Posted by Gamemaster Matrix (GMT) in Main Sim - Sickbay

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Collin Harding (Chief Medical Officer) in Main Sim - Sickbay

Posted by Gamemaster Matrix (GMT) in Main Sim - Sickbay
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<snip>

Aelana sat as instructed. “Don’t let her die Starfleet.” Rhaelara reached out for a hand and was offered one. “Sister, you’re crushing my hand.”
“And a baby is ripping through me. We all have problems!”

-Matrix

Harding’s composure remained positive and calm. He’d delivered his fair share of babies over the years, some in situations less ideal than the Sickbay of a Manhattan class starship, and he hadn’t lost a mother or child yet.

“Okay, a quick hypospray for the pain here. Not as strong as we’d like, but this close to delivery it isn’t ideal. You’ll still feel your contractions, but they’ll go from a feeling of your body being ripped apart, to a not so great cramping feeling. And we need to get you gowned. The nurse here will help get you out of your clothes. She can manage without you having to much more than lift your hips off the biobed for a moment.”

Harding stepped away for a moment while the nurse prepped their patient and when he returned he was in his own gown and gloves.

“Alright Rhaeelara? Feeling any better with the pain reliever? I’d like to take a look, if I could, see how baby’s coming along?”

Harding, CMO

She nodded. “Less pain. But pain I can take. Save the baby.” She was making some effort to be conversant with the doctor in Federation standard. The assisting nurse whispered to Collin “I tried to tell her our computers can translate. She wants to ‘speak for herself.’”

“Your baby will be just fine. You are both in good hands,” he reassured her. For now the baby looked good, the mother weaker, but as long as they were attached the deterioration of one could cause harm to the other.

Scans would show the baby in ideal condition and position for birth Rhaelara’s vitals were less stable. She would need consistent care to make it through the process.

Aelana spoke up. “Starfleet. One of us, in the cargo bay. She was a nurse before Romulus was destroyed.”

-Matrix

Romulan physiology was not so distinctly different from Vulcan that Collin felt himself in uncharted territory, but he’d be glad for the expertise of one intimately familiar with the unique medical aspects of the patient in front of him, especially since he was about to deliver an antibiotic along with intravenous fluid.

He looked at Aelana, “Give me her name. I can see if she’s able to come to Sickbay.”

Harding, CMO

“Lena Khev. She cares for the children now.” Aelana said. The Security NE stepped forward. “You want me to go find her sir?”

-Matrix

Collin looked over his mask at the security officer and nodded, “Yes, and please hurry.”

He didn’t think twice about the fact that he and the nurse were now alone with the sisters. One was injured and the other in the midst of labor. He felt not threat from either Aelana or Rhaelara. His urgency had more to do with his want for Lena Khev’s expertise.

He looked back to Aelana, “I’m glad the pain is easing, but feel free to scream if it helps. Sickbay has some good insulation. You won’t bother anyone. Nurse, let’s record the interval between contractions. I’m going to check on our patient’s dilation.”

In centuries past checking cervical dilation was a quick but invasive procedure. For now Harding was able to hold a scanner just above the outside of Rhaelara’s cotton gown and gain the information he needed.

Harding, CMO

His scans showed that she was not yet fully dilated. But an educated guess based on Vulcan physiology would give them an extra few minutes at most before she reached full dilation and the baby was due. Rhaelara was holding the edge of her biobed and her sister’s hand with white knuckles.

It was reassuring to see that her body was responding properly and that he wouldn’t need to use medication to speed along her dilation. The trauma her body was experiencing was great enough that he wanted to limit his ministrations to only those things that would keep her stable.

A Romulan woman, a guess would put her in her middle 40s, entered sickbay. Immediately departing from her guard, she walked over to Collin and said “I’m Lena Khev. How is she?” Rhaelara screamed. “Ok. So she’s mid labour. I’ll focus on delivering the baby. I know how she was treated. She’s going to need your constant care.” The former Nurse was right. Rhaelara’s BP and heart rate spiked to dangerous levels.

-Matrix

Lena Khev’s suggestion was the best one. No doubt Rhaelara would feel more comfortable with a Romulan female guiding the baby through the birth canal. Harding moved to her side, noting the bp readings. He delivered a hypospray that would slowly lower her blood pressure. Too rapid a drop was dangerous, but no treatment could lead to organ damage. He was most worried about her heart, but extensively high pressure could damage arteries and other organs as well.

It was these organs he now assessed with his scans.

Harding, CMO

Rhaelara’s heart stabilised. Most of her organs were damaged from years of abuse. Her pupils dilated and she started to lose consciousness as birth began. Lena tried to keep her talking to keep her conscious. “The baby. What will you name him?”
“I… might name him…”
“Come on Rhaelara, I can see him coming. The first Rihannsu baby born in the Federation.” She started speaking Federation Standard to avoid the sisters’ knowing what she said. “In about a minute, she’s going to go into bradycardia, about two minutes later will be it. Don’t worry about her body, her brain and her heart. Once the baby’s born she’ll stabilise” the refugees had a term for this. ‘naeuul d’navassa’ - cage birth.

-Matrix

With the baby’s birth imminent, Dr. Harding’s options were limited. Any acute treatment he provided to the mother could endanger the offspring, but a mother in full arrest could also harm the baby. As long as they were connected, treatment for one was for both. Had the baby not already started to descend into the birth canal, he’d consider a c-section, but even that could be too much for the mother to handle in her weakened state.

He had no reason to trust Lena Khev except that Rhaelara was one of her own, “Then let’s do this. Let’s deliver this baby as fast as we can. I have no intention of losing either mother or child.”

Harding, CMO

Keeping Rhaelara’s heart stable during birth proved difficult, but not impossible. A struggle later, an infant could be heard crying. Lena cut the cord, bathed and swaddled the baby while Rhaelara stabilised.

The sound of the baby’s cry brought a smile to Collin’s face. Known for a broad toothy grin, this smile was more subdued. He hated to see the torture inflicted on Rhaelara and was hopeful a new beginning, that of a happier life, was starting for her now.

It was exactly as predicted. With the strain of childbirth gone, Rhaelara began to stabilise. Lena brought the baby over. Rhaelara smiled faintly. The former nurse handed over the child and said “You never said what his name is.” The new mother nodded at Collin. Aelana leaned in. “He should have a Rihannsu name.” Rhaelara struggled out the words “Without the doctor he might not be here. And I definitely wouldn’t be. Doctor…” she waited for his name.

-Matrix

Collin looked down at Rhaelara, a woman he’d met only an hour or so earlier and there was surprise on his face that she would honor him so.

“I…I agree with your sister. He should have a Rihannsu name. It is my understanding that it’s traditional for given names to have a specific meaning. If this child represents one thing, I think it’s hope. What do you think of Ecurai?”

Harding, CMO

Rhaelara nodded. “Ecurai.” She marvelled at her newborn son. “The Elements have blessed me with Ecurai. And hope for the Rihannsu on this ship.” For the first time, she was not in too much pain to speak. “He was born of a Rihannsa mother, but in the Federation. What is to become of him?”

-Matrix

It was a question that existed in both simplicity and complexity, but Collin’s face betrayed none of his concern. He was the picture of happiness for a new mother as he looked from Rhaelara to Aelana and finally to Ecurai.

“The Federation is welcoming of people from many backgrounds. I know there has been conflict between the Federation and Romulans, but much has changed since the loss of your homeworld. Our Captains are meeting now, I’m sure, and a satisfactory path forward will come. Now, if you’ll let me take the child for a moment, I’d like to gain his measurements and make sure he’s cleaned up properly.”

Harding, CMO

Rhaelara felt the pointed tips of her son’s ears and then cautiously handed him to Collin. Lena was watching from the far wall, smiling. As Collin approached to test Ecurai she said “That was nice, what you did. I already bathed him, but I didn’t test him. New mothers are always so excited to see their newborns.”

“And thank you for your role in his delivery. It wouldn’t have been as successful without you.”

Ecurai would pass every test. He was a little on the small side, probably due to malnutrition on his mother’s part. Something beyond either of their control.

-Matrix

After clearing the child Collin returned to Rhaelara. A nurse had set up a bassinet of sorts next to her biobed. It would wirelessly monitor the child’s vitals and it rocked. It allowed the baby to remain by his mother’s side with overly taxing her.

“Ecurai is doing splendidly,” he smiled at mother and aunt as he placed the boy in his temporary bed. “We can draw a curtain around your bed to give you a bit more privacy and the lights will dim. I think sleep would be a benefit to you both. The button just over your left shoulder will play white noise if you like, to help cocoon you from the bustle of Sickbay. I’ve logged Ecurai’s birth in our system, which will alert our own ship’s staff of our new guest, but is there anyone among your own people you’d like us to inform?”

Harding, CMO