Sickbay and emergency surgery
Posted on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 @ 12:47am by Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell & Ensign Kitiuas Thenis & Lieutenant Sarah Wilson
Mission:
Planet of the Dinosaurs
Location: Sickbay
Bonnie flagged down a nurse and delivered the details before finally handing Kit off to the med team.
Ensign Kitiuas was amess, green blood was now freely flowing from the four-inch wound in her right shoulder. She had begun coughing up green blood and her breathing was extremely raspy and wheezy. She was in a complete state of delirium. She was mumbling “Need to get the valves cut to stop the fire. Must inform captain. Mother you promised me a baker's dozen of your famous Adorian Butter Rum and Bavarian chocolate chips if I see the doctors. Why is it so damn cold.”
The nurse listened to Lieutenant Durnell as she and the Lieutenant lowered Kit to the floor. The ever-efficient nurse did a very quick triage. "Doctor Wilson, I have a critical patient here. Four-inch laceration with foreign body down to the bones, severed arteries and major veins. She is also bleeding into her right lung. Finally, she has severe burns around the wound site." said Warrant Officer Holliday.
"Always with the chest injuries" Dr Wilson wiped the blood from the last patient on her uniform, her smock already discarded as being filthy and a health hazard. She quickly ran her hands under the sterilizer and grabbed her medical tricorder, loading two hypos on the way.
"Shhh, you're going to be OK, just relax, we're here to help you" She spoke to Thenis before looking at Bonnie " I could do with a hand, are you up for it?"
Bonnie went white with shock, "Me? You want mm me to help?" She stood slowly from where she had been sitting. "You know I'm not a nurse right? Just a... I'm just a computer nerd. I don't know anything about a... a body, a humanoid body" She stammered. She was willing to do what was necessary but her uncertainty was a wall to overcome.
" I just need you to do as I show you, I don't have enough hands to do this myself" Sarah soothed, taking Bonnie's white hands and placing them on Kit's chest "Now press here, hard, until I say stop ok?" The pressure would stop the bleeding whilst she removed the foreign object and stopped the internal bleeding.
Kit was squirming in a delirium, the silver fire suit she wore made squishing noises, from all the sweat she had exuded fighting the fire and her own blood, as she thrashed about. She was mumbling “Need the valves cut. Crew needs to be relieved soon, too dehydrated to continue. Mother, please turn up the heat. Can we have Irinari Drunken Insects for dinner tonight mother.” It was obvious she was unaware of her surroundings. Suddenly she started coughing up huge amounts of green blood, which spewed from her mouth.
Bonnie did as she was told. She was squeamish, in particular as Kit wriggled in her delirious state. Kit jerked and Bonnie let out a squeal as she lost her grip and blood squirted out, landing on her shirt. She then doubled down on applying pressure in order to save her new friend. She made an internal promise to stay by Kit's side and to find cookies if she could. She was not too keen on the drunken insects though.
Sarah grabbed a hypo and sedated Kit, enough to still her whilst she was being treated. One wrong move and the laser she was using to stitch the blood vessels together could go into a vital organ. " Just hold a little longer Bonnie, I'm nearly done" She reassured as she worked until she could safely close the wound. Sitting back on her haunches she nodded towards Bonnie, indicating she could relax.
Bonnie didn't relax, not fully. Instead she folded into a criss cross applesauce and watched, and waited. She was worried for her companion and on some level she still blamed herself for the whole shebang anyway. if she hadn't been in the way, the explosion would not have happened and the crash and the fire. Her brain reeled at the consequences of her own actions. Worse, she had no idea how to make this right. But, she was tenacious and she vowed to find a way.
Dr Wilson read the signs and scooted closer over to Bonnie " You did well Bonnie, you helped save Kit's life. If you hadn't brought her in or helped me, she wouldn't have made it." Sarah draped a supportive arm around the computer tech's shoulders "She's gonna be ok, the sedative will wear off soon and she'll be a little sore but she'll be ok"
"I know and I was glad to help. It's just that I can't shake the feeling all of this," she gestured broadly, "is my fault. I was there, in the way as usual, when the fake explosive triggered the real explosive. I did that and now people have died. Kit could have died. And now I don't know where to get cookies from." She finished, her priorities well established.
Sarah looked over at Bonnie, the forlorn loon on her face clearly evident. "Oh Bonnie, how can you think that this was your fault? Ships don't just crash because of one thing, many many things need to go wrong for us to end up where we are. And I'm sure when we get down to it afterwards, the Captain will order an investigation into it. But right now focus on what we are doing right. You saved Kit's life, that's a huge thing." The CMO recalled one of her favourite lectures from Starfleet Medical where they explained that practicing medicine was 50% pure psychology and the rest was actually healing and stuff. It had proved to be strangely accurate.
Bonnie nodded. She understood, but in every chain of events there is a catalyst. Something that starts the dominos in motion and she was often that catalyst. She stayed by Kits side while Sarah went and prepared another patient. Some time passed and at some point she managed to raid to food supplies.
Kit slowly came around; her whole world was nothing but pain. Her mouth tasted of coopery blood and was drier than any desert she had ever been in. Her ears were ringing. In a croaking voice she asked, “What happened?” Not wanting to open her eyes for fear she was still in the fire hellscape she had been fighting.
Hearing Kits'voice, Bonnie sat upright, "You, uh, you were bleeding out and then, well, you fell. I brought you to the med bay, and..." She grabbed the ration bar she had secured. "It's not rum cookies but it was all I could find, if you're hungry that is?"
Sarah returned at the sound of Kit's voice, hypo and tricorder in hand. She ran the device over Kit's torso and nodded in response to the readings.
" You gave us quite the scare. Bonnie here saved your life. You need to rest for a few days." The CMO said kindly as she offered a sip of water from a black canteen. "Just a sip, we need to ration what we have"
"It's, it's not like that, really." Bonnie defended. "Not really. You were already on the right deck, all I had to do was carry you a little." She hadn't changed clothes and still had Kit's blood staining her shirt. She didn't mind, it smelt like lilac and vanilla.
"Thank you, Lieutenant Durnell, I believe the doctor said it correctly," she said with a smile. "When this is all over, we need to work on your self-confidence. You are an excellent officer, and I would also like to be your friend."
"I would like that as well." Her face flushed rosy. She had never thought of herself as a good officer. Just Bonnie, the girl with no mum who liked to hide away in front of other computer core and imagine doing so many big things with her life. "Just rest, okay? The Captain has called for a meeting in the hangar bay." She wanted to say more about cookies but figured now was not the right time.
"You're free to go, just take it easy for a few days as your body recovers," Sarah commented as she turned and headed to the next patient. Sooner or later the tide would turn in her favor.
Kit nodded at the doc “Sure doc, just as soon as we get this ‘end of the world’ business taken care of” with a small smile. She looked at Lieutenant Durnell, “Can you help me sit up, I need to go up to the bridge and provide a report to whoever happens to have the bridge.” As she was saying this nurse Holliday came over with an improvised sling.
"Sure." She abruptly stood, placed one hand in Kit's left hand and one hand behind Kit's left shoulder, the undamaged one. She looked Kit in the eye for a sign of ready and then pulled gently. She had little body strength to speak of, but when determined she knew how to calculate mass x inertia to provide the right amount of force. "Do you want me to go with you? I was supposed to be helping those on the holodeck to escape, but..." Her words trailed off with her thoughts.
“Thank you. I can manage to get to the bridge. Then I will meet you by the holodeck, just do not let them out till I get there. I have something in mind for those that are able-bodied enough” replied Kit with an evil smile, as the nurse put her arm in a shoulder sling. “let’s just see them refuse to respond to my ‘request’ for action”.
Bonnie was instantly intrigued and terrified for her fellow classmates who were in the holodeck. "Alright. Meet you there." They walked together out of sickbay, then parted as Kit headed for the bridge and Bonnie for the holodeck, a level above. She had some work to do to clear the doors, unless someone had already begun. She would find out soon enough.
TBC
