Posted by Civilian Sair Songz (Counselor) in CMO’s Office- Preparations

Posted by Lieutenant Jasmine Wynter (Chief Medical Officer) in CMO’s Office- Preparations

Posted by Civilian Sair Songz (Counselor) in CMO’s Office- Preparations
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Cochrane had instigated the meeting, but Sair would have requested it herself in due course once her father inevitably agreed to join them on the Manhattan. The situation necessitated a lot of coordination and explanations that back on Kobliad were never needed and a part of everyday medicine. But it was important that they had support here so Sair and Kel were happy to meet with Doctor Wynter. They hadn’t told her anything specific yet, just that there were extra medical needs they needed to discuss. But Sair also knew that Jasmine was a smart woman and might have an inkling about what those needs might be. Maybe. Who knew.

So at the appointed time, the pair made their way to Jasmine’s office and Sair pressed the chime, a picture of calm. Kel was her usual stoic self.

~Sair and Kel Songz

“Enter,” Jasmine said also waving her hand as she shut off the inservice playing on her wall PaDD. Seeing the people she smile. “Saved me just in time from another seminar of the importance of prophylactics and shore leave. It is always a nail bitter. Can I get you something to drink,” she moved to the replicator.

Jasmine Wynter CMO

Sair couldn’t help a tiny grin even as she felt a twinge of nervousness. “I’m okay,” she said.

Kel moved to also take a seat. “Uh, a glass of water would be good, actually. Thank you.”

Sair inhaled deeply and studied Jasmine for a moment. “I apologize for the vagueness of arranging this whole meeting. It just didn’t seem appropriate to explain the subject of it in a message.”

~Sair & Kel Songz

Bringing the drinks back, Jasmine set them in front of them and took her seat behind the desk. “No problem. What’s up,” she took a sip of her own drink. The two women were familiar enough in sick bay a few on the crew actually mistook them as part of the medical staff. Kel was a doctor in her own right and had helped out from time to time. There was a myriad of topics the two women could want to talk about to the medical chief. It was better to just let them start than try to guess.

Jasmine Wynter CMO

OOC: Kel’s a nurse, not a doctor, just so there’s no confusion.
IC:
Kel and Sair exchanged a deep look before Sair nodded to her mother. Kel turned her gaze on Jasmine and gave a small, if weary, smile. “The Kobliad lifespan is remarkably shorter than what Sair explained is typical of Humans in this era of medical advances. This is naturally a result of our genetic condition. Each person eventually reaches a point where their metabolism starts to shift and dueridium no longer effectively maintains cell structures. We call this phase of life The Decline. It’s progressive and cannot be stopped. It is something we are used to and expect.

Kel exhaled aloud. “Just before Sair left to come to the Manhattan I started showing signs of my metabolism shifting, therefore putting me in the first stage of The Decline. My symptoms are progressing more rapidly and I told Sair a couple days ago. The Decline is highly individual. So much depends on a person’s genetics, their natural metabolism and other factors in their life.

“Captain Cochrane has generously arranged for myself and my husband Sal to be granted diplomatic status so that we can remain here on the Manhattan as long as we like. As a family we’ve discussed how to proceed and Sal is coming out to the Delta Quadrant and we’ll spend the next few weeks or months together. He’ll likely return to Kobliad sometime after I pass.” Kel looked back at Sair for a moment, who met her mother’s gaze with understanding. “Doctor Wynter, Sair and I are the only Kobliads on board and as health professionals we have been through this process with many, many people. We understand it intimately. It’s a… difficult experience. Painful. So even though this is deeply personal for us, right now the easiest thing for us is to approach this the way we have every other time, and that is to provide the best quality of life for whatever time remains. So do understand that if we seem perhaps more… clinical or detached than the situation might deem appropriate, this is us finding a way to handle this the best way we can.”

Sair herself was fairly stoic, her therapist’s mask firmly in place. She could show emotion but as she had most of her life, the pain was held out of the way for the time being.

~Sair & Kel Songz

Jasmine listened with a neutral expression. The news was shocking but not completely jarring as it was with an unexpected finding no one knew it was coming. A thick knot formed in her gut the way it always did in these situations. Jasmine was uniquely educated on the Kobliab condition, learning everything about it from the material Kel and Sair had provided her. Since it was unique to their race and Kobliab’s weren’t populous among the Federation citizenry, the only source of first-hand knowledge had come from the two ladies sitting across from her.

Letting out a deep breath, she didn’t realize she was holding, Jasmine leaned forward on her desk. “First off I am sorry this is happening to you.” While she did not have a counseling degree, this was not the first terminal case that ever came to her attention. The two women could protest all they wanted about it being expected but it was something that just needed to be said. No matter how prepared you were for an ending, it hit you like a brick wall when it came.

“So you are terminal,” she asked. “That is what you mean by the Decline phase.” It was important to get the terminology correct. It was little things like that which made the difference in situations like this.

Jasmine looked at Sair and gave her a tight-lipped smile. Losing a loved one was hard but in a way, the Decline gave the family a blessing they could not immediately see. They would have time to say goodbye instead of losing Kel out of nowhere like an accident. To Jasmine, Sair’s reaction was textbook regardless of race or culture. It was a form of denying the inevitable because one had a job to do. It would hit the woman later even if that was months after Kel passed. Jasmine would focus on Sair’s needs then; however, right now, there was another patient that needed her more.

“So what do you need from me?” The question was blunt but times liked this called for bluntness. The less confusion about needs and expectations the better. Kel and Sair were far more educated than Jasmine on the condition but that did not mean Jasmine could not add a different perspective.

Jasmine Wynter CMO