Check-in and Check-up

Posted on Tue Jun 23rd, 2020 @ 12:23am by Lieutenant John Sandoval & Lieutenant JG Aeryn Jameson
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:18pm

Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Sandoval's second day aboard, morning

A Mission Post by Lieutenant JG Aeryn Jameson & Lieutenant John Sandoval
Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Sandoval's second day aboard, morning
Thu Oct 25th, 2018 @ 9:38am

John Sandoval had eventful first day aboard the USS Pandora. He met the Captain and then most of the senior officers. He met his new team, and set them to work on their new assignment. He met Counsellor Kaleri -- and made a new friend and ally in the process. He unpacked his bags and began making his quarters feel like home.

He got an early night sleep, but it was rough. His quarters still weren't quite right. His books were still in a box waiting to be unpacked. He needed to replace the Starfleet standard linens with the specific replicated ones he was used to. His pre-bed meal was fine, but he still needed to upload the specific recipes he'd refined over the years into the Pandora's computer. And, of course, it was still his first night in a new place. Growing familiarity will make it better, but the first night in a new assignment was always rough. Second nights were always better.

At least the leg feels better. I shouldn't even need the cane today, he thought. A good night off of it usually got rid of the worst of his pain. John thought about what Captain Nyx told him. That he didn't want an officer to be dependent on a pain medication to function if the going got rough. On his last assignment, a quick hypospray of tri-phen -- which he always kept on his person -- helped him ignore his leg and get out of a sticky situation. The best doctors on Earth told him that his pain was the result of scraping between his artificial leg muscles and the knee joint, and could only be stopped with additional years of surgery and physiotherapy, or a solution that left his leg numb to most feeling. Still, it was possible that the medical staff aboard Pandora had come across something that would help. He needed to check in with sickbay regardless. So after donning his uniform, eating a quick breakfast, and signaling to his staff that he'd meet them at 1000 hours, he went to sickbay.

Aeryn was feeling a little apprehensive about her first full day as assistant chief of medical she'd never been in the position if being a doctor before although she was fully qualified. She was just getting used to sickbay being quiet when the doors swished open and an officer she hadn't yet met walked into sickbay, she smiled as she walked over to him. "Welcome to sickbay I don't believe we've met I'm Aeryn Jameson."

John stopped in his tracks for a moment when he saw the doctor in front of him. It took him a moment to compose himself, once he realized his was staring. "I'm sorry," he said. "Hello Aeryn. I'm John Sandoval, the ship's new Chief Diplomatic Officer." He extended out his hand to her.

"I apologize for being a bit awkward there," John added. "It's just...you look a lot like my wife Katherine, back home on Earth. Not spitting image, mind, but your face and hair remind me a lot of her. Kind of shocked me for a second. For a moment I thought she snuck aboard!" he said with a laugh.

Aeryn couldn't help but smile and yet bashful all at the same time. She had to admit he was quite handsome too, "No apology necessary" she smiled as she shook his hand, "I can imagine it must have been quite a surprise." She couldn't help but pick up on his emotions but did her best not to show it. "So how long have you been aboard The Pandora?"

"Well, I arrived yesterday," said John, "so I'm here for my initial physical examination. Make sure I'm in good health before we arrive at our destination. Also, the Captain asked me to enquire about pain management for my leg, to see if the ship has more useful suggestions than what I've gotten on Earth."

"In that case please make yourself comfortable on one of the biobeds and I'll get your medical done first then we'll see about your leg" She motioned him to the nearest biobed. Grabbing a medical tricorder she tapped the screen setting it up ready to scan John to get a fresh set of readings. "Just lie down and make yourself comfortable and let the biobed take your initial set of readings. I can compare those to your last readings and see how you're doing compared to your last physical."

John got up onto the bio bed and lay down, facing up, arms on his stomach. The arms of the biobed closed over his torso. "Thanks, doctor. My medical files should have been transferred over for comparison." He sat patiently, and tried to quiet his mind for the scan.

Aeryn smiled as she watched the biobed readings, "Well you're blood pressure is a little elevated but that's not surprising after a shock and the fact that you thought I was your wife would definitely count as that." She smiled warmly, "apart from that the rest of your readings look just fine. You're as fit as a fiddle. Now as for your leg do you currently take anything different for it or just what you were previously prescribed?"

"I've not changed my medication or routine with my leg in years," John said. "I lost a large portion of my left femur and surrounding muscles, and also hurt my back, in a shuttle crash during the war with the Dominion. They replaced the bone and muscle tissue with artificial material. It grinds a bit with my knee and occasionally my hip. Early on I tried a few different painkillers, but anything the doctors offered either carried a strong risk of addiction or dulled my senses. I carry a hypo of tri-phen in my uniform for urgent use, when I absolutely need to stand and fight or run. But using that regularly has risks, so I only take it when I need to."

John fidgeted a bit on the bio-bed. "I'm told long-term fixes will leave me off my feet for months, or will lose me feeling in my leg. A bit of pain is preferable to that. And I have my good days. Today it's feeling ok, actually," he added with a smile. "But if you do have new ideas for pain management or elimination I'm all ears."

"To be honest this is the first time in years I've done the doctor bit so I'm a bit rusty" she brushed her hair out of her eyes as she went over John's medical records confirming everything he's just told her. "Given the length of time you've been on your pain killers there must be something new available by now, what I'll do is consult the Starfleet database and see if there's something different that we can offer you." she smiled warmly, "Give me a few hours to go through everything and I'll let you know what I find. Even if I don't find anything Doctor Ashshy might have some helpful ideas I'll bring your case up with him at our next meeting and see what he thinks."

"That sounds good to me," said John. "If something better is available, then let's explore all options. I've never minded walking with the help of my cane on occasion -- which I didn't need this morning, actually. It relieves the pressure enough that I'm comfortable most of the time. But it never hurts to try something new."

"Would you mind showing me where you had your wound and what's been done for you?" She looked at him knowing that he maybe reluctant given all the treatment he'd had so far. "It's purely so that I can check there are no signs of any inflammation or underlying problems. You may feel free to refuse if you're not comfortable with it."

The arms of the bio-bed retracted and John swung his legs to the side, sitting himself up. "Not a problem. I've been poked and prodded in my leg for most of my adult life. I can show my new doctor. Is there a curtained area though? So I'm not in my skivvies in front of anyone who comes in?"

"Of course" she smiled warmly, "There's a private examination room just next to my office we can go in there."

John stood and followed Aeryn into the office area. He removed his uniform jacket, and sat down to remove his boots. He paused a moment as he stood to unbuckle his uniform pants. Remember, despite what she looks like, this isn't Katherine, thought John. You're showing your new doctor something critical for your medical care. Trying to keep his thoughts neutral, he removed his uniform pants to show his old injury, leaving him in his departmental-coloured shirt and his Starfleet-issue boxers.

A significant portion of skin on the lower half of his thigh was a metallic grey colour, but still flexible. Artificial skin from a time when more natural-looking synthetic skin was in short supply. He never bothered to replace it. The skin connected to his regular skin around the knee and slightly more than halfway up the thigh. Underneath was artificial muscle and some bone. He hiked up the left leg of his boxers to show the extent of his treatment.

"Wow!" Aeryn looked at him surprised, "I've never seen anything like this for real but I'm glad to say it's looking in good condition. No signs of infection or irritation, it can be arranged for you to have a synthetic layer put over it to add more natural skin tone if you want but you've probably been told that already." She smiled as she stepped aside, "You can get dressed again now." She smiled warmly doing her best to keep her eyes averted as he got dressed.

"I actually don't mind the coloration," replied John as he put his clothes back on. "It used to remind me of loss, but now it reminds me of what I've survived, and of the toll war takes on people. When the work is hard, I take a shower to relax and I see my leg and remember what I work to prevent."

After his uniform was proper, John stood up straight and looked at Aeryn. "Thank you, Doctor Jameson. I appreciate your help today, and I hope that you and Doctor Ashshy find something new for me to try. And again, I'm sorry for my reaction when I came in. A bit surprising to see such a familiar face. I hope you understand." His stance softened. He hoped his first impression didn't ruin a potential friendship or make future interaction awkward. He wanted to do well on the Pandora, and having good personal and professional relationships was important in that.

"It's fine, really" Aeryn smiled warmly, "I just hope we'll be able to help you find something that will work better for your leg pain. Any problems in the meantime do please come back and see us."

He started to walk out, but stopped himself. "I heard my staff talking about getting food from the recreation deck, but I haven't seen any of the ship's recreation facilities yet, let alone where to eat. I'm not sure I'd know where to start -- directions were never my strong suit." He smiled again. "I'm about to go on duty, but could I ask you to show me where one could get a good meal aboard? And maybe show me some of the ship's entertainment areas? Maybe this evening or tomorrow?"

"I'd like that" Aeryn nodded and smiled, "I don't have any plans this evening so once you get off duty we'll get together and I'll show you around."

“Perfect,” replied John. “1900 hours, at the recreation area’s entrance, then. See you this evening.” John was happy, having made two new friends in as many days. He left sickbay and started his duty shift.

OFF

OOC: Looks great to me :)