Posted by Ensign Shon Baht (Medical Officer) in Pre-Sim: Sickbay – Medical Evaluation

Posted by Ensign Kiama Naim (Scientist) in Pre-Sim: Sickbay – Medical Evaluation

Posted by Ensign Shon Baht (Medical Officer) in Pre-Sim: Sickbay – Medical Evaluation
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Kiama nodded, her black eyes closed for a brief moment. When she opened them again, she looked straight at Shon. “Thank you, Doctor. I can’t believe I didn’t realise that I got hurt more than I initially thought. I never broke a bone before, but I always thought you would feel it and even hear the crack.” Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, she continued, “Is there anything I should or shouldn’t do in the next few days?”

~Ensign Naim, Scientist

Shon felt a swell of sympathy as Kiama offered her thanks for his discretion. A small part of him wondered if he was not doing his due diligence by promising to omit the recklessness that caused the injury, but from his point of view, he would rather members of the crew like Ensign Naim felt comfortable coming back to sickbay. Doctor-client confidentiality was something to be revered, after all.

“There’s nothing to worry about, Miss Kiama,” Shon said as he moved to help her slowly sit up on the edge of the biobed to hopefully avoid too much discomfort with the movement. “The scans showed no sign of damage to you liver, kidneys, or spleen, which can sometimes happen when those lower ribs break. But you seem to have very manageable fractures that are already healing naturally as expected. Brain damage can sometimes result in a lack of pain awareness, but again the scans showed no trauma in that regard, so you probably just got lucky to have as little pain as you do.”

Kiama silently thanked the four deities as she let Shon help her sit back up. Once her torso was in an upright position again, she swung her legs over the edge of the biobed again. “I’m glad to hear that, though I really hope I would have noticed if I’d had internal injuries like that,” she shuddered ever so slightly just thinking about how badly she could have gotten hurt because of her stupidity.

Ensign Baht crossed the sickbay to pick up an osteogenic stimulator from a medical supply locker. As he returned, he held the tool behind his back while he answered Kiama’s last question. “I have a couple recommendations. You’d be surprised how helpful simply apply an ice pack to those ribs will be for managing pain and helping with those bruises, too. Some people also find that it helps to sleep propped up slightly while their ribs heal. Most importantly, you want to avoid activities that might further injure your ribs, so no sports in the holodeck or heavy lifting on duty. I’ll write you a doctor’s note for that recommendation so your superiors know not to push you too hard the next couple of weeks.”

Shon held up the osteogenic stimulator. “Thanks to modern technology, we can assist those bones in speeding up the healing process, but it will still take a little while for those bones to heal fully. I’d like you to come in once a week for the next three weeks for treatments with an osteogenic stimulator like this one. Would you mind lifting your tunic so that I can access your right ribs?”

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

“Of course,” Kiama replied and without hesitation she unzipped her uniform jacket and then lifted her shirt and undershirt up to reveal her right side. Even with her dark skin, the bruise was still fairly visible, though not as much as it would have been if her skin was lighter. “That doesn’t sound to bad. And while the first impression you got from me might not seem like it, I actually can be responsible and listen to doctor’s advice,”she said earnestly, before switching topics without missing a beat. “If you like, maybe we can grab something to eat after a shift one of these days. I’d like to get to know my fellow officers some. And I wouldn’t want to get injured again to get to know you better. What do you think?” For a little bit, the Betazoid woman had seemed rather subdued, but now it seemed that she was becoming her excited, almost giddy, self again.

~Ensign Naim, Scientist

Shon leaned down slightly as he carefully maneuvered the osteogenic stimulator to hover about an inch from Kiama’s skin before powering it on. He slowly moved the glowing instrument in small circular movements over the bruised area and along the ribs underneath. He smiled at her suggestion for a meal. “I’d like that. Sometimes it feels like it’s hard to make friends with personnel from other departments, given the nature of medical’s relationship with the crew,” Shon said with a twinge of loneliness. “So thank you for offering, let’s plan on it.”

“I can imagine,” and without thinking about it, Kiama reached towards Shon with her left hand and placed it on his upper arm for a brief moment. “I don’t know my shifts yet, but what times would work best for you?”

Shon smiled at the friendly touch. “I tend to work the morning shift, so perhaps supper might be best if we’re lucky enough for our schedules to align?”

“Supper sounds great. Though before you really set a time and date, I should probably find out what shift I’m going to work for now,” Kiama mused.

Shon noticed Kiama’s uptick in demeanor and her friendliness had disarmed him. He had one last topic to broach, but he felt himself resisting it because it might damage the pleasantness of the interaction. With a small sigh through his nose that he hoped Kiama didn’t notice, Shon sat back and flipped the medical device off. “And that’s that, quick and painless.” He paused, then lowered his voice slightly. “Ensign, one last question that I feel compelled to ask from a professional perspective… substance use that results in injury or poor decision making can obviously be quite harmful to your health. Binge drinking, in specific, can be a slippery slope. Do you have any concerns about your substance use?” The question was entirely non-judgemental, but Shon was quite clearly expecting a defensive response.

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

Sensing his change in emotions, the Betazoid mentally braced herself slightly for whatever would come next. And when Shon asked her his last a bout of nervous laughter bubbled from her chest and she very nearly let herself fall backwards onto the biobed; remembering only just in time that she was sitting sideways on it and that that might end painfully.

Kiama then took a deep breath to gather herself and to appear more like a responsible and sensible adult. “I know that most likely everyone would give you this answer, but still: That one night on Risa was a one time occurrence. I barely ever have a drink to beginn with; which may have been part of the probablem. And I’ve never had any other mind altering substances.” Moving a slender, long fingered hand over her braided hair, she continued, “You don’t have to believe me, of course. I’d understand that completely. And I guess it would be the responsible thing for you to do not to take my words at face value. So if you want to run some additional tests, please don’t hesitate. And the same goes for when I come back next week for another round of treatment for my ribs.”

Chewing on her lower lip for a brief moment, she added, “While that end up in my medical file?” She didn’t see why it would as she didn’t have a drinking problem, but she was worried nevertheless. “I mean, if additional tests or whatever come back negative,” she added rather hastily.

~Ensign Naim, Scientist

Shon felt his stomach drop as Kiama asked about the testing. It was exactly the reaction he had worried she might have. Shon shook his head. “Miss Kiama, I had no intention of taking any kind of punitive action. I was simply asking about your concerns about your alcohol use. If you do not have any, then that answers my question and there’s no reason to address it further.” He paused. “For context, people who do feel distress from their substance use will rarely express that without the explicit opportunity to do so. I didn’t mean to imply that you had this issue, but I’d rather be safe than sorry in the event that you did desire intervention.”

Kiama nodded. “I didn’t think one moment that you would want to take punitive actions. Not really anyways. I was just worried that you might have to make a note in my medical file. And I’d hate to know that I might have jeopardised my career already. After all, I only just graduated and I wouldn’t know what to do if I couldn’t continue pursuing a career with Starfleet.,” she replied softly, wanting to ease his worry as much as hers, but wondering afterwards if her words might not have had the opposite effect on both of them.

“Anyways,” Shon said awkwardly as he returned the osteogenic stimulator to its supply cabinet, “your medical boarding evaluation is complete, and you are cleared for duty. Taking into consideration your rib precautions, of course.” He had become a bit more formal now, fearing that he had unintentionally snuffed out whatever potential for friendship they had. He clasped his hands behind his back as he stood before Ensign Naim. “Do you have any other questions for me?”

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

Kiama shook her head and then said, “No, I don’t have any questions. But I want to say something before I leave.” Looking Shon straight into his blue eyes and smiling warmly at him, she continued, “I still want to get to know you better. I think you are a good guy and nothing that just happened changed that impression. In fact, it only reinforced it. You did your job and did it thoroughly. And that is so important. Especially out here. Mistakes can cost lives. So I’d much rather you ask me questions that make me feel uncomfortable for a bit, then anything awfully happening in the long run. I don’t want either of us to have to bear that kind of responsibility.” And with that said she slipped off the biobed to stand in front of him. “Okay?”

~Ensign Naim, Scientist

Shon’s expression softened at Kiama’s understanding. “Okay,” he responded, “and thank you for humoring my perspective. You’re a wise one, aren’t you?” The corners of is lips tugged upwards slightly. “Let me know when you have your schedule then, and hopefully we can have a conversation in a more comfortable environment where I can ask you less… invasive questions that you’re not obligated to answer.”

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

Ensign Barvan would come into the sickbay, perceptibly looking for someone. Ensign Baht would easily see this.

Ensign Barvan, Security JO