Posted by Lieutenant Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) in Sacred Heart Hospital- Lt. Gov’s Appt

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Sacred Heart Hospital- Lt. Gov’s Appt

Posted by Lieutenant Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) in Sacred Heart Hospital- Lt. Gov’s Appt
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“Let’s start with it on. I’d like to see how it fits and what your posture looks like with it first.” She asked Dasca to stand, sit, twist, and bend. All fairly basic PT eval movements. Fayth took several readings of her back, making note of spine position and muscle tension and strength, range of movement, and any pain or discomfort Dasca was having.

Eeela slipped off the bed and took off her jacket, draping it on the end of the bed. The anti-grav brace whirred every so slightly as she moved and it was clear it made her movements smooth. The fusion and brace meant she didn’t have as much flexibility in her spine, so twisting and bending were restricted, but what movement she could do was fluid. But bending caused a mild amount of pain. As did sitting. She had to force her posture straighter because if she slouched at all, there was mild pain.

The scans showed that the fusion was still solid, but there was very mild compression of the disc between vertebrae L1 and L2, the place where the artificial bone connected with her natural spine. It was causing some inflammation.

The nurse returned and passed Fayth a blood draw hypo. “I’m going to run a basic blood panel to get your current base line.” It was a quick press to Dasco’s upper arm and a hiss as the vial filled. “Jevra, I want to get some microtome images of her L1 and L2.” Jevra took the vial to take to the lab and then bring the microtone scanner. Fayth reached into a drawer and pulled out what looked like a miniature pencil size version of an engineering spanner. “Let’s see if we can adjust the brace so you can sit a little easier. Do you sleep with brace? How is your sleep?”

“I take it off for sleep- it’s too uncomfortable otherwise. Not that it seems to matter. I… well, sleep and I have a mixed relationship right now. Some days are fine. Others not so much. I try though, since bouts of insomnia tend to make my symptoms worse.”

“Have you noticed anything that consistently makes your sleep worse? More pain or fatigue, your mind unable to ‘turn off’ doing your exercises too late or too early?”

“Stress,” Eela said with a light laugh. “But if I’m having a bed pain day then yeah, sleep is fickle. I do meditate often as it helps my brain calm down, but it doesn’t always help.”

“How are your PT exercises? Are they still helping? Are they harder or easier to do?”

Fayth, SFCMO

“Depends. My schedule is all mucked up, though I did my best on the way over. But it’s honestly going to be chaos here as I settle in, but my health is a priority, so no lectures on keeping on top of it. I already know it.” Eela sighed. “You’ll have to tell me whether I need to increase the frequency or not, but honestly this new job is going to be busier than being a starship captain was and I can’t have half my days filled with medical appointments.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Fayth smiled, “No worries there. Our physical therapist can come to your office or home. Help make adjustments there, provide you with any equipment, and help you determine a routine that works for you. Are you able to lay on your stomach? I’d like to get a look at your back without the brace.”

Fayth, SFCMO

“I can, yes. I usually sleep on my stomach actually. I find it easier,” Eela said. She folded her shirt up, tucking it under her bro for the moment while she turned off the tiny switch on the power cell for the anti-grav unit, and pulled the velcroed straps that secured it around her torso. She set the brace to the side, and braced herself for a moment to get her balance before she moved to slid onto the biobed. It required strength that she had, but without the brace her movements felt a bit more clumsy. It irritated her to have to be so cautious, but falling was not a useful outcome.

Fayth was near to hand should she need help, but knew how important independence was and let Dasco set her terms.

On her stomach, Dasca relaxed, breathing deeply, though if she took too deep a breath, she could feel it push against her back and that hurt. “Do what you need to. And don’t worry about hurting me, I’ve been through worse.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Jevra knocked softly and entered carrying the imaging scanner. Fayth took several images of L1 - 2 area and then Jevra loaded them into the computer. Fayth set the biobed to scan and monitor her circulation. She watched for any areas of paleness, discoloration, or coldness that might indicate poor circulation to the area.

The compression of the disc between L1 and L2 wasn’t terrible and reversible, but only if they could relieve the pressure and keep it off, otherwise, Dasca was at trick of needing the disc replaced. Normally the brace alleviated this issue, but was not doing the trick for some reason. As a resulted the blood flow to the area was slightly less than usual, but only by a small amount. At this point it wasn’t seriously, but if not dealt with, would only get worse.

“Jevra prepare a hypo of anti-inflammatory combo beta, 250 cc.” Her hands were gentle and warm as she slowly felt along the spine. “Eela, I have a rather strong form of empathy. Would it be alright with you if I utilized that while I examine your back?”

Fayth, SFCMO

“Go for it,” Dasca said. “I’m an empath and touch telepath myself, so I understand how it might work for you.”

Everything felt more or less normal from the surface, but it was clear that Eela felt pain around the compressed disc, and also towards the base of her spine at the sacrum and along her iliac crests. It was glaringly obvious that Dasca had been doing more sitting than usual lately. And despite the pain she felt, she also had a tight grip on showing it. She never winced and just breathed through it.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.