Posted by Lieutenant Séan Iven (Counselor) in Tending the Wounded

Posted by Lieutenant Tandra Mika (Chief Mental Health Officer) in Tending the Wounded

Posted by Lieutenant Séan Iven (Counselor) in Tending the Wounded
Posted by… suppressed (50) by the Post Ghost! 👻
It was a bit of a walk even with Séan’s longer gait and trying to keep Mika as comfortable as possible but they arrived at the hospital. The looks they received on the way here paled in comparison to what they got once they entered. At first he was afraid they were going to think he had done this to her but he kept repeating that they were Starfleet officers and that they needed Doctor Fayth right away.

Counselor Iven

Mika clung to him the whole walk, occasionally complaining of pain or asking for Sharah, or something else. While he was asking for Sharah, she kept saying, “Get Sharah”, “Where is Sharah?”, “I need Sharah.”

~ Mika, CMHO

Mika didn’t have to wait. Sharah was already making her way into the ER. “Temple get an OR prepped, get Ilena in there. Hurry.” She met Sean at the doors, “In here, set her on the bed.” Sharah looked as pale as Mika did.

Séan quickly but carefully placed Mika onto the indicated bed.

She placed a hand on Mika’s forehead. “It’s alright Tandra. You’re going to be fine. I promise.” Waves of warmth and safety and peace flowed over Mika. Sharah pressed a phlebotomy hypo to her arm and drew blood. Temple walked in, “OR is ready, Dr.” Sharah handed her the vial, “Get this tested. She’s been drugged and I need to know with what. Priority, it goes before everything.” Temple nodded and hurried out. A medic came in and they unlocked the bed and started pushing her out. She looked at Sean, “I can’t give her anything until I know what he gave her. Tell me everything.”

“I don’t know much more than you.” Séan said with a bit of frustration. “She was bound to a chair in the basement like you indicated. There were five men in total in the house. Four were upstairs and one was with her downstairs. There was a cart with various tools and bottles on it that it must have been what they used on her. I was in a hurry to get her here with how badly she has been bleeding that I didn’t check for labels on the bottles of drugs or anything.” He paused a moment as a thought came to him. “I had help rescuing Tandra though and in my rush left them to take care of the rest. Let me reach out and ascertain what the bottles were.”

Sharah looked up, “Anything you can find out will help. Also if you will, file the security report. Let them know she’s been found, but she’s in no condition to be questioned. I will let them know when.” She set a hand on his arm. “She’s going to be alright.”

“I’ll find out what drugs were there first so you have an idea what to do to counteract them and not cause any conflicts.” Séan nodded in agreement. “I’ll do the security report when you’ve got her in surgery. They were particularly unhelpful so they can wait a bit longer.”

“Thank you. Tell any of the nurses, they’ll get the information to me right away.”

Ilena met them at the door to the OR, “Pull whole blood for her type and fluids, she’s going to need them.”

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

Counselor Iven

The sight of a similar face was a comfort to Mika, but Sharah’s touch brought a sense of peace, safety, and warmth. Her body relaxed as the emotions washed over her, drowning out her fear and pain. She looked up at Sharah. “Sorry. Must be hard for you…”

~ Mika, CMHO

Sharah shook her head, “You have nothing to be sorry for. I am happy to do whatever I can for you.” Mika was special in Sharah’s life. She was her mentor, but a friend. One who hadn’t left her or put her aside. She was rare and precious to Sharah. “Tandra,” she leaned over her, “I’m going to scrub, Ilena is going to take you into the room. I will be right back. You will not be alone.” She said it with surety. Ilena came into view.

Sharah turned to Séan, “I’ll page you as soon as we’re done.” She went through another door to scrub up. Ilena paused before taking Mika in so Séan could see her.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

He followed them up to the door and reached out to gently squeeze Mika’s hand. “I will be right back Tandra. I’ve got to call my friend really quick and see what’s left in that house. You are in great hands with Sharah.”

Counselor Iven

She knew Séan couldn’t go back anyway, he wasn’t a doctor, so she nodded. His squeezing her hand hurt, there were cuts on her hands, but she didn’t mind. “Okay.”

~ Mika, CMHO

Ilena took gave Séan a reassuring nod and took Mika into the OR. “You’re going to be alright Lt. I’m turning on the biobed and the scanners.” Ilena sighed, “I’m sorry, Mika. This next part will hurt, but I have to start removing your clothing so we can get to the wound. If it’s too much, tell me to stop.”

It did hurt. More than it seemed like it should. Mika was trying to tough it out. “I just want it over with. I wanna be done.”

Not long after she started working, Sharah came through the door in her red surgical clothes and walked over to the bed. She leaned over her friend, “Mika, I don’t know what they gave you, so I can’t give you anesthesia or anything for the pain. I’m going to do a nerve block instead. That will help immensely, but you’ll still be awake. I’m waiting for the lab results.” She also took a small bottle with a squirt straw and dropped water carefully into Mika’s mouth.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

“I know they gave me something to… To make it hurt more. And a truth serum” She took a breath as slow as she could manage. “I think something else too. But I don’t know what.” She cried softly, “It hurts, Sharah.” She drank the water as it was dribbled into her mouth. Her bio readings showed she was dehydrated.

Sharah smoothed back her head, “I know, I’m going to take care of that right now.” Sharah looked at Ilena, and the nurse stepped away to inform the lab of what Mika had told them before returning to assist. Sharah pulled the surgical frame into place and put her eyes to the microscopic imager. It was a simple press of an attached hypo to inject the nanites that would form the nerve block. So it was painless, or at least shouldn’t register above the pain Mika was already in. At least she hoped. She had no idea what the man had given her, but it had been cruel, carefully calculated, and torture.

Her heart rate was fast, her blood pressure a little low. She was in pain, quite a lot of pain. There were cuts all over her body, some looked like they’d been sutured closed, but later reopened. Some still oozed blood. Some were shallow, some deeper. Many had inflammation around the wound, opened up farther than they would normally be. There were electrical burns, too. She showed signs of oxygen deprivation that had mostly subsided by now. Though she had bled a lot, she would have probably bled out or at the very least been worse off than she was, but she’d been given something to staunch bleeding.

~ Mika, CMHO

Once the block was in place, Sharah checked Mika’s neurological readings to make sure it was working. “There, you shouldn’t be feeling anything anymore, Tandra. Try to sleep.” She smoothed back her friend’s hair again, “I’m going to give you a mask. Your O2 is almost normal, but it will help.” Then they got to work. Sharah kept up a steady stream of soothing feelings to help Mika relax and stay calm. They had to remove her clothing, that was dried and sticky from blood, and then clean the wounds. They had to remove the sutures that had been cut open. The burns had to be treated, the deeper tissues healed before the outer most layers. She needed blood and fluids, but her blood wasn’t acting right. She spoke directly to Ilena’s mind, she didn’t want to distress Mika, Where are those lab results?

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

Mika didn’t register the small amount of pain the nerve block might have caused over everything else. Her neurological readings showed it was working. She seemed okay with the idea of a mask, until they tried to put it over her head. Then she began to shake her head vigorously. “No, no, please.”

Sharah stopped feeling the despair filled terror in Mika. “Okay. No mask. I’ll set up a high pressure field.” A few quick taps on the surgical console and a field shimmered around the head of the bed and infused with a swift flowing O2 mix.

The extra O2 in the field around the bed did help some. She calmed down when Sharah took the mask away.

Sharah’s calm feelings were helping Mika significantly. Once the nerve block stopped the pain and she calmed, the stream of calm, soothing emotions seemed to keep her that way. It was odd, laying there awake but numb, while they worked. She couldn’t relax enough to sleep, though, and she ended up watching Sharah closely, as much as she could.

They haven’t come in yet, the nurse replied telepathically to Sharah. Let me check again. She stepped away for a moment and when she returned Ilena had the results. Based on the information Tandra gave, they were able to identify a neuro stimulant. It makes the nerves overreactive. Some kind of neurological drug, like a truth serum, and when they noticed her blood clotting faster and flowing slower than it should they also tested her for coagulants, one came back positive. And Ilena told Sharah the names of the drugs.

~ Mika, CMHO

Good, we can do something about that. “Tandra, we know what they gave you. So I’m going to give you something to counteract them, and then something to let you sleep, alright?”

“Ilena, let’s start with Triazolam, Warfarin, and Symrase. Low doses to start with. Her blood volume and BP are too low.” Ilena nodded and prepared the hypo. As she spoke Sharah checked the blood infusion and fluids. She looked at Mika and smiled reassuringly, “You’re going to start feeling better very soon.” Then she went back to work on the various lacerations. Ilena run scans and check for any internal imbalances or damage from the drugs or O2 deprivation.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

Mika nodded. There was still fear in her, but she was calming down, reassured by Sharah’s presence, by the peaceful emotions she was still feeling.

Ilena started the medications requested in a low dose, being careful and gentle. She ran the requested scans. There’s some damage in the brain from O2 deprivation, but nothing permanent. She’ll heal just fine. She read the scans for a moment, The coagulant will be counteracted by the warfarin, the truth serum has caused a small imbalance in brain chemicals. The biggest problem is the neuro stimulant, it’s caused some damage to the nerves. I think it’ll be repairable, but I think you should take a look to be sure.

~ Mika, CMHO

Alright, come take over this laceration. I have the parameters set. Just keep an eye on it. Sharah moved around to the otherside of the biobed. She looked over the scans herself. She went to work with a group of nanites to work on the brain damage. If taken care of early enough, it could be corrected without damage. She gave 75mls of Dexalin to assist in countering the Oxygen deprivation. Keeping an eye on the nanites she activated the neural regenrator. It would stimulate the nerves, encouraging them to heal. With the nerve block, Tandra wouldn’t notice the twitching.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

Ilena swapped places with her. Mika watched Sharah as she looked at the scans and then started working on something. She didn’t notice the twitching, she couldn’t feel it. “What are you doing? Is something wrong?” Mika asked Sharah. By the sounds of it, the meds were working to make her tired. She just hadn’t fallen all the way asleep.

~ Mika, CMHO

Sharah looked up and smiled reassuringly, “Everything is fine. You have a lot of wounds, Tandra. You know that they are serious, but Sean found you in time. Now that I know what drugs were used, I can be specific in countering the effects.” She spoke soothingly. She didn’t need to give such a lengthy explanation, but she was just using her voice to keep Tandra soothed.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

Her face hadn’t been spared. There was a large cut across her cheek that trickled blood. It seemed to help, keeping talking to her. She shuddered suddenly, “I don’t want to fall asleep. I’m scared.”

~ Mika, CMHO

“I know. I promise you’ll be safe if you do.” The doors to the OR opened and Sharah looked up to berate whomever had just entered and then smiled quietly as another figure in red surgical garb stepped up to the bed and began to work.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

Hannah nodded to Fayth and then looked down at the fully awake, Tandra and back at Fayth. “I heard and thought you might could use an extra pair of hands.” She picked up a hand held auto suture and leaned over Mika’s head. “I’m going to fix these up, Tandra. It won’t be so hard to talk after that, hmmm? Unless you want to try out your signing skills,” she smiled gently, but care and concern were clear on her face.

Lt Asimina, SFAMO

Mika smiled just a little. “I would, but everything is numb right now.” She tried to shrug, “Maybe while it’s still healing?” She was happy to see Hannah, another familiar face seemed to help. She turned her head slightly to give Hannah a better working angle. Her BP was still low, but with the fluids and transfusion, starting to recover. Her skin broke out in hives - a minor reaction to having blood transfused.

~ Mika, CMHO

Ilena applied a topical antihistamine on the rash. It would be better to give it by hypo, but with the meds, low BP, wounds and amount of blood loss it was better to be cautious.

“We will have plenty of time to practice,” Hannah promised. Then she kept up a running dialog of the most recent antics of the nursing staff. It was a very long and delicate process to see to the wounds and for Fayth to treat the nerve damage. They kept a close eye on Tandra’s vitals and her reaction to the blood transfusion.

Lt Asimina, SFAMO

Mila’s vitals remained steady. Her heart rate jumped up once while Fayth was treating the nerve damage, but it levelled out on its own. She held still while Hannah was treating the wound on her face. The casual chatting about the nurses seemed to help keep her calm, though what helped the most was Fayth. After a while, she seemed to grow tired, having a harder time keeping herself awake, but she was fighting sleep.

~ Mika, CMHO

Sharah wanted to give her something to help her sleep, but Mika had adamantly asked not to be. She might be able to use her empathy to encourage her to sleep, but Sharah ran the risk of making everyone else in the room sleepy too.

Mika was afraid to sleep. She felt like she might wake up to find she was still in that basement, or maybe not wake up at all. “Keep talking to me, please.” She said, her voice groggy and tired.

Hannah kept up the chatter, Sharah intersecting here and there. Ilena providing stories of events before the other three women ever arrived on Oed.

The repair to Tandra’s nerves was going well. Sharah switched with Hannah. With all her work with integrating prosthetics, Hannah had more practical experience working with the nervous system.

The nanites were doing a good job of increasing oxygen and blood flow to the brain, reducing the inflammation, and healing the tissue. Mika should be fine, but she would call in their neurologist when they were done.

The lacerations of course took the longest. They had been injured over and over again. Repairing the repeated physical trauma was lengthy and painstaking work. All the while, Sharah watch Mika’s heart. The prolonged pain and adrenaline surge wasn’t healthy for the heart.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

The oxygen deprivation had also been hard on her heart and organs. The strain on her heart was evident on her readings, but it seemed to be holding stable. Her emotional state and her still low BP and slightly low blood volume were keeping her heart rate up. Mika was watching Sharah, focusing on something to keep herself awake. “What’re you looking at?”

~ Mika, CMHO

Sharah looked down at her, “Just your vitals, Tandra. You were given a lot of different drugs. They had to be countered, and the surgery is a lot on you, but you are doing just fine. You’re strong and very healthy.”

Lt Asimina, SFAMO

Mika chuckled softly. “Always was.” She took a long, deep breath and her eyes closed, for long enough she might’ve been asleep. But then they opened again, and she continued listening to and focusing on everyone’s chatter.

~ Mika, CMHO

After a few hours of careful, meticulous work, and caution so as not to overwhelm Tandra’s system more than it was, they were finished. “Tandra, I’m going to give you something for the pain and a muscle relaxer before I remove the nerve block. It will make you more tired, but your body needs to be relaxed to finish healing. Then we’ll get you moved down to ICU.”

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

It was an exhausting, tedious several hours for Mika. She nodded her agreement. “Just don’t leave me alone. Please.” She felt bad asking, but she was so scared, she felt she would panic if she wasn’t with someone she trusted.

~ Mika, CMHO

Sharah pressed the hypo to Tandra’s arm. Hannah and Ilena carefully pulled a gown over her and then a blanket. Then Sharah removed the nerve block and took down the surgical frame. While they waited, Hannah left to change out of her scrubs. “We won’t leave you alone. I promise. Ilena and Hannah are going to take you while I change and go get Sèan and bring him to your room. Hannah will be with you and so will security. You will be safe, I promise.”

Hannah returned and she and Ilena took Tandra out of the OR. They were met at the doors by security who escorted them to the security ward. Sharah had Mika placed there to help ease her fear. She went and changed and then went out to the waiting rooms to find Sèan.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

Séan was in the waiting room where Sharah could find him easily though he was in a new pair of clothes. His mental state was reserved and introspective. His primary thought was whether he could have gotten to Mika sooner and saved her from some of the grievous harm. But… logically there was nothing he could think to have done that would have made it go any faster. His thoughts ended as he saw Sharah enter the waiting room and he stood to greet her. “Hello Sharah. You look tired.” He said with a wan smile to try and empathize with the long hours of concentration that was definitely needed.

Counselor Iven

Sharah walked over, “I am just a little bit. We’ve taken her down to the ICU room in the security ward. She refused to be put under during the surgery. She’s terrified, and the drugs did horrible things to her, on top of the physical lacerations. She’s begged not to be left alone. Come on, I’ll take you to her.” She turned and led the way up to another floor and then across to a hall with secured doors, with biometric and Passmore locks, and security stationed outside. She signed them both in, and then took him to a room that had two security officers standing outside. The ward was empty except for the medical staff.

The room required the same biometric security scans to get in. Inside, Tandra was on the bio bed with Lts Asimina and Rox with her. “She’s lost a lot of blood and her vitals aren’t great, but they are steady and she will recover,” she told him before they entered the room.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

“Thank you Sharah.” Séan said quietly right before they entered. After she opened the door and they stepped inside, he raised a hand in greeting and said to Mika softly. “Hey you. You are looking much better I must say. I told you you’d be in great hands.”

Counselor Iven

Mika looked exhausted and pale. When Séan came in and greeted her, she reached for him and waved him closer. “Séan! I know that. Sharah was once my student, after all.” Her wounds had been sutured closed, some of the other effects of what she’d been through treated, but her body had a lot of healing to go.

~ Mika, CMHO

Exhausted and pale was a much better condition than she had been in. Séan was afraid she was going to pass in his arms while he rushed her here. Not letting any of that show on his face, he moved over to the bed and leaned down to gently give her a hug. “I’m glad you taught her so well then.” He said with a smile.

Counselor Iven

Mika hugged him back. “I’m on pain meds and muscle relaxers.” She was clearly trying hard to stay awake. “So if I seem a little out of it, that’s probably why.”

~ Mika, CMHO

Séan chuckled as he stood after the hug. “I’m glad they’ve got you on the good stuff. Don’t worry about me though. If you fall asleep or start babbling on about pink elephants in the room, I’ll be here with you regardless.”

Counselor Iven

“No!” Mika whisper-shouted abruptly. “I don’t want to sleep.” She took his hand and squeezed it tight. “I don’t want to.”

~ Mika, CMHO

“Okay, okay.” Séan said softly, as if to a scared kitten he found outside cold and in the rain. He positioned himself to sit on the edge of her hospital bed while still holding her hand. “You absolutely don’t need to sleep if you don’t want to and I’m not going anywhere.”

Counselor Iven

Mika scooted over a little to give him space. “Okay.” She said softly, looking up at him. She pulled him close and smiled. “Sorry I missed our date.”

~ Mika, CMHO

Séan couldn’t help but laugh at Mika’s apology. Not because it was funny or he was being mean but because of the irony involved. “I think considering the circumstances I’ll forgive your missing our date.” He said with a wide smile. “You had a very good reason for not being in your quarters when I arrived.”

Counselor Iven

“We were supposed to meet at the bench, remember?” Mika replied, still smiling. From the sounds of it, she was really, really tired. She looked up at him as if he’d forgotten something very important, but the look was playful.

~ Mika, CMHO

“That was after I waited at the bench for a bit then went to your place to find you.” Séan said with a grin then teased her. “I was afraid you were taking too long to pick an outfit for our date so I came to pick you up.”

Counselor Iven

Mika shook her head and smiled again. “Would I do that?” She asked. “Never been all that into fashion. Something that’s nice, that’s all I need.”

~ Mika, CMHO

“Ah, probably not. I needed a good excuse to show up if you were still home though.” Séan said softly. “That way I wouldn’t seem nearly as desperate as I felt.”

Counselor Iven

“Mmm.” Mika mumbled sleepily. With him there she was beginning to relax. Soon she wouldn’t be able to make herself stay awake. Her body needed rest. She squeezed his hand again, “I want a redo. Once we can.”

~ Mika, CMHO

“Oh of course.” Séan nodded with amusement. “As soon as you’re right as rain we’ll raincheck the date.”

Counselor Iven

Mika smiled tiredly. “Good.” She sighed softly and frowned. “It’s starting to hurt again.” She squeezed his hand. “I’ll be okay. Okay?”

~ Mika, CMHO

Séan did his best to keep from frowning at Mika’s pain. “Okay.” He said with his deep voice. “You sure you don’t want Sharah to give you something to sleep? I’ll still be here and it looks like you’re barely hanging on.”

Counselor Iven

Mika’s breath caught and she shook her head. “I’m so tired, but… I can’t. Séan, I can’t.” She squeezed his hand and whispered at him, “What if I wake up and I’m still there? Or… Or, what if I don’t wake up at all?”

~ Mika, CMHO

“These are reasonable concerns.” Séan nodded in agreement. “But you can’t stay awake forever and Sharah certainly won’t start you on a regimen of amphetamines to keep you up. So instead of having fitful sleep when you finally pass out, how about we ease you into a deeper sleep where you won’t have any dreams? The last thing you’ll see when you go to sleep will be me and I’ll be the first thing you see when you wake up.”

Counselor Iven

“Hmm…” She squeezed his hand again. “Promise?” She asked, looking up at him, studying his face.

~ Mika, CMHO

“I promise.” Séan said with a smile. He turned to look back at the quiet Sharah. “If you would be so kind Doctor.”

Counselor Iven

Sharah prepped a hypo and sat down on the other side of the bed. She breathed very slowly, letting her calm extend outward. “This will help with the pain and help you get some rest. You won’t be alone, not even for a second, I promise.: she pressed the hypo to Tandra’s neck and there was a soft pop-hiss as the medication was dispensed.

She waited until Tandra was asleep to move. It didn’t take long. “She’ll sleep at least 8 hours with the medication. Longer on her own, most likely. If you need anything at all, just press the button.” She set a hand on Séan’s shoulder before she left the room.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO