| Do No Harm |
| Summary: | During a late night shift, Cameron meets PA-C Robinson and a patient that makes him question whether or not to break his oath. |
| Date: | 05 Nov 2041 AE |
| Related Logs: | None |
| Players: |
   |
| Sickbay - Deck 10 - Battlestar Cerberus |
|---|
| Being able to accommodate combat casualties requires room, and the Sickbay has it. Beds line each side of the room with privacy curtains strung up and readily available. Large vaulted lockers hold access to the supplies at the far end of the area. Nearer the front, a Petty Officer sits ready to dispense simple items like ibuprofen and aspirin. Further to the rear is an area prepped twenty-four hours a day for emergency surgery. To the side are a set of double doors that lead to the Recovery Ward where patients can recuperate. |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #251 |
Another late night shift for Cameron, but blessedly a slow one. With the Petty Officer out front to let him know if any new patients have arrived that require his attention, Cameron has fallen back on tried, but true, techniques he learned while an intern at Caprica Medical Center. That is to say, finding an unused cot and catching a few Zs while no one is looking. Indeed, he has been catnapping for at least 15 minutes now. If he were a Raptor, he would be like a drifting ship with all of its sensor at maximum, ready to jump to his feet and return to 'action' just as soon as needed. But of course that also means that the slightest thing could wake him up, regardless of whether or not it was an 'emergency'.
Having done the HALO training earlier in the day, Ida Robinson doesn't think she could sleep if she wanted to. Of course, she's a night owl anyway. That's beside the point, though. Jumping and parachuting and shooting fake enemies? That's totally awesome, right? RIGHT?! Well, she thinks so. Having gotten washed up and all ready for her shift, Robinson is now just walking about the sickbay checking up on any preexisting patients, making sure they're alright, and then, when all is said and done, taking a seat and sitting back to stare into space. Not quite literally into space, though goodness knows it's a possibility while on this ship. So that's her now. Sitting, and waiting for either rounds to start up again or for some new patient to arrive.
Someone, somewhere, knocks over an IV stand, the resulting crash causing Cameron to sit bolt upright in a flash, his hand sweeping back the curtain from his secret cot, hair standing practically on end as he calls out, "Who? What? Where?" He rises up, but unfortunately gravity works, and the doctor finds himself back down on the cot after utilizing insufficient rise to counter the damn force of nature. Except that it isn't a force of nature on a ship, is it? Downright unnatural when you get right down to it. Rubbing at his eyes and the stubble on his face, his gaze lands squarely upon Ensign Robinson, sole witness to his indiscretion and subsequent awkwardness. He stares at her for a second before asking, "Was I drooling? Tell me I wasn't drooling as well…" And just to be safe, he wipes a sleeve across his lips, glancing down. Whew! No obvious signs of drooling.
Robinson blinks and bolts upright as well. What was that? Attack? Candy monster on the loose? Fairy Godmother come to grant a wish? No…just an IV being knocked over. She shakes her head to Cameron. "No sir, no drooling. Maybe next time." She says cheekily, with a small grin on her face. "But maybe we should check on that sound…" She says standing from her chair.
Rising up to his feet, Cameron nods and then blinks, asking, "You weren't here before, right? Just starting your shift?" He can hear someone rustling about and cursing softly, and pulling back a curtain he asks, "Everything alright in here?" The patient in question seems more embarrassed and angry than injured, muttering, "Just trying to get to the damn head…." Glancing over at the woman, Cameron's eyes narrow on her name tag before asking, "Robinson, mind lending me a hand here with Lt. Guerren?" With each of them on either side of the man, they are able to get him safely to his feet and then allow him to slowly hobble his way toward the head, using his IV stand for support. Offering his hand, the rumpled doctor greets, "Cameron Adair. Doctor, surgeon, generally nice guy. And you are?"
Robinson grins a little and nods. "Yes, sir. Just starting." She states simply, making her way to the party in question with the doctor. Once everything is in order and the offer is on his way, she smiles at Cameron, accepting his hand in one of hers and shaking. "Pleasure to meet you, Doctor. I'm Ida Robinson. Certified Physician's Assistant, Corpsman, Marine, and generally nice gal." She says with a little wink. "We've probably worked together already in the time I've been here, but with all the new people always arriving, it's hard to keep track, eh?" She says softly.
Heralded by the tap of his cane and his distinctive flick-shuffle gait, Shiner makes it to sickbay. On entering, he pauses by the doorway for breath, running one hand through his hair, before finally looking up and putting on his best, hopeful smile to wait for a doctor.
"Could be, could be, but flatter an old man and pretend we've never met before, because if we have and I've forgotten? That would be pretty sad. Course, I am relatively new to both the ship and even more so to Sickbay, so maybe our paths haven't crossed before now?" He's certainly older than Ida, but probably not what most people would consider 'old' by a long shot. Hands run through his hair, trying to return it to a vague sense of normalcy as Cameron heads back past the various curtained cots toward the waiting area of Sickbay. "I'm afraid this military thing is a bit new to me. What should I call you? Ensign? Ensign Robinson? Nurse Robinson? CPA Robinson? Hey you?" he jokes mildly, though the question is a genuine one.
Robinson grins and shakes her head. "Don't worry, I don't think your memory would be that bad. I can hardly remember myself. That should tell ya something. I got picked up on Saggitaron." She says with a little shrug. "PA-C Robinson you could call me, or Ensign Robinson. I'm not a nurse though, so that wouldn't be correct." She says gently, not chidingly or in any form of annoyance. More…patiently. After all, he's not military. He has no way of knowing. "You can also call me Ida, since I take it you're a civilian. In the end, though, 'Hey You!' works just as well." She says kindly. Stretching slightly and looking about, she notices Shiner. "Oh! I'm sorry, didn't see ya there." She looks back to Cameron, giving him a little smile, before walking toward Shiner. "What can we do for you?"
"No rush, sir, I'm not bleeding," Shiner insists, plastering on that smile again. "I was hoping to speak to a doctor about my neck and stuff, yeah? See what we can do to make it fixed faster. I need to be able to walk properly, see?"
Chuckling softly, Cameron replies, "We'll stick with PA-C Robinson then. I may be technically a civilian doctor, but I have my clearance to work for the Fleet and have been told that while doing so I have to stay in line with all military regs." Smiling at Ida, one brow lifts as he suggests, "Perhaps you can act as my guide. Tell me when I'm stepping on Military rules and toes and over boundaries and such. I've had years of practice with medical red tape, but military rules are a whole new ball of wax. Or tape. Ball of tape." Maybe he should just stop talking? That might be a good idea. He turns and simply watches as Robinson approaches Shiner, allowing her to take the lead and do her job still he hears 'neck' in conjunction with 'walk properly'. That's not your usual conjunction of words. Brow creasing slightly he joins Ida and greets, "I'm Dr. Adair. What can I do to help you…." and his eyes start searching over the man for some sort of obvious rank, but he can't identify any, so instead he asks, "Just dropping in, or do you have an appointment?" Although why anyone would make an appointment at this hour of the night is uncertain. Unless he just got off a late shift, perhaps.
"Not all issues that need to be rushed involve bleeding." Robinson says softly. "What exactly is wrong…Apprentice? Is that it? Just wanna make sure I got your rank right." She says kindly. She grins at Cameron. "I'll see what I can do about being your guide, sir. In the mean time, we've got a patient to help!"
"Apprentice Wright, sir," Shiner agrees keenly, shifting his weight awkwardly while one hand unconsciously goes to rub at the back of his neck. "I don't have an appointment, though… uh… do you need me to make one? I mean, I come do that and come back if you're busy, sir. In the morning before I'm on watch again or something..? I'm pretty sure I'm not going to die overnight."
The title clearly strikes Cameron oddly, much more used to hearing it used in the field of craftsmen than the military, but a simple shrug of his shoulder is given as he accepts it. Chuckling again softly, Cameron replies to Shiner, "Yes, you need to make an appointment. We're totally swamped, can't you see?" he offers with a gesture toward the completely empty room. Smirking slightly he offers, "At ease, we don't bite and we're here to help. Robinson, you mind pulling Apprentice Wright's medical file and pulling up his account on the computer in examination room 1?" Turning his attention back to the seated man, Cameron notes, "Why don't you come with us and we'll see what's what?"
Robinson chuckles softly. "Don't worry, Apprentice Wright. We'll see what we can do to help you, alright?" She says kindly. She gives Cameron a little nod. "Of course, Doctor. I'll bring them up immediately." Before she goes to bring up the medical records, however, she does look to Shiner and says, "Although if you mention to the Good Doctor here what caused the issues to begin with and what's been done so far, it might help as well." She says and then turns to being up the requested items.
"Cheers, sir," Shiner replies, hobbling after the doctor to the room indicated, although Robinson gets an appreciative look over and a smile. Returning his attention to the task at hand, however, he explains, "I got shot, sir, in the neck. The guy gave it some fancy name, but basically the nerve got bruised, right? So when my brain says to bits of my body 'do this', my body goes 'frak you, sunshine, we're on strike'. But it's been like a month and a half and, well, I still can't walk properly. So can I have some pills or something to just make my frakking legs work? They only have to work for, like, half an hour. Just long enough to show the Major I can walk properly." A pause as he squints at Cameron, eyeing his name tag. "Wait… you're the civvy nerve guy, right? You totally know about necks and stuff, right?"
Gesturing for Shiner to take a seat, Cameron asks, "May I?" indicating that he wants to look at the injury while his patient is talking and he's waiting for the reports to arrive. "Shot in the neck - bolt or bullet?" he asks first as he leans Shiner forward a bit and brushes his hair back a bit to look at the scar thoughtfully. "Bruised nerve," he echoes absently before asking, "Did anyone take X-rays? CT scan?" Pulling back, Cameron chuckles and nods, noting, "Well, I do have a background in neurology, if that's what you mean. Bit more than just 'necks and stuff' though," he notes with a chuckle before focusing on the matter at hand. "So what you're suffering from is still your legs not obeying your brain's commands? Or is it a question of pain. Because I hate to break it to you, but there really isn't some magical pill that you can take that is going to make your nerves work any better than they already do. If they're damaged, they either need to heal naturally or be repaired. Being that it's been over a month now, it might be that they need to be repaired. Have you had any improvement in your condition since the incident?"
Appearing in short order with the medical history that was requested, Robinson knocks on the wall and says, "I've got that medical history for ya, Doc." Holding it out for Cameron to take, she moves off to the side when he does so. This is his shindig now. Not hers. She's just there to help if he needs her to do so.
"Uh, I don't know about x-rays, sir," Shiner admits. "I was kind of out of it for the first week. I can't remember much about it." He settles into a seat awkwardly, resting his cane against his leg. "And yeah, it's getting better. Just real slow is all. I mean, I'm mobile now, I can move most parts, it's just my hands and feet I'm having trouble with still. But I /need/ to be able to walk, sir. I mean, without the stick, and without falling over every five minutes."
Smiling at Robinson, Cameron takes the file from her and murmurs, "Thanks. Do me a favor? Can you take Apprentice Shiner's vitals here while I go over his file? I just need to see what's already been done and what we should try from this point out." Heading over to the computer, he takes a seat and pulls up Shiner's file there as well, checking over both the physical notes and the computer ones thoughtfully, assured of Robinson's ability to take care of their patient for the moment. His brow furrows thoughtfully as he reads and studies the x-rays in the system, the light from the computer screen flickering over his face.
"Vitals?" Robinson's face goes from happy to serious and worried. "I don't think I was trained to take vitals, sir." She can't keep that up for long before she's giggling. "I'm sorry. Just a joke. Ya gotta keep the place lively during this shift. There's not usually a whole bunch to do." It's with that that she starts checking Shiner's various vitals, starting with his pulse. "So, how long you been aboard, Apprentice?"
"Just joined, sir, when the bombs dropped," Shiner replies, holding his arm out helpfully for the pulse taking. "Passed out of basic, landed a berth here, then they blew shit up behind me. Waste of time cleaning up my room back home, huh?" he notes with a dry chuckle. "Well, sir? Can you give me something to make it better?"
One brow lifts, a soft 'snork' coming from Cameron, even though he never glances over at his assistant who, apparently, has aspirations to become a comedian. He's thorough, careful, studying all of the x-rays, notes, and information available thoughtfully. One hand lifts and waves as Cameron offers, "Patience, Apprentice. A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials…" and he leaves Shiner to ponder that little gem of advice for a moment while he finishes up his research. "Robinson? Let's get another CT scan when you're done? I just want to see what kind of progress has been going on before I make a final decision as to treatment."
Robinson shakes her head, counting out the heartbeat rate. She moves through the checkup points before smiling. "Seems well enough. For the most part." She says happily. "But jeez, you're really fresh to it all. Not that I've been around that much longer, mind. But I serving my first assignment, I was on Saggitaron, when the bombs hit. I spent months on that planet, making my way. You're lucky. You got the luxury of being on this ship, at least." She says kindly. "Well, I'm done here, Doctor. Perhaps we should do the scan now? No time like the present."
Shiner grins faintly, shrugging a shoulder. "Psh, I'm already perfect, sir. I don't need polishing. What's a CT scan? Is that going to fix my legs?"
Eyes roll slightly as the young officer is clearly too eager to hear what Cameron is saying. "If you were perfect, Apprentice, you wouldn't be here, would you?" Since the man seems a bit too flippant about the matter, Cameron's voice shifts over to a much more serious tone. "Yes, I think it would be best to have the scan done immediately. I do not like what I'm seeing here," he adds mildly, his face giving nothing away. Turning to Shiner, Cameron explains, "A CT scan is like an X-ray, only more refined. It will help me determine whether the swelling of your nerves has reduced at all since your initial accident or not. Hopefully surgery will not be necessary, as it is not without significant risks, but I won't know until we have the results back."
Robinson smiles. "The doctor has a point. You wouldn't be here if you were perfect." She lets Cameron explain a CT scan before speaking again. "Pretty much a CT scan helps us to figure out how we can best help you. That's all. Not invasive or anything. Just tells us what's going on." She explains kindly. "Now, let us get you to that scanner."
Shiner's face falls at Cameron's tone. "Wait… what? What's wrong with what you're seeing? Sir? I'm getting better, right? I'm not stuck like this, right? Right? Sir? You're going to make it better, aren't you?" If Robinson were to take his pulse now, it might show a rapid deviation from the norm as real fear strikes into the man. "I can't stay like this forever! I can't! What chick would ever want to frak a crip, huh?"
"Shiner, calm down. That's an order," Cameron replies in his most no-nonsense voice. "You tell me that you're improving. That's a good sign. But your impatience is not going to help your body heal. In fact, it could very well make your condition worse. PA-C Robinson here is going to get a new CT scan so I can compare your condition now to your condition at the time of the incident. Only then will I have a clear view of what diagnose and treatment should be followed. What I need from you is to take this matter seriously." A small frown creases Cameron's brow, as that final comment hits on some pretty personal ground with him. "I work with 'crips' as you put it all the time, Apprentice, and I can assure you that they are still people and they still have sex, despite their conditions." His eyes lift to Robinson as he asks, "If you could take him to the x-ray room and then send the prints to his folder please?"
"Shh. Shh. Now, now. Take deep breaths. Deep, slow breaths. Think. No one said anything bad was going to happen. We just want to do a few tests. You'll be in tip-top shape in no time. Just come with me, Apprentice, and everything will work itself out." Robinson says softly and, hopefully, soothingly. "C'mon. Let's get you to the scanner and we'll see what we can't find."
"I /need/ to be able to walk," Shiner pleads with Robinson, as she appears to be on his side. He reaches for her arm to help himself stand, grasping his cane with the other hand. "When I can walk, they'll let me fly. And when I can fly, I won't be able to move for pussy." Because he's such a classy, tactful kid that way.
As Robinson takes the patient out of the examination room, Cameron lays his head down on his hands. He just has to keep reminding himself that he took an oath. An oath to do no harm. In the presence of Shiner, however, he finds his will to be obedient to his oath… waning. Rubbing his face, the good doctor smiles a tad evilly. He's pretty sure of what the results will be, and even more sure of how he'll treat them. Acupuncture should do the trick, and if he jabs the needles in with a little more force than strictly necessary, well, he is out of practice. And it doesn't do any actual harm, now does it? And those teas. Those utterly vile, nasty, gag-worthy teas his mother always prescribed as well. Oh yes… those will do nicely for the Apprentice. Very nicely indeed…