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 Lieutenant Jasmine Wynter (Chief Medical Officer) in CMO’s Office- Preparations
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“We can get them down on record,” Jasmine began to assemble the patient’s rights paperwork. While she would not ever admit this to the women across from her, the three of them knew how vital this paperwork was usually in this type scenario. The paperwork prevented some of the complications that could arise at times with other parties in this such as a child against a parent at the end but Sair and her family seemed to know the stakes and the cost. It tugged at Jasmine’s heart slightly. Countless generations back on Mintara a plague had almost wiped out the original colony. It was now just a footnote in their history but the effects had shaped their society into what it was today.

“I can have anything transferred to your quarters you might need to make this…transition as smooth as possible.” Already the polite terms and word play were coming out. No one wanted to use words that were less polite.

Jasmine Wynter CMO

Kel had not let go of her daughter’s hand. “Once Sal arrives we can tackle certain things more directly. I know it’ll be easier to have a medical bed in my quarters sooner rather than later, but that’s not an issue yet. Mostly right now it’s mobility. I’ve moved recently into the second of four stages and I’m more tired. Everything takes drastically more energy and some days are rough and I might not be able to get out of bed easily. On the days I can, or am even feeling quite well, I can tire suddenly without a lot of warning and I worry about my stability on my feet. Mobility aides are the logical next step.”

“We can get you a hover chair which would be the best and safest and before you say no the last thing we need is for you to collapse and further injure yourself or stress your systems more since we are talking about palliative care. We can also move you into larger quarters if you would like instead of just the guest suites. That will allow you to have a space but also the ability to entertain and when you need to retreat to a quieter area and allow people to remain in the space. I will tell Cochrane you need the double bedroom suite which will allow for Sair to have space also.

“I was hoping to graduate my way up, but I will admit the fatigue does hit hard, so maybe prevention is the key,” Kel said, ever pragmatic.

Sair remained quiet, letting her mother speak to her own needs. Her own thoughts were fixed on her mother’s knowing words about Sair’s likely reactions. She wasn’t wrong and that was what was hard about it. Of course she’d do anything she could to avoid feeling so helpless. Anyone in her position would. So it was going to take a whole lot of work on her part to go with things as best she could. Whatever that looked like.

~Sair Songz, CNS

“As for the exhaustion, we can administer modafinil and methylphenidate which will help will the fatigue but it will be a bandaid and give you a better quality of life for as long as we can. I will also prescribe fampridine. It is safe but has recently been used in patients with conditions like yours to increase mobility. As your condition progresses it will work less well but let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.” Jasmine was a matter of fact in her treatment plan for Sair’s mother. There was nothing anyone could do but preserve what she had for as long as possible. This situation was not about fixing or blind hope but giving the patient more good days than bad. It was all a numbers game but life was all about numbers. The day you were born. The day you died and all the days in between that made up the whole of someone’s fleeting existence in this galaxy.

Jasmine Wynter CMO

Kel nodded. “I think we have a plan then,” she said before giving Sair’s hand a squeeze and offering her daughter a smile. “Anything else you can think of?”

Sair inhaled, letting her ribs expand outward and shook her head. “No, I think that about covers it until Father gets here. Though we should run some fresh scans and add them to the data compilation to figure out your rate shift. I want to double check our numbers so we’re requesting the correct amount of deuridium.” She looked to Jasmine. “There’s a bit of a complex formula we use to predict the changes in her cells’ usage but it’s quite accurate. But we need to see where her current levels are first, so that’s something we should take car of right away before I talk to my contacts at Distribution.” They didn’t want to underestimate how much dueridium her mother would need for these final stages, but nor did they want to overrequest and pull supply away from someone else who needed it.

~Kel & Sair Songz

“Anything myself or the medical staff can do for you just let us know. The sick bay is yours.” Jasmine wanted to make sure Kel and Sair had any and all resources they needed. In a way what they were asking for was similar to a hospice situation where the family helped the loved one at the end. It was a deeply personal and nurturing approach to medicine where the loved ones took care of the individual instead of being surrounded by the chaos of desperate attempts to keep someone hanging on in the end. There was a quiet dignity and Jasmine would make sure Kel, Sair and their family had access to everything they needed.

Jasmine Wynter CMO

Sair nodded. “Thank you, Jasmine,” she said, those few words unable to encompass her feelings, especially her gratitude. She looked at her mother. “Scans?”

Kel nodded. “Yes, let’s go get that done,” she said, pushing herself to her feet with some effort. But she managed without help, even though she felt Sair watching her closely.

The two woman stepped out of the office and moved over to a free biobed. After helping Kel up, Sair set the biobed to take anther set of standard vitals, but also grabbed a tricorder and began to scan. She’d have to sit down and confirm the calculations after she ran the numbers through the program she had brought with her for her own use, but Sair understood that there was likely to be a change in rate. It was how these things went. She could take in the numbers and apply them to symptoms and outcomes but in this moment, in this setting, she had to remain detached. Outside of Sickbay the patient could be her mother, but not in this moment. It didn’t mean there wasn’t care and compassion, but for Sair she couldn’t let reality be a factor.

~Sair & Kel Songz