Posted by Captain Rende Asam (Captain) in side - Sim: I am not Geriatric (TAG Semenza)

Posted by Lieutenant Jericho Semenza (Chief Medical Officer) in side - Sim: I am not Geriatric (TAG Semenza)

Posted by Captain Rende Asam (Captain) in side - Sim: I am not Geriatric (TAG Semenza)
Posted by… suppressed (12) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Rende shook her head as she made her way down to sickbay. A year, she and So had been on this ship a year! A lot had changed but then again, not really. At least this time she didn’t have Eldorin with her to tell the good doctor for all the things that were wrong with her. She was over 500 years old, she was as fit as ever.

Rende could not keep a straight face even to herself. She walked into sickbay and stopped a passing nurse who squeaked at being addressed by the captain. “I’m here to see Dr. Semenza for my yearly physical.”

Rende, CO

Semenza was back in the Camp’s office with a stack of paperwork. (Well, an electronic stack, but still.) When the nurse came in to tell him the Captain was here for a physical, he stood from his desk, grabbing a tricorder as he exited the office and made his way over to Rende, who had been led to one of the biobeds by a nurse. “Captain. I hear you’re here for your yearly physical?”

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

Rende had no qualms about hoisting herself up onto the biobed to sit and wait for Semenza. She smiled a greeting, “I am. Doctors are some of my favorite people. I might be a marine, but that doesn’t mean I want to live with pain or messed up joints that don’t work right. That kind of stubbornness is idiotic.” She also had a point to prove to Eldorin, and she was tired of his nagging so she’d made the appt before he could. She couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when he realized he didn’t get to remind her of it, or nag her about her eyes.

Rende, CO

Semenza smiled. “It’s always better to be preventative than reactive, in my field. Outcomes are much better when a problem is caught before it’s a problem.” He read over her file and then looked up at her. “And speaking of which, are there any new symptoms you need to report, anything that’s cropped up since your last physical, Captain?”

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

Rende considered but shook her head. “Nothing new. Though this shoulder,” she shrugged the left one and tilted her head away from it stretching it, “is still every morning for longer than it used to be. Makes the area around it tingle. Could be the imaginings of an old woman though.” She glanced around. She was looking to make sure Eldorin wasn’t around. She knew she needed the glasses, but she would never ever admit that in front of him. Why? Because they had been married for a long time. “And I think I might need a new prescription for my reading glasses.”

Rende, CO

He watched as she looked around, presumably because she didn’t want somebody to overhear. Semenza was not quite familiar with the dynamic between the Captain and her husband, he was still rather new among the crew. He pulled out his tricorder and smiled. “We can always take a look at that shoulder just to be sure, and then get your glasses taken care of.”

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

“Thank you doctor. I am sure there are corrective procedures for my eyes, but I think my husband takes too much joy from reminding me I need them, to deprive him of the pleasure. And I take far too much pleasure in telling him I don’t need them. The shoulder was from a bullet wound a few centuries ago.”

Rende, CO

“Then I’ll simply make sure you have the correct strength of glasses,” said Semenza, nodding. He did not seem phased when Rende said the wound was centuries old. He was aware of the life span of her species. “And a quick scan of the shoulder, just to be sure.” Nothing would have changed, not with a centuries old wound, but Semenza liked to be thorough, and look anyway to see if there was anything that might help.

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

Rende rolled the shoulder as Semenza scanned it. The shoulder had multiple layers of scar tissue, from wounds ranging across her centuries of life. The oldest seeming to be the problem where it healed but the ‘medicine’ of the time would have been crude and continue use increased the scar tissue and possibly damaging or pinching nerves over time.

Rende, CO

Semenza read the results with as close to a neutral expression as he could manage. The oldest was the problem and it was possibly damaging or pinching nerves, but the medicine from the time the wound was inflicted was.... Well, not what it was now. There was little Semenza could think to do that wouldn’t require surgery, and there was no reason to go that far unless it was causing a real problem. “The… er, older style of medicine used at the time left remaining scar tissue, which increased over time and may have pinched or damaged nerves in your shoulder. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to do to fix that without invasive surgery that would be ridiculous at level of discomfort you’ve mentioned. Or perhaps something to loosen it up, but it would be a temporary fix.” He shrugged. “Now, about those glasses… Did you want me to adjust your prescription?”

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

Rende nodded. She could live with the discomfort, but surgery didn’t bother her. “The planet I was on at the time was similar to early 20th century Earth. The doctor did the best she could. I will let you know if it gets worse.” Rende pulled a pair of glasses from her pocket and handed them over. “I would appreciate, Dr Semenza.”

Rende, CO

Semenza took the glasses and then held them for a short moment, staring at them blankly as if contemplating something. Then he smiled at the Captain again, checking the strength of the glasses and then a quick scan to check the strength she needed. “It’s a small adjustment, but you do need stronger glasses. It won’t take long to get lenses that are the correct strength.”

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

Rende nodded, “I thought I might. Now to have all the pairs Eldorin has stashed away replaced.” The idea made the captain grin. She waited while the glasses were adjusted, speaking to the medical staff that weren’t engaged elsewhere. It always amused Rende how timid or bold the younger officers were. Personnel was Kohr’s department and he did an excellent job, but Rende did her best to be accessible.

Semenza came back with the adjusted glasses and smiled again. “Your new prescription is in your file. Whenever you find a pair, bring them to Sickbay and anyone should be able to make the necessary adjustments.”

When Semenza came back she tried the glasses reading over the mini PaDD she kept in her pocket. “Ah wonderful. Thank you.” Rende took the glasses off and slipped them in her pocket. “Is there anything I can do for you Dr? How is your department?”

Rende CO

“The department is fine… Everything has been easy to handle.” So far it had been an easy department to run and Semenza was thankful for that. It had become apparent to him that running things wasn’t… really for him. He preferred practicing, without the extra paperwork. Or maybe medical research. The medical lab had always been a favorite for him. But he didn’t want to disappoint the Captain so he was hesitant to say anything. “Were there any other medical concerns…?” He asked, a bit awkwardly.

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

El-Aurian empathy was a strange thing. It was picked up from the voice of the speaker - hence being ‘a race of listeners.’ Rende sensed a little bit of restlessness, unfulfillment. Not so odd, to want more or something different. “No nothing for me. Though we haven’t gotten to introduce ourselves. It’s been quite busy since you arrived. How did you end up in Star Fleet Medical?”

Rende

Semenza pulled up a stool and sat on it. “I had a friend in medical school who was training to go on to Starfleet. I had become fascinated by alien culture and I wished to get out there and meet some of them. My undergrad degree is in anthropology, the study of human culture. But I’m a bit of a zenoanthropologist, too. Might go back to school for it at some point.” He shook his head. “But I am rambling, am I not? Since I was already doing medical training, and I did want to be a doctor, it wasn’t a stretch to jump into Starfleet medical academy.” Jericho, though he rarely mentioned it, was also a writer by hobby. And since making CMO, he really hadn’t had time to work on his novel at all. It felt like he was choosing one interest over the others, and ended up not being all that… happy with it. Why did he have to be so indecisive? But he had always been that way. He only chose medicine in high school, and before that, he’d been unfocused and lazy, without a clue what he wanted to fill his life with.

~ Lt Semenza, CMO