, COS

Brad sighed as well. “Well, it’s something. It means it’s not something obvious, but it’s something,” he said. “It mostly likely rules out anything viral, at least. Those symptoms tend to be very noticeable.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

OOC: Brandon, if you want someone else to bounce the situation off of, Jenn confirmed that you can have Brad page Alexis and bring her in. She page IC and add her character to the thread tags. ~Linds

OOC: Thanks guys :D

IC: Once Zoi left, Brad stewed over the case file for a while, before sighing. This was not a one-man case, even when he’d been a hot-shot diagnostician at Starfleet Medical he’d had a team to assist and debate ideas with.

=/\=Walker to Alexis Kane. Could you stop by my office please?=/\=

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

=/\=On my way Commander.=/\= Alexis was off shift. She paused at her quarters and let Frigga inside before heading to primary sickbay. She entered and went straight to Walker’s office. She pressed the chime and waited.

Lt. Cmdr. Kane, AMO

The door slid open without a word. The overhead lights were off, with some dim side-table lamps providing the only illumination in the room. On the back wall was a patient file, but the patient’s name was obscured. A fairly impressive list of symptoms, and already-tried treatments, was on display.

“Dr. Kane, thanks for coming,” Brad said from a position near his desk, but not behind it.

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

“Of course,” Alexis said crisply. Her attention was immediately drawn to the chart on the screen.

The medical info showed the following:

Patient Symptoms:
Fatigue, brain fog, aches (especially in the areas of previous injury), insomnia (difficulty falling asleep), unexplained dizziness, weight loss.

Testing:
Out of the series of tests (Complete blood panel, white cell count, standard hormone levels), everything was normal compared to patient’s baseline except for:

White Blood Cell count: slightly elevated
Albumin: Slightly Low
Total Protein: high globulin (resulting in an abnormal albumin/globulin (A/G) ratio)
Liver Enzymes: Normal, except very tiny increase in ALT, but still within a normal range
Thyroid- Low thyroxine (T4)
C-reactive protein test- moderate elevation
Cancer markers: negative
Antibody test results: negative for all the conditions they were testing for. Whatever it was, it wasn’t a specific autoimmune disease, even though it was making the body react as if it was.

Brain scan which showed cortex swelling. Patient just recently collapsed in Sickbay. They were holding their head and then passed out. Scan showed raised cortisol levels, a low BP and arrhythmia. The arrhythmia might be tied to the dizziness symptom.

A psychic attack was deemed unlikely by the patient (a telepath) given that their psilosynine levels were normal and the symptoms still occurred even when telepathic contact was not possible. So far the team was looking at overarching systemic causes, but it was suggested that perhaps it could be something on a smaller level.

~Helpful Computer

“My first reaction is this could be Seronegative Autoimmune encephalitis with hypothalamic involvement. But given the patient is telepathic, it could be Psionic Feedback Encephalopathy (OOC: something just made up. Autoimmune encephalitis specifically triggered by telepathic overload or external psychic interference.) However all of these scans have been very broad. We should run deep cellular scans,” Alexis stated.

Lt. Cmdr. Kane, AMO

Brad cocked his head and considered the thought. Neurology had never been something he’d ever seriously trained in, beyond ‘how-to-recognize-and-treat-a-concussion’, nor was it a specialty of any of the prior treatment team as far as he could remember. It was certainly an avenue to investigate.

“Would the patient need to be awake for those?” Brad asked. “Because I just put them on a 12-hour sedative about 90 minutes ago.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

“No. It would be much faster, since that patient is less likely to wiggle and move and be restless. The tests for both Seronegative Autoimmune encephalitis with hypothalamic involvement and Psionic Feedback Encephalopathy are quick. The Deep cellular scans will take much longer, so the patient would be more comfortable asleep,” Alexis said.

Lt. Cmdr. Kane, AMO

Brad typed out the orders for the tests. All three could be conducted over the next eight hours, with the results on his desk for review before Dira awoke from her sedative-induced nap.

“I’ve ordered the tests,” he told Alexis. “They should be ready for review by 0800. That should give us about two hours to review the results before the patient’s sedative wears off.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Alexis nodded, “I’ll be back before 0800 then. Is there anything else, Dr?”

Lt. Cmdr. Kane, AMO