Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in Temp Quarters- Assessing the Situation

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Leah Hart (Nurse Practitioner/Counseling) in Temp Quarters- Assessing the Situation

(snip)

“I’d be a poor replacement for what they lost. They don’t deserve that.” Roman was known for being quite confident and self assured. To hear him be… So self critical and hateful, would be a shock to anyone that knew him.

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

She removed her hand and sat more upright watching him for a moment. “Well, let’s call them and ask, shall we?”

~Leah Hart, NP

Roman sat straight up himself and shook his head. “No, no! They can’t see me like this! Not here, not… No!”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Sitting there on the floor with him, Leah gazed at him with curiosity. “Like what? A person who is in pain and needs his family?”

~Leah Hart, NP

“On a psych hold? Looking like this?” Roman said as if it should be obvious. “Don’t make me suffer such indignities. It would only be cruel.”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

She tilted her head and gazed at him intently. “If you had gone through a surgery for an injury or illness and were recovering in a medical facility, would you welcome visitors?”

~Leah Hart, NP

“Ehm…” Roman smiled awkwardly, a little sheepishly, remembering his recovery after he’d been electrocuted. “It… depends?”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Hart nodded. “It’s not unusual for physical ailments to be treated differently than mental health. Which is unfortunate, but reality. For some, anything affecting the mind is seen as meaning we’re weak, that there is something wrong with us fundamentally. But the reality is that part of being a sentient being living in this universe is that we experience different things and not all of them will be pleasant, or leave us better off. The way I’m looking at even this eval with you right now is much the same way would we would look at a physical ailment with a cause we can’t identify yet. We can pick out the symptoms and see how they are affecting you, but getting that full picture takes time.”

“I have had many patients who had to remain in care awhile. And one of the best boosters to mental health is having social contact with those that uplift you. That might not be Jay’s parents, but given how your current situation is related, I do think they could help. Does it have to be right now, no. But I would like you to consider us calling them soon. What that looks like exactly we can discuss, but this is one of those courageous steps I think you know deep down you need to take.”

~Leah Hart, NP

Ugh, more blah-blah about how courageous all this was. It wasn’t, not to Roman, not for himself. “We’ll discuss it.” He relented, not wanting to say yes.

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

She simply nodded. It was good enough for now. “I want to circle back to this idea that Jay deserves to be here more than you do. What do you think Jay himself would say to that?”

~Leah Hart, NP