Judgement – Shadows and Light
by Commander Chelsea Dunham & Lieutenant Bridget Stapleton
Post Details
ON:
Chelsea picked up the master padd and her trusty, ever present Med kit, starting off on her rounds with Bridget alongside her. As they walked along, Chelsea continued to show things to Bridget as they passed. "This is the nurses' day station. This is manned from 06.00 to 22.00 when the night shift come on. Then we move the control point to the top of the main ward." She explained.
"Few of the outer cubicles and rooms are occupied overnight, they're more for day and emergency cases, with quick turn round. The more serious cases or long-term will be positioned in or nearer the main section depending on how much quiet they need. It makes it easier for the night staff to keep them under their watchful eyes without traipsing the whole length and breadth, obviously. ICU will *always* have at least one medic within it, as long as there is a patient in occupation, day or night." she went on.
Bridget nodded her head as Chelsea finished. "That's good to know. How many ICU patients do we have at present?"
"Only two" Chelsea shrugged. "But the fewer the better. We've operated on CPO Marsh and she's in High Dependency for 24 hours as routine and the other is a Denobulan with an allergic reaction. He comes in a lot and just stays until we can medicate him back to normal. He's a nice chap. Medicates himself as routine but sometimes he goes into Anaphylactic and needs some help. He has a Medic Alert Monitor on his neck and it calls us when he needs us. We can lock on and transport him. It's routine now."
"Really," Bridget commented, with a raised eyebrow. It was the first time she'd heard of someone going into shock being routine. And a Denobulan, nonetheless. She hoped he'd followed his species' cultural growth and didn't mind being touched by medical personnel, otherwise it would be rather difficult to treat him. But, Chelsea hadn't mentioned him having an adverse response to physical touching, so he must be okay with it. "Alright, do his spouses know he's here?"
"Oh yes, four of them are with him now." Chelsea smiled.
"I figured they'd be somewhere closeby," Bridget agreed, nodding again. "Alright, what else have we got?"
"Come with me, I'll show you" The CMO smiled again and led the way to the first of 10 cubicles close to the main office.
She knocked on the open doorframe and entered without waiting for a response and picked up the padd at the side of the bed. "This is Lieutenant Smostra" she introduced the occupant of the bed. "Mike, this is our new doctor, Bridget Stapleton."
Bridget smiled at the Lieutenant. "How're you feeling, sir?"
"They take good care of me here" Mike Smostra smiled back, a yellow tinge on his skin.
"Mike's liver is giving him grief. We have regenerated the first 33.3% today and we're giving him a rest. Tomorrow the second third will be done, by the end of three days he'll be a new man. We have to take it piece at a time so he can cope with the large amount of work. If we did it all at once, it would be too much and we don't want his system to reject it." She explained, quite sure that Bridget probably knew all this but was also making sure the Mike understood the whole picture too.
As they exchanged more pleasantries and did tests confirming that his progress was satisfactory, they then said goodbye and moved on. In the main aisle before they entered the next cubicle, Chelsea added quietly:
"Mike didn't report the symptoms at first so we were facing some degeneration to the surrounding support tube tissue and systemically as a whole. We nearly lost him to be honest because he had left it until he had actually collapsed before we knew he was ill. He's been pretty out of it for most of the treatment time, so I wasn't sure how much he has actually retained of what we try to tell him."
Bridget pressed her lips into a thin line, tempted to make a comment about 'men' in general and their stereotypical reticence to seeing a physician unless death was on the line.
"How were his kidneys?" Bridget asked, expecting an answer that would make her want to shake her head.
"Shot to bits. They were the first to go. Hydronephrosis was in an advanced stage. We've regenerated them in the same stages as the liver. Piece at a time." Chelsea nodded.
They entered another cubicle and another. Everyone housed a different patient and a different interesting case.
As they were moving from one ward to another, Bridget said, "I could use a cup of coffee. How about a short break? I'm sure Rena wouldn't mind," she added, smiling.
"Good plan!" Chelsea beamed. "You know, I'm going to promote you to head of the planning sub-department.... " she laughed and patted Bridget's shoulder, heading back towards the main office and stopping off at Rena on the way. "Same again?" she asked.
Bridget laughed, appreciating Chelsea's good humor, as well as the physical encouragement. "Yep, same again. Black, two sweeteners."
Taking the cup Chelsea offered, Bridget leaned a hip against the counter and spoke again, in a thoughtful tone. "You'd said this morning that you practically lived here. Now I can see why... this place is a beehive of activity. I'm impressed that you're keeping priorities in order, and able to make time for your love life, with all of this," she gestured broadly with her hand, encompassing the entire room.
"I don't think poor Rick would see it that way. I don't get to spend nearly as much time with him as I would like to." she sighed, looking wistfully at the coffee in her hand as it steamed at her, unperturbed.
"By the way, would you be interested in coming to my 'hen event'?" Chelsea began. "It's a traditional 'pamper' day, with sessions in Yolanthe's holodeck salon. You know, hair, make up, face-masks, massage with warm stones, spa pools to soak in, herbal wraps.... all that sort of nice stuff for a day, girls only."
Bridget smiled broadly. "Oh you bet! And thank you for the invitation, I really appreciate it. I love that sort of thing! Makeup, hairdos, all of that." Her enthusiasm showed in her bright eyes.
"The catch is that i have to invite my inlaws to be and my mother too. The intention is for us all to bond but i think it's more likely to be a bun-fight, to be honest!" Chelsea rolled her eyes.
A knowing chuckle and nod were Bridget's reply. And then she said, "In-laws and mothers can be a fun lot. *If* they are able to cut those apron strings. My mother sure has had trouble with it, and when my children were leaving home, and then getting married... I sure had a lot of times when I had to just about clamp my mouth shut so I wouldn't say something stupid."
"This parenting thing, it's not as easy as some of you guys make it look, is it?" Chelsea shook her head. "A part of me is longing to have children with Rick, to see his face when the first is born, to watch them grow, to hold them.... but another part of me is terrified I'll make a mess of it and poor Rick will have to do everything for them...."
She began to wonder if she was making sense. "I know he'll cope, i just don't have faith in me.... I'd be okay with the medical bits... just.... well, i don't really know why i feel like that. I'm not afraid to wrestle death for patients' lives, I'm not even scared to take responsibility for tiny beings and their vulnerability - professionally. It's just the idea of being on the other side of the bedside. Is that crazy?"
Bridget shook her head, "No, not crazy at all. I felt that way, same as you do. I was a med student and Ed was trying to get his business off the ground. Between the two of us, we didn't see each other but maybe an hour a day. So I was worried about how we were going to raise a child in an environment where neither parent was going to be home much, let alone involved in the child's life."
"How did you cope?" Chelsea's eyes widened. "I'm sure you did, it just sounds like it must have been very hard?"
"Oh yeah it was tough," she agreed. "My mom and a couple of my sisters helped with babysitting, because we didn't have two strips of latinum between us. And once Ed got things going with his shuttle taxi service, well he was home more. Or he'd take our son to the station with him, and the other drivers would play with him." Bridget's eyes twinkled at the memory. "Those guys spoiled the hell out of my son, I just want to make that clear." Her wide grin said she was exaggerating.
Chelsea laughed. "I am sure he's not spoilt but very capable, wise, talented, dedicated and charming just like his mother." she replied with a fond smile.
"Is he an only child?" she asked thoughtfully.
Bridget rolled her eyes. "Oh you can sit by me at the party," she laughed, her tone slightly teasing. "We've got three kids: Ricky's the oldest, and he's married to Sonya; then our older daughter, Kylie -- she's married to AJ, and our youngest daughter, Sissy, is married to Bruce. They're just starting out for the most part. Ricky and Sonya have two little kids, and Kylie is pregnant. Sissy says she's waiting until she's forty to start her family, so there isn't any hurry in her mind."
Chelsea laughed. "She's a girl after my own heart then!"
After a brief pause she went on. "So you have two and a half grandchildren too...you really are amazing! You don't seem old enough, if you don't mind me saying"
"Girl, you know how to lay it on, don't you!" Bridget laughed. Though she did know that she looked young for her age. "Well the kids are only a couple years apart, and I was thirty-four when our son was born. Meh... they keep you young," she said with a shrug.
"So how's your mom taking your engagement, and all of that?" Bridget turned the conversation toward Chelsea.
"I have no idea" Chelsea's warmth became withdrawn for a short while. "I don't even know where she is, so I haven't told her, although my grandparents may have got hold of her. I doubt if she would care much though. She never even acknowledged my last fiance. Mind you, he was a completely fake bastard but i was engaged to him for two years so one might imagine she could have come and checked him out at least once?"
Chelsea shook her head. She was anxious to drop the subject of her mother, it was one that only brought her bitterness and she was determined not to allow that to cloud her horizon for any longer than absolutely necessary.
"How are your parents coping with *great* grandparentship?" she asked.
Bridget felt the reticence that clearly showed on Chelsea's face, and wisely didn't push the subject of her mother. Though she noted it, because the look in Chelsea's eyes told more of longing and regret, than anger and resentment.
"My parents love it. I swear, they give those kids more toys! You can't even walk through Ricky's house sometimes. Eddie, their oldest, is four. He has to tell you everything he sees, thinks, or does," she smiled widely. It wasn't hard to talk about her grandchildren. "Luke is their second, he's a year old. He was almost to the point of taking his first steps when we left earth." Bridget's smile was only slightly less bright, as she would have liked to have seen him walk.
Chelsea was thoughtful. "It never ends does it. Once you have a child, you never stop having someone to worry about, even when they grow up?"
Bridget thought perhaps Chelsea's words were more reflective of her own family, but she agreed with the sentiment. "Yeah, it just gets more complicated. When they're small, their needs are simpler but take more physical energy. It's easier in some ways when they get older and they are more autonomous, but they have the capacity to behave in intentionally hurtful ways and break your heart."
"And in UN-intentional ways and worry you to death!" Chelsea added with a grin again. "But who would be without family? Not me, that's for sure."
Bridget grinned and shook her head, saying "Me either!" She walked over to the replicator to recycle her now empty coffee cup. "And speaking of family, it's probably time to go and see how our Denobulan clan is doing."
"Good idea." Chelsea agreed, draining her own cup and returning it too. "After you?" she gestured for Bridget to precede her back out into the ward with a smile.
OFF
A JP between:
Ensign Bridget Stapleton
Doctor (General Practice) - DS5
and
Cmdr Chelsea Adams
CMO - DS5
by Commander Chelsea Dunham & Lieutenant Bridget Stapleton
Post Details
| Title | Shadows and Light | |
| Mission | Judgement | |
| Author(s) | Commander Chelsea Dunham & Lieutenant Bridget Stapleton | |
| Posted | Wed Dec 08, 2010 @ 8:40pm | |
| Location | Sickbay | |
| Timeline | SD35 - am |
Chelsea picked up the master padd and her trusty, ever present Med kit, starting off on her rounds with Bridget alongside her. As they walked along, Chelsea continued to show things to Bridget as they passed. "This is the nurses' day station. This is manned from 06.00 to 22.00 when the night shift come on. Then we move the control point to the top of the main ward." She explained.
"Few of the outer cubicles and rooms are occupied overnight, they're more for day and emergency cases, with quick turn round. The more serious cases or long-term will be positioned in or nearer the main section depending on how much quiet they need. It makes it easier for the night staff to keep them under their watchful eyes without traipsing the whole length and breadth, obviously. ICU will *always* have at least one medic within it, as long as there is a patient in occupation, day or night." she went on.
Bridget nodded her head as Chelsea finished. "That's good to know. How many ICU patients do we have at present?"
"Only two" Chelsea shrugged. "But the fewer the better. We've operated on CPO Marsh and she's in High Dependency for 24 hours as routine and the other is a Denobulan with an allergic reaction. He comes in a lot and just stays until we can medicate him back to normal. He's a nice chap. Medicates himself as routine but sometimes he goes into Anaphylactic and needs some help. He has a Medic Alert Monitor on his neck and it calls us when he needs us. We can lock on and transport him. It's routine now."
"Really," Bridget commented, with a raised eyebrow. It was the first time she'd heard of someone going into shock being routine. And a Denobulan, nonetheless. She hoped he'd followed his species' cultural growth and didn't mind being touched by medical personnel, otherwise it would be rather difficult to treat him. But, Chelsea hadn't mentioned him having an adverse response to physical touching, so he must be okay with it. "Alright, do his spouses know he's here?"
"Oh yes, four of them are with him now." Chelsea smiled.
"I figured they'd be somewhere closeby," Bridget agreed, nodding again. "Alright, what else have we got?"
"Come with me, I'll show you" The CMO smiled again and led the way to the first of 10 cubicles close to the main office.
She knocked on the open doorframe and entered without waiting for a response and picked up the padd at the side of the bed. "This is Lieutenant Smostra" she introduced the occupant of the bed. "Mike, this is our new doctor, Bridget Stapleton."
Bridget smiled at the Lieutenant. "How're you feeling, sir?"
"They take good care of me here" Mike Smostra smiled back, a yellow tinge on his skin.
"Mike's liver is giving him grief. We have regenerated the first 33.3% today and we're giving him a rest. Tomorrow the second third will be done, by the end of three days he'll be a new man. We have to take it piece at a time so he can cope with the large amount of work. If we did it all at once, it would be too much and we don't want his system to reject it." She explained, quite sure that Bridget probably knew all this but was also making sure the Mike understood the whole picture too.
As they exchanged more pleasantries and did tests confirming that his progress was satisfactory, they then said goodbye and moved on. In the main aisle before they entered the next cubicle, Chelsea added quietly:
"Mike didn't report the symptoms at first so we were facing some degeneration to the surrounding support tube tissue and systemically as a whole. We nearly lost him to be honest because he had left it until he had actually collapsed before we knew he was ill. He's been pretty out of it for most of the treatment time, so I wasn't sure how much he has actually retained of what we try to tell him."
Bridget pressed her lips into a thin line, tempted to make a comment about 'men' in general and their stereotypical reticence to seeing a physician unless death was on the line.
"How were his kidneys?" Bridget asked, expecting an answer that would make her want to shake her head.
"Shot to bits. They were the first to go. Hydronephrosis was in an advanced stage. We've regenerated them in the same stages as the liver. Piece at a time." Chelsea nodded.
They entered another cubicle and another. Everyone housed a different patient and a different interesting case.
As they were moving from one ward to another, Bridget said, "I could use a cup of coffee. How about a short break? I'm sure Rena wouldn't mind," she added, smiling.
"Good plan!" Chelsea beamed. "You know, I'm going to promote you to head of the planning sub-department.... " she laughed and patted Bridget's shoulder, heading back towards the main office and stopping off at Rena on the way. "Same again?" she asked.
Bridget laughed, appreciating Chelsea's good humor, as well as the physical encouragement. "Yep, same again. Black, two sweeteners."
Taking the cup Chelsea offered, Bridget leaned a hip against the counter and spoke again, in a thoughtful tone. "You'd said this morning that you practically lived here. Now I can see why... this place is a beehive of activity. I'm impressed that you're keeping priorities in order, and able to make time for your love life, with all of this," she gestured broadly with her hand, encompassing the entire room.
"I don't think poor Rick would see it that way. I don't get to spend nearly as much time with him as I would like to." she sighed, looking wistfully at the coffee in her hand as it steamed at her, unperturbed.
"By the way, would you be interested in coming to my 'hen event'?" Chelsea began. "It's a traditional 'pamper' day, with sessions in Yolanthe's holodeck salon. You know, hair, make up, face-masks, massage with warm stones, spa pools to soak in, herbal wraps.... all that sort of nice stuff for a day, girls only."
Bridget smiled broadly. "Oh you bet! And thank you for the invitation, I really appreciate it. I love that sort of thing! Makeup, hairdos, all of that." Her enthusiasm showed in her bright eyes.
"The catch is that i have to invite my inlaws to be and my mother too. The intention is for us all to bond but i think it's more likely to be a bun-fight, to be honest!" Chelsea rolled her eyes.
A knowing chuckle and nod were Bridget's reply. And then she said, "In-laws and mothers can be a fun lot. *If* they are able to cut those apron strings. My mother sure has had trouble with it, and when my children were leaving home, and then getting married... I sure had a lot of times when I had to just about clamp my mouth shut so I wouldn't say something stupid."
"This parenting thing, it's not as easy as some of you guys make it look, is it?" Chelsea shook her head. "A part of me is longing to have children with Rick, to see his face when the first is born, to watch them grow, to hold them.... but another part of me is terrified I'll make a mess of it and poor Rick will have to do everything for them...."
She began to wonder if she was making sense. "I know he'll cope, i just don't have faith in me.... I'd be okay with the medical bits... just.... well, i don't really know why i feel like that. I'm not afraid to wrestle death for patients' lives, I'm not even scared to take responsibility for tiny beings and their vulnerability - professionally. It's just the idea of being on the other side of the bedside. Is that crazy?"
Bridget shook her head, "No, not crazy at all. I felt that way, same as you do. I was a med student and Ed was trying to get his business off the ground. Between the two of us, we didn't see each other but maybe an hour a day. So I was worried about how we were going to raise a child in an environment where neither parent was going to be home much, let alone involved in the child's life."
"How did you cope?" Chelsea's eyes widened. "I'm sure you did, it just sounds like it must have been very hard?"
"Oh yeah it was tough," she agreed. "My mom and a couple of my sisters helped with babysitting, because we didn't have two strips of latinum between us. And once Ed got things going with his shuttle taxi service, well he was home more. Or he'd take our son to the station with him, and the other drivers would play with him." Bridget's eyes twinkled at the memory. "Those guys spoiled the hell out of my son, I just want to make that clear." Her wide grin said she was exaggerating.
Chelsea laughed. "I am sure he's not spoilt but very capable, wise, talented, dedicated and charming just like his mother." she replied with a fond smile.
"Is he an only child?" she asked thoughtfully.
Bridget rolled her eyes. "Oh you can sit by me at the party," she laughed, her tone slightly teasing. "We've got three kids: Ricky's the oldest, and he's married to Sonya; then our older daughter, Kylie -- she's married to AJ, and our youngest daughter, Sissy, is married to Bruce. They're just starting out for the most part. Ricky and Sonya have two little kids, and Kylie is pregnant. Sissy says she's waiting until she's forty to start her family, so there isn't any hurry in her mind."
Chelsea laughed. "She's a girl after my own heart then!"
After a brief pause she went on. "So you have two and a half grandchildren too...you really are amazing! You don't seem old enough, if you don't mind me saying"
"Girl, you know how to lay it on, don't you!" Bridget laughed. Though she did know that she looked young for her age. "Well the kids are only a couple years apart, and I was thirty-four when our son was born. Meh... they keep you young," she said with a shrug.
"So how's your mom taking your engagement, and all of that?" Bridget turned the conversation toward Chelsea.
"I have no idea" Chelsea's warmth became withdrawn for a short while. "I don't even know where she is, so I haven't told her, although my grandparents may have got hold of her. I doubt if she would care much though. She never even acknowledged my last fiance. Mind you, he was a completely fake bastard but i was engaged to him for two years so one might imagine she could have come and checked him out at least once?"
Chelsea shook her head. She was anxious to drop the subject of her mother, it was one that only brought her bitterness and she was determined not to allow that to cloud her horizon for any longer than absolutely necessary.
"How are your parents coping with *great* grandparentship?" she asked.
Bridget felt the reticence that clearly showed on Chelsea's face, and wisely didn't push the subject of her mother. Though she noted it, because the look in Chelsea's eyes told more of longing and regret, than anger and resentment.
"My parents love it. I swear, they give those kids more toys! You can't even walk through Ricky's house sometimes. Eddie, their oldest, is four. He has to tell you everything he sees, thinks, or does," she smiled widely. It wasn't hard to talk about her grandchildren. "Luke is their second, he's a year old. He was almost to the point of taking his first steps when we left earth." Bridget's smile was only slightly less bright, as she would have liked to have seen him walk.
Chelsea was thoughtful. "It never ends does it. Once you have a child, you never stop having someone to worry about, even when they grow up?"
Bridget thought perhaps Chelsea's words were more reflective of her own family, but she agreed with the sentiment. "Yeah, it just gets more complicated. When they're small, their needs are simpler but take more physical energy. It's easier in some ways when they get older and they are more autonomous, but they have the capacity to behave in intentionally hurtful ways and break your heart."
"And in UN-intentional ways and worry you to death!" Chelsea added with a grin again. "But who would be without family? Not me, that's for sure."
Bridget grinned and shook her head, saying "Me either!" She walked over to the replicator to recycle her now empty coffee cup. "And speaking of family, it's probably time to go and see how our Denobulan clan is doing."
"Good idea." Chelsea agreed, draining her own cup and returning it too. "After you?" she gestured for Bridget to precede her back out into the ward with a smile.
OFF
A JP between:
Ensign Bridget Stapleton
Doctor (General Practice) - DS5
and
Cmdr Chelsea Adams
CMO - DS5