| What's On Your Mind? |
| Summary: | Cameron follows up with Hosedown on her unusual symptoms and runs some tests. |
| Date: | 22 Feb 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | A Formal Apology |
| Players: |
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| Sickbay - Deck 10 - Battlestar Cerberus |
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| 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: #361 |
It's always a little tricky, interfering with another doctor's patient, but after speaking with Lt. Andrea Demarcos' lead doctor and expressing his concerns, Cameron got the go ahead to talk to her about what he had been told of. Dropping by her bed, he takes a seat and greets, "Hey there. I'm Dr. Cameron Adair. Lieutenant Demarcos, yes?" He offers the redheaded woman a hand before explaining himself. "I spoke with Lieutenant Vandenberg the other night and she told me about your concerns about certain abnormalities that you had been experiencing?" Taking up her chart, Cameron's gaze flickers over the information there before he asks, "Are you still experiencing these problems?"
Andrea is lying back fairly beatifically at the moment, a sort of glow about her. She looks up at the Doc and takes his head. "Pleasure to meet you, doctor. Uh, well, yes, actually. Dizziness when I stand, and when I'm laying down, I get flashes when I'm, well, horny."
"That definitely does not sound good. The dizziness part, that is. As for increased libido, I suppose some would enjoy that sort of thing, but with your head wound and all, I can't say I think it's much of a good sign," he offers with a lopsided smile as his ocean-blue eyes flicker to Andrea's face for a moment before going back to her records. "Says here that you were in a coma for a few days, concussion, skull fracture." His brow creases as he notes, "I don't want you to worry about this, alright? We'll get things sorted. I'm going to want to get an MRI of your head, see if there is any internal bleeding or swelling going on that would explain the dizziness and the increased, ah, horniness." Leaning forward, Cameron takes a small penlight and instructs, "Stare straight ahead?" before flashing it before Andrea's eyes, studying her pupil reactions. "Anything else I should know about? Headaches? Shortness of breath? Loss of appetite?"
Andrea starts to shake her head when she remembers that she has been asked to stare straight ahead. "No… just that. Physically, I feel fine, no bad headaches recently or anything. As far as my muscles are concerned, I'm pretty sure I could have flown yesterday. It's that damned dizziness…"
"Well that's good," Cameron rumbles, his eyes intent and focused on Andrea's eyes. "Generally you would be experiencing other complaints as well, but it doesn't rule anything out just yet. Okay, please follow my finger with your eyes…." Slowly the doctor moves his finger back and forth before Andrea's face, watching to see if her pupils follow the motion smoothly and regularly or not. "We'll run a few tests and see how it goes. I want to get a blood sample and run some diagnostics on that. An MRI of your brain, and we'll go from there, alright? Can you sit up for me?" he asks, shifting over to offer his arm for support.
Andrea takes the arm easily and sits up, swinging her legs around to set her bare feet on the ground. "If it gets me up about and flying again, Doc, I'll do anything you want. Even a case study on the effects of sex on horniness, or something like that." She grimaces. "Oh Gods, I can't believe I said that out loud…"
Chuckling softly, Cameron slips an arm about Andrea and notes, "Your secret is safe with me, but if you talk any louder, it won't much matter. Okay, let's try to stand you up. Just lean on me if you feel dizzy, alright?" He lets the patient set the pace, rising up as she does, a hand at her hip and the other ready to catch her if need be. "In all honesty, if your increased libido is due to some sort of pressure on the hypothalamus, having sex would be like scratching an arm infect with poison ivy. It would feel good while you were doing it, but it wouldn't take away the itch." Once she's up on her feet and steady, Cameron slowly starts to walk with her toward the MR imaging room. "So no other side effects? You're sleeping alright? Eating alright? Any changes in your levels of anxiety?"
"To be honest, Doc, I couldn't tell you. I'm anxious every day, but the alarm klaxons are going off everyday. I sleep okay, except for that. I eat well, too, but then I always have. Whoa…" she leans a bit heavier on him as the room starts to spin. "It's a bit like being drunk, except my senses fully report the spinning room. Ok, it’s passed a bit…"
"Yeah, I know, not really the most useful of questions, is it? Who isn't anxious these days? And if they're not, what drugs are they taking?" he jokes softly. As Andrea sways a little, Cameron stops and just holds her till the dizziness passes, waiting till she gives him the okay before moving ahead again. "Well good appetite and normal sleep patterns are a good sign. If it were a serious tumor or something, those would likely be affected as well. Ahhh, here we are…" Pushing the door open, Cameron leads Andrea over to the MRI and sits her down on the bed of it before checking the equipment. "Do you have any metal pins or plates that you're aware of?" he asks as he calibrates the machine and prepares it for the specific tests he has in mind for her.
"Not unless any were put in when you all were cutting on me last…" Andrea says as she leans back, her breathing accelerating slightly. She may not be as combative as other patients, but MRIs are still scary. "Occasionally I've been told that I have a skull like a titanium bulkhead…"
Chuckling softly, Cameron notes, "I'm pretty sure they were working hard to take all the metal bits out of your head, not put new ones in." Turning back to his patient, Cameron lays a hand lightly on her knee and asks sympathetically, "Do you suffer from claustrophobia? Do you need a mild sedative or something before we do this?"
"Just… umm… I think I'll be okay. Could you, uh, stick around, though? And don't just leave me in there. I fly in a Sardine can, but usually they give me a cool stick to play… uh, crap." She closes her eyes. "You could just shoot me in the head and get it over with…"
"I'm not going anywhere," Cameron assures her as he comes around and assists Andrea in lying back down on the bed of the MRI, placing supports about her head to help keep it steady, upright, and in place before stepping back. "Okay, take a deep breath, just try to relax. Compared to being shot at by Cylons, this is really nothing. Just close your eyes and pretend you're getting in a tanning bed or something." He squeezes her hand as he moves the bed forward, toward the opening the equipment noting, "I do not shoot my patients in the head. Bad for business I find. Okay, here we go. Just relax, try not to move your head, and don't talk…." With one last squeeze to her hands, Cameron brings the bed forward again, a cylindrical space soon surrounding her body. "There are going to be some loud thunks and clanks, nothing to be alarmed by," he calls out, his voice quickly followed by said loud thunks and clanks. All around her the machinery hums as it scans back and forth over her head, taking imagery from numerous angles to capture the perfect likeness of Andrea's brain. "Just keep breathing, Lieutenant, nice and easy. Nothing to be afraid of. Lots of bark, but no bite, I promise."
Just like a tanning bed. Gods, when was the last time she had been in one of those? Sure, she was a redhead, so her skin stayed pretty pale anyway, but she'd been either underground or shipboard since Warday. Holy Hells, she had to be PASTY.
The noise goes on for a while, all the while Cameron keeps up the quietly comforting chatter. And once it's over and the bed pulls back, he smiles down at her and notes, "There, not so bad, right?" Slowly removing the head supports he notes, "And you didn't even hit on me… so clearly the libido thing isn't that unbearable." Either that or she recently got someone to scratch her itch, but Cameron doesn't really want to know about that. Sitting her back up again. Cameron prepares Andrea's left arm for a blood draw, taking two vials before bandaging her up. "Right then. It's going to take a little while for the MRIs to get processed, but as soon as I have anything, I'll come and let you know."
Andrea smiles weakly. "You're one of the ones who sticks needles in me, Doc. Tried to be respectful, or at least restrain myself to only talking about sex while you are here." Standing unsteadily, she starts to head back to her bed. "Do you have any ideas on… whoa… maybe just get me back in bed…"
"I have never once stuck a woman with a needle for propositioning me," Cameron returns earnestly with a charming and teasing smile upon his lips. "Fear not." He does indeed help her down once more and lead her back to her bed, asking, "Any ideas on what? And don't worry, I'm not going to let you fall. In fact…." and in a moment of what must look like ridiculous gallantry, Cameron bends over and just picks Andrea up, carrying her through the Recovery Room to her cot before carefully laying her back down again. "There, see? All in one piece still."
"I was going to ask if you had any guesses about what the problem could be, but in retrospect, I'll wait until you know for sure." With a smile, as he sets her down, she uses her arms around his neck to pull him down for a kiss to the cheek. "And thanks."
There's a faint blush on Cameron's cheek as he pulls back and nods. "A wise choice. It won't be long before I can give you, if not a definitive answer, at least an educated guess." Brushing a stray lock of hair from Andrea's brow, the doctor orders, "Just rest Lieutenant, and if you need anything, anything at all, do not hesitate to ask or call for me. Okay?" And with that Cameron gives her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and heads off back toward the MRI room to wait for her results to finish processing.