Memories: Just don't get lost...

Posted on Tue Nov 6th, 2018 @ 6:45pm by Commander Hades,MD & Lieutenant Commander Carolyn Corrigan MD

2,597 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 96 - A Visitor From the Past
Location: Section H1, Level 700
Timeline: MD 01 1400 Hours

ON:

Hades had just finished a walk through the surgical room and returned to main sickbay. He watched as his staff bustled about with their appointments and tasks. He had one more thing to do and then he'd grab dinner, a shower, and sleep.

As Hades walked his eyes were drawn to his new second in command of medical who was in conversation with another person. He smiled at the memory of their first meeting. It seemed that it would not be an easy start for her...


=/\= Prior to the Ion Storm =/\=

Abandoned on the floor, a tatty teddy bear stared helplessly up at everyone who wandered by. Ignored by almost everyone intently carrying out their duties and tending to patients. They had no time for a one eyed bear no matter how much it was obviously loved by someone.

Crouching down, Carolyn Corrigan rescued it from the spot where it had fallen, taking in the sad brown eye but also the adorable outfit someone had sqeezed it into. And clearly someone had cuddled this bear enough over the years to fray away some of the fur and stitching. Alone perhaps, but definately not unloved.

With teddy bear in tow, the physcian headed into main sickbay proper. Hesitating for a moment she drank in the sight of it, having to remind herself that this was a starbase and as such nothing was done by halves. She watched medics, nurses and technicians efficiently go about their days and noted with approval that everything appeard neat and orderly. Much better than the poor excuse of a -

To her immediate right a shrill cry went out, a young girl kicking and thrashing about on the biobed and refusing to be soothed by either the nurse or the woman with her. Mother perhaps? In amongst screams and tears Carolyn definately made out the word 'bear' and hoped she had now found its rightful owner. Approaching the biobed she decided to ignore the look of annoyance from the harrassed nurse, instead addressing the mother. "Excuse me, but I found this adorable bear outside and I wondered if it -?"

The woman looked at her, as if it took a moment for the words to sink in. Her gaze fell to the object Carolyn was holding out and for an instant there was nothing but relief. "Oh, thank you!" she breathed, taking the bear and checking it for any damage, "she's been making such an almighty fuss because I couldn't find it. Look Anna! It's Sam! He's right here."

At once the girl seemed to calm as she clutched her bear and Carolyn quickly retreated. This wasn't her patient and she did not want to step on anyone's toes before she even officially arrived on the staff here. Especially not a nurse's toes. She made that mistake as a med student. Never again.

"Can I help you?" a young nurse asked as she approached, clearly looking for any sign of trauma as she moved closer.

"I'm looking for Lieutenant Commander Hades," Carolyn explained, "is he in his office?"

"Doctor Hades is in his office," the nurse confirmed, gesturing behind her. "But I assure you that we have excellent doctors all of whom are capable of assisting with any medical concerns you may have."

"Good to know," Carolyn replied with a bright smile, already heading in the direction the nurse had pointed out. "Thank you."

As she approached the office she saw Doctor Hades glance up and she took a deep breath, quelling the sudden moment of self doubt. She was more than ready to be back on duty. And she was a more than capable doctor. She could absolutely do this.

"Doctor Hades?" she asked as she reached the threshold of his office. "Apologies for the intrusion but I wanted to stop by and introduce myself as soon as I arrived. I'm Doctor Chloe Corrigan."

Hades looked up from his mass of reports. It was a big station. His eyes settled on the blue eyed woman. Momentarily he was lost. He didn't remember any appointments... and then it hit him. "Oh yes the new assistant chief." He stood and walked over towards her with his hand outstretched. "Please come it, you are most welcome and badly needed."

"Thank you," she replied with an easy smile, shaking the outstretched hand. "Sorry to pull you away from your reports."

Hades laughed, "Please, anytime you wish to pull me away from reports is a good thing." He walked over to the replicator. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"A hot chocolate would be lovely," Carolyn confessed with a grateful smile. She was tired and hungry from travelling and hot chocolate, while also one of her favourite things, would help her survive until she found some proper food.

Hades brought their drinks to his desk. "So tell me a bit about yourself and how you came to be on the station."

Settling down into one one of the vacant chairs, Carolyn took a sip of her drink and savoured the taste as she nursed the warm cup in her hands. "Thank you.... Well, this is my first posting after a medical leave of absence," she explained, trying to keep her voice light and casual. "I thought my experience would be of use and it was an opportunity to show what I am capable of."

Hades had read her file. It could not have been easy for her going through what she went through and then the rehab. He could sympathize with her wanting to get back to work, he himself knew something about that. "Well we could use an extra pair of hands, there is never really a slow season and we've just started a new home visit program so it's busy. Tell me about your strengths an surgical experience."

"To be fair, when I first began my studies, diagnostic medicine was my first choice," Carolyn confided. "I enjoyed trying to unravel the puzzle and the department head was... challenging to work with but brilliant. And it proved invaluable when I decided to specialise in emergency medicine and critical care. I have completed three surgical rotations during my last posting, while it isn't where my interest lies it is invaluable skill to have. Particularly in this kind of environment where litterally anything could come through those doors."

Hades smiled, "Good, sounds like you are ready for this job. It's quite fast paced." To say that was an understatement. There was so much more to it. This place was busy with Starfleet, civilian, and visitors to the station and some of what they dealt with were doozies.

Pausing to take another sip of the hot chocolate, Carolyn backtracked to something he had mentioned. "If I may ask," Carolyn began, "you mentioned a home visit programme?"

Hades gave a nod. "Yes, we always have two medics on staff to go to the resident's quarters for those who cannot, or do not, wish to come to sickbay. Mostly we deal with minor issues and we transport if necessary." He paused and took a sip of his drink before continuing. "I always ask my staff if they are willing to be a part of this. Is this something you wish to be a part of?"

"Of course," Carolyn replied without a second of hesitation. "Anything I can do. And I'm sure with the medical facilities on board there will be more than enough to keep idle hands busy. Is there any specific areas of concern you have, priorities to develop? With the sheer size of the station and potential influx of patients that brings, I'd imagine it gives you quite the headache."

He smiled softly, "No more then the paperwork." He sighed and then continued, "How are you on doing schedule rotations?" Scheduling was what he hated the most. He tried to make everyone happy and always ended up pulling extra shifts to cover off people not wanting a certain shift or trades that were last minute. He really had to get the department under control.

Carolyn laughed at the question, smiling ruefully, "I've had that pleasure before. Although not with a department of this size. I do not envy you. But I am willing to chip in and do whatever you need, so if you send me over your guidelines and any scheduled leave that I need to account for, I'll be happy to have a draft with you by tomorrow for your final approval. Anyone unhappy, you can point them in my direction."

It was, she thought inwardly, a sure fire way of quickly meeting most of her colleagues. Most of them probably complaining but still...

He smiled, "While I appreciate you wanting to take the heat on that..."

Before he could finish a call came in from the surgical unit. "Doctor Hades to OR. Doctor Hades, OR."

He sighed, "Care to start work early?"

"Wild horses couldn't keep me away," Carolyn assured him, already on her feet. "It will save me spending my first day doing nothing but shopping."

Hades smiled, "Alright then let's go find out what's going on." It didn't take long to get to the surgical centre which was a few decks away. He took a deep breath as the surgical ward doors opened and the usual hectic sounds filled the air. When it did open there were nurses running back and fourth.

A young nurse stopped seeming to be out of breath. She looked over at the other woman curiously but started speaking right away. "Doctor we've had an emergency. Ensign Bolden fell off a ladder. He's not doing so well."

Hades gave a nod. "We'll scrub in this is Doctor Corrigan the new Assistant Chief."

The woman gave a nod and started helping the doctors into the red surgical outfits.

Hades looked over at the new doctor. "Never a dull moment."

"You definitely know how to show a girl a good time," Carolyn complimented him as her gaze swept the room. It was oddly comforting, the scenes which at first and to the untrained eye appeared chaotic. Yet look closely enough and you realise every individual is tending to their own specific task, each role within the surgical domain designed to be as efficient, precise and as safe as they could ever hope to make it.

Her gaze swept the monitors which displayed vital signs alongside enhanced images of the multiple injuries their patient had sustained. Quite the fall indeed.

She was about to start firing off questions to the nurses and technicians already at work but stopped herself, since this technically wasn't her patient and she wasn't the most senior medic in the room. Instead she patiently waited for the nurse to finish with her surgical gowns so she could get her first real look at the unfortunate Ensign Bolden.

Hades noted the look in the woman's eyes. She couldn't wait to get in there. Her top priority seemed the patient. He was comforted by that. As the nurse finished helping them into their gowns they walked, together, to the young man on the bio bed. "Report." Hades said.

The nurse on duty shifted uncomfortably. "We've given him pain meds but his spinal cord is fractured in three places."

While the woman talked Hades looked over the vitals hearing her but not and his mind started working. "There is a bleed somewhere. His vitals should not be that low." He looked up the new assistant. "Find the bleed, I'll work on repairing the damage to the chord."

Carolyn met his gaze and nodded, turning to the nurse nearest to her even as she began to feel the patient's abdomen, brow furrowed in concentration. "We need more detailed imaging, with a blunt trauma like this, we may have a retroperitoneal bleed..."

"Yes doctor," the nurse replied, moving to a nearby workstation. Manipulating the controls the image on the nearest monitor abruptly shifted as layered imaging built up, scans searching for any additional trauma missed in the initial assessment. In years gone by it was the kind of assessment which could only be achieved with the help of a scalpel.

"No," Carolyn said suddenly, shaking her head as the nurse began focusing the image, "lets begin with the lateral zone... any bleed there is a greater risk than the centro-medial or pelvic zone. Given the spinal injury, it's also the most logical place to start."

Stepping closer to the screen, Carolyn watched the image as it continually enhanced. Searching for anything out of place, any damage beyond what they knew of. Anything that would explain why the vital signs of their patient were not what they should be.

Tilting her head, she glanced over at the nurse, "can you adjust that angle, I need to get a closer look at the right kidney... perfect... thanks... Dr Hades?"

Hades had been engrossed in what he was doing but he could still hear his second in command giving orders. He was impressed, very impressed. The man on the table was at an awkward angle but it was good enough for him to take in the damage to the chord. Not impossible but it would be a long recovery, at least two years of strenuous physical therapy and he would never be a hundred percent. At the call of his name he turned to Carolyn. "Find it?"

"Appears to be a bleed in the Renal Hilum, from the scans it appears to a tear in the vein, which is why he isn't quite dead yet but it's too deep to treat without surgical intervention." Carolyn informed him.

"Take the lead, fix the bleed first and then I can work on the chord. I'll assist you with the bleed we'll switch for the chord and you assist me there." They would be in surgery for a couple of hours at least.

Carolyn nodded, refusing to be daunted. Her unofficial first day was definitely turning out to be memorable. For the right reasons she hoped.

"I'll need submicron sutures on standby," Carolyn informed a second nurse who was now putting surgical trays in place beside each physician. She was impressed at the efficiency and the way the surgical team worked together. Glancing up at Hades she added, "just in case. But this should be a straightforward repair to the vein from what the imaging is telling us. Incision to expose the damaged blood vessel, ideally with auto suture to repair, remove any blood gathered in the cavity and then close. Ready?"

Hades smiled an encouraging smile and then realized he was wearing a mask. "You'll do well. I'm here to help. Let's get this man fixed up." Hades believed in letting his staff push through and he had already seen that this particular doctor was not only competent but extremely good. He would help and then it would be his turn to work on the spinal chord. He turned to a nurse and told her what he'd need so that it was ready when his assistant chief was done her portion of the surgery.

=/\=Present Moment=/\=

Hades was drawn back to the present by a persistent voice. "Sorry Ensign I was thinking about an incident a while ago."

The young medic smiled, "Not a problem. I need your signature on the medical equipment transfers, sir."

Hades sighed, even this thoughts were interrupted these days. He waived at his deputy chief and headed with the Ensign. It seemed that nobody would knock off early today. It would be a day filled with work.

OFF:

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