Posted by Civilian Karilan Massat (Owner, Quill and Parchment Books) in Eela’s Apartment- Processing (TMODJ)

Posted by Civilian Jal’na of House Duroc (Head of Physical Therapy - Sacred Heart Hospital) in Eela’s Apartment- Processing (TMODJ)

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Eela’s Apartment- Processing (TMODJ)

(snip)

“No work, at least not in person. You shouldn’t be sitting straight up, period. It would be best for you to be supported in this position as much as possible. I am, honestly concerned about putting your brace back on.” Jal’na said. “Your brace is supporting where it us supposed to, but will cause problems where you are hurting now and that in turn will cause problems else where. I would really like to put you in an anti-grav room until the new problems have resolved. But I know own you won’t do that.”

“I strongly suggest, if you must work, you do it via comms. You should not be moving around too much. An anti-grav chair with a harness would be durable I suppose.”

Jal’na, Lady Duroc

Karilan thought for a moment and then said “We both know she isn’t going to not work. So what about a compromise?” and they looked back and forth between the two. “You could fit her with an exoskeleton like the ones used for paraplegics. Those are designed to take, what, seventy to eighty percent of the wearer’s body weight and distribute it to the standing surface? And the newer models fit under clothes, so there wouldn’t be any publicity issues to speak of. Would that work?” Karilan was no doctor, but as an Engineer? Few were their equal.

Karilan

Her mind was an instant flurry of thoughts underpinned by a swell of frustration. “An exoskeleton would still not move as smoothly and it takes time to learn how to function with one. I don’t need long term solutions because this is temporary.” She pushed herself gently upright and bent her head from one side to another, testing how that felt. It was definitely a bit better than before. “I just need time for my body to remember that it didn’t go through what Dash’s did. I’m not working today, but I am supposed to go see Ambassador Mathis, as a kindness, and also because she’s meeting with the Vren Ambassador tomorrow. But if you’d prefer me to be resting, I can talk to her from here.”

She closed her eyes, quelling a thread of panic that she wasn’t sure of the source. When she opened her eyes, she looked at them both with determination and resignation. “The compression is always going to be a problem. The progress we made up until yesterday was, as my orthopedic surgeon made clear, is as good as I’ll ever be. Do I hurt right now? Yes? How much of it is my own? I don’t know and I might not for a couple more days. I’m not going to go out of my way to make it worse if I can help it, but the reality is that I had a referral to a specialist who has given me a permanent option. If we’re really talking about antigrav chair and exoskeletons, then I might as well agree to have her cut out my spinal fusion and replace it and go through the weeks and maybe months of hell that that rehab will be and be done with it. If we’re not ready to talk about that, then we need to be realistic.” She looked at Jal’na. “You want me to do time in an anti-grav room? Fine, we can book an hour or two as needed, but you must understand that the second I leave this building I am, publicly, in mourning, and I will have to deal with the press and everyone else. At the end of the day, all of this isn’t about me. It’s about the death of a man who was vital to major things happening on this colony. I cannot afford to be distracted in public. They will allow me leeway, but only so much if it looks like I can’t do my job. I think we can all agree that that is not what we want to happen.” She was exceedingly calm despite the tension she was feeling and Eela forced herself to breathe deeply. She also had talked to absolutely no one about the proposed spinal surgery. Cort knew she had an appointment with a specialist but she hadn’t said what it was about. She had told no one, not even Kenzo that this was an option on the table. She figure Sharah might know as her primary care provider, but other than that she had been sitting on these details until she had been ready to consider it properly. Was that now? Not likely.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Jal’na gave her a look that was very typically ‘Klingon’. Which was very out of place for the physical therapist. “I am not suggesting the suit, your friend is. I suggested the chair. Not as a permanent treatment, but to get you through this, to prevent worse damage. I cannot make you not work, Lt. Gov. It is my recommendation you do not, or at least as much from home as possible. You can do as you will with it. Warm compresses and gentle stretches every 60 to 90 minutes. I will increase the settings on your brace. I will send Reesa over tonight for an extra session.” There was an edge to the woman that was unusual, but only apparent because the other two people were empathy.

Jal’na collected Eela’s brace and laid it out on the table and took out her tools.

Jal’na, Lady Duroc

Jal’na formality and use of her title cut deeply. It wasn’t how they were with each other. But she focused on her breath and envisioned everything melting away.

Karilan looked at Eela and, very calmly, “And none of the options either I or Jal’na have mentioned are mandatory. They are just that… options. We are simply trying to help and give you an avenue to do what it is you need and want to do until you are better.”

Karilan

Grabbing her cane from where it was hooked out of the way, Eela braced herself on it and very carefully rose from the massage chair to her feet. She could feel the improvement, so that was good, but she still ached. It distracted her from her thoughts which weren’t entirely helpful right now so Eela knew it was time to shift things. “I’m going to go visit with my granddaughter,” she said softly and moved carefully out of the workout room into the kitchen.

Caridee had items pulled from the fridge out onto the counter- eggs, bread and some fruit. She looked Eela over and quirked her brows, sussing her mother’s mood and pain levels with ease. “Dare I ask how you slept?”

Eela made her way over to the U-shaped sitting area that formed the casual dining and living space of the apartment where she spent a great deal of her time. She gathered some cushions to prop herself up and sat backwards, taking the weight off her spine, facing the kitchen with the patio view behind her. Alais this moment to crawl out from behind the kitchen island where she had been sitting near Caridee, took in her grandmother with her deep brown eyes, and smiled. Eela lit up. “Sleep was fine. I took the muscle relaxant and slept right through till Karilan woke me. I’m just having a lot of residual aches and it’s hard to know what is mine or not. Apparently my back is angry about all this too, just for fun.”

Caridee scooped up her baby and brought her over, setting her on the couch next to Eela.

Alais looked up and Eela ran a hand over the fine wavy mass of dark brown hair. “Well hello. Good morning. I’m very glad to see you, but don’t expect me to be running about after you today.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.