thisavrou | video (first post: public); text for the second (locked from drake)

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video (first post: public); text for the second (locked from drake)

[ The screen blips on and there's a blonde haired woman looking at the screen with a furrowed brow, kind of like she's not sure if she's got the hang of it yet after going through the device multiple times and being fairly tech-savvy— or so she'd like to think of herself. ]

Oh— hey! Great, this does work. [ On a mumble she adds to herself: ] Of course it would, Fisher, why wouldn't it work for it if it's been working for everyone else?

Anyway! This is just a short uh, introduction: name's Elena, great to meet you all. Looks like I've been assigned as the ship's Climbing Instructor, if there's anyone who's interested in such a thing or enjoys doing it on the side themselves. I'm looking to get the lessons started later this week, and my mailbox is open anytime for sign ups.

You don't have to be a professional or know a single thing about the hobby, I'll show you the ropes. Ha..haaaa... get it? Cause climbing involves... Yeah, never mind. That was lame, but I only have one person to blame for puns that fail 30% of the time.

As a heads up, I've never once used ropes or climbing gear and equipment. It's been a free climb and jump at your own peril kind of thing, mostly self taught on the go. At least it's good for building your upper body strength?

Also— pictures! [ Her camera comes up into a view, a damn nice SLR. Thanks be to the captains and unlimited credits. ] Some of you might've seen me around down planet side with a camera; floppy white beach hat, Jackie O shades. The purpose behind that was I do photography on the side back home, also as a hobby. If I offended anyone, made you suspicious, or you want me to delete your picture, or— hey— maybe you want me to send the shots to you— again, my mailbox is wide open for those requests. I'm also taking requests for possible future photoshoots. I just don't know if that's a...thing people might find interesting on a ship.

Let me know!

— — —

[ The following messages come through as public to all but one person. Elena's locking this specifically from Nathan Drake, and for good reason. ]

Besides whoever was in the Medbay when I arrived— sorry, I can't remember who did my scans— who else do we have on the ship who counts as an actual physician?

I'm asking because I don't think my scans were done right. Or they didn't finish properly.

Also, I don't know if I'll get many responses but it's worth a shot— anyone on-board have any experience with shrapnel related injuries? Doctors aside of course.

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Worried? No.

[ It was something to do. However, he gives himself a kick to be a little more forth coming. ]

I'm planning to go planet side and use this credit card to bolster our medical supplies. Just double checking what we have and where.

Makes sense. And that's a good idea. Could never have too much of something, especially in the case of medical supplies.

[ Finally, she's made it down to the MedBay, stepping through the doors. She's not sure if he's the only one in right now, but she wanders in and takes a look around until spotting someone. That someone being him. ]

Hi. Adrien Arbuckal..?

[ As promised, he's balanced on his heels in front of a cabinet, counting what look to be compression bandages housed within. At the sound of his name, he marked his spot in his count and made a note on his MID before leaning back and looking over towards her. ]

Hey. [ There was a brief pause as he had to mentally rewind her initial address to the network to recall the name she'd given. His focus had really come in when she'd texted. ] Elena?

Nice to meet you.

[ Unsure of what to do now, if they should shake hands or not, she stands there feeling out of place, hands in her back pockets. But that's how she finds it's usually how it goes with greeting new doctors, unfamiliar with their technique and bedside manner. ]

So. How's the count going...?

About as tedious as it probably sounded over the MID.

[ Adrien remarked, pressing down on the data pad to secure his number and then tossing it up on top of the counter. He'd continue with this after they were done.

Depending upon his much attention she was focusing, she might or might not noticed the sidearm tucked into the small of his back, just under his lab coat. Beyond that, he looked your fairly typical medical type, Medbay uniform, lab coat, stethoscope half hanging out of a pocket.

Straightening, he motioned her towards one of the empty beds. Luckily the place was fairly quiet at the moment, just a few other medical types moving around. ]

Have a seat. Can I have your full name? I'm not sure if my MID will have your file uploaded yet but it doesn't hurt to check.

[ The lump had been noticed, the shape she was familiar with as there were times she'd had to tuck her own weapon in the back of her jeans. She said nothing, didn't think anything of it.

Elena glanced over to the beds, moving to them, seating on the edge of the closest one. ]

Elena Fisher. [ A small pause. ] Do you...need me to put on a gown or anything?

[ Typing the name into his MID, he waited to see what, if anything, came up from her intake file.

As he waited and she asked her question, he glanced up from the holo feed and arched an eyebrow. ]

I'd like to get the history of your injury from you first. Then we can determine what the next diagnostic step will be. A lot of this equipment will take readings through your clothes and then we can discuss treatment options.

If at that time a gown is required, I'll have one of the female technicians help you get situated.

[ He's rubbish at social skills and an ass half the time but he does actually stand by some strict medical codes.

Also there was the little brother factor whipped into his ass by his older sisters.

The MID beeped and from his frown, which was really just a deepening of his usual expression, the news wasn't to his liking. ]

You're right, this intake file got fucked. [ Sighing, he shut down the MID and reached for a chart. ] I need you to give me a run down of this injury. You told me it's two years old. Where on your body did you take the impact of the shrapnel? What treatment did you receive at the time?

As expected.

[ Should she give him the short form or long form story? She took a deep breath and looked down at her hands, lacing her fingers together for a moment. A map could be drawn out for him if she had a washable marker. ]

Two years roughly, yeah. Mostly to the front and left side. [ Her left arm came up as she pointed out the areas with her right starting from her armpit down the side of her ribs, lower along her waist and to the back of her hip. The v-neck tee she wore did nothing to hide the uneven but small scarring at her upper left and right arms, the crooks of both elbows slipping down to her forearms by an inch. ] Multiple puncture wounds on arms, as you can see for yourself, and thighs, center of left shin.

[ Elena had spent many mornings and many nights examining the scars, especially whenever they gave a dull ache on the gloomier of days. She had each one memorized. Continuing, she tugged the collar aside just enough to show him the jagged scar the length of a finger pad on her chest above her heart. ]

Chest. Also some odd ones over the stomach area.

They're all over. [ Her hands go back to her lap and she shrugged. She was at a bit of a loss in answering the next question. ] As for treatment— I don't know. I was unconscious from blood loss for about three days. I assume most of it was removed, or I'm hoping it was. They don't have the most up to date medical equipment up in a remote Tibetan village located in the mountains.

He did what he could at the time.

Three months was when I went to see an actual doctor to receive a tetanus shot, just to be on the safe side.

Any other questions?

[ Adrien listened and made notes at the same time, glancing at the scars that were visible and taking note of the areas of her body that she indicated when they were still covered by clothing.

He didn't react outwardly but inwardly he could piece together the sort of blast it would have taken to have such a wide spread range of damage and he tried to calculate how she had initially survived. There were not many scenarios forth coming and he shelved the speculation to focus on the here and the now.

Adrien wasn't going to bother frowning at her about the length of time between injury and checking herself in with a doctor. What was done was done after all and as he didn't have a full report of the range of her circumstances it wasn't for him to fuss.

Instead he finished his notes and glanced up at her. ]

No questions, for now.

What I'd like to do is put you under a full body scan and get identification of what pieces of shrapnel are still in your body, where and the size. Then we can discuss options for treatment and or removal?

Sure, we can do that.

[ A full body scan, she remembered that from when she had arrived. They hadn't been completed. This time there was hope that the scans would fully see themselves through.

Elena moved to slide off the bed, glancing over to where she remembered the machines being before looking again to him. ]

The doctor I'd seen back home, he did examine the areas, but I was told the pieces would reject on their own. There wasn't much of an option for removal.

And of course, there was the mention of the smaller pieces not fit for removal, or were too risky to try, they would possibly dissolve inside on their own. Which I was then brought up to speed on various forms of metal poisoning.

He was real helpful, as you can see.

[ Dry sarcasm. Very dry. ]

Edited 2016-06-15 17:46 (UTC)

[ Since she seemed to know where she was headed, Adrien simply followed, once again making notes on the datapad.

He did look up at that last sentence and asked, just to clarify. ]

This doctor, he didn't perform any tests or x-rays to get a clear identification of what might be where?

[ Sometimes his opinion of the people in his own profession is not the greatest.

As they reached the scanning bed, he motioned for her to get comfortable as he walked up to the controls. This time, he made sure that her ID was linked into the database, so there would be no risk of files coming up incomplete. ]

I know that conventional practice has been to leave smaller, deemed to be in no danger of "causing damage" alone to work their way to the surface and out of the body themselves. But usually there is careful identification of what can safely be left.

How many have worked their way to the surface for you in the past two years?

X-rays. That was really about it.

[ Another bed for her to get up on. Hands at her sides, she stared upward, shifting only once. Waiting for him to give the go ahead that the machine was scanning. ]

A few pieces, here and there. I had a scary moment where a bunch of small clusters were gathered on my chest. I thought it was a group of black heads, actually, but I was able to pull them all free with my nails or sterilized tweezers.

If you're looking for a number, sorry. I got nothing.

Mmmm.

[ He remarked, eyes focused on the scan. Sort of made sense that there wouldn't be an exact number when the pieces got down to the side of pencil tips, or smaller. ]

I've directed this scan to sync with your MID, which should address the gap in your file. [ Adrien explained as he watched the display. ]

There are some pieces here that could be candidates for invasive extraction, if you wanted to pursue that route. [ His tone suggested he could understand if, at this juncture at least, she wasn't interested in letting the weird ship and strange doctors go poking around with scalpels.

However. ]

In fact that are a few that I would advise extraction. They're positioned in a way I don't find reassuring and if they move, for whatever reason, you could find yourself in trouble with a quickness.

But ultimately it will be your call on how you want to proceed with treatment.

I...

[ This was why she'd asked, wasn't it? This was why she had come down to talk to someone, someone who knew what they were looking at and what they were looking for. She was getting her answers, although this was something she should've gone and had done as soon as the pain began to worsen. It was her own fault for putting it off for this long.

What Adrien was telling her was exactly what she needed to hear. And it was a bit of a wake up call. ]

Is it all right for me to sit up?

[ Assuming that it was, Elena began leaning up on an elbow. He could stop her if he wasn't finished. ]

I just have one question: does moving around make it worse? Will I still be able to do my classes, or will the climbing speed it up?

[ The worse case scenario going through her mind was that she would be in the middle of some kind of goofy field trip with some of her students, about to make a jump for a ledge, and that would be what does her in. The shrapnel shifting just enough that it punctures somewhere vital and she falls to her death.

Ah, the many nightmares she'd had of that exact scenario, but for other reasons.

Jesus, how was she going to tell Nate? And when he had zero idea of anything... ]

[ He didn't stop her from sitting up, in fact he motioned that it was quite alright with him, before turning to finish up his notes.

As for her question, Adrien pursed his lips and called up the scan he'd just completed to study the areas that he'd quickly flagged as worrisome. ]

Moving around is obviously going to affect how these foreign objects behave in your body. Shifting between natural and artificial gravity can also have an affect. I'm not going to lie, you're taking a risk.

[ He delivered the news directly. Perhaps it wasn't the most 'bedside manner' methodology but he found it the most effective. ]

Looking at these scans I can't give you specific activities or instances under which these pieces might shift and result in an immediate catastrophic injury. Only that they are in positions that risk it.

[ Flipping the data pad around, he held it out towards her, if she'd like to look at the scan herself. ]

Funny thing about pain. It's often the body's early warning system that something isn't right. We tend to treat pain as an ailment, when really it's a symptom of what's coming.

So what you're telling me is that it wouldn't be wise to venture down to planet side any time the opportunity presents itself. Wouldn't natural gravity be better than artificial? They're one in the same, in a way, but...

[ She felt like she was being told she could no longer go on her Space Dates with her husband, indirectly. That wouldn't quite fly so well with Nate but she knew he wouldn't argue it in the face of her safety and the risk and try to make up for it on the ship with other things for them to do.

Elena took the data pad when it was offered, frowning down at it. It left her feeling a little sick to see all of the solid bits inside of her body. She had only herself to blame. She wouldn't blame Tenzin, though she could blame the first doctor she'd seen back home, the dismissive answer of 'let them reject, give it half a year and come back to me for a check up'. ]

I...didn't think there was still so much left. [ Her head lifted. ] And what if I've been having this pain on and off for a year or more, is that my body's way of saying I should've looked into this sooner?

I swear, I really just thought it was the change in temperature...

[ When she took the data pad Adrien folded his hands into the small of his back, a classic 'parade rest' positioning. ]

It's the transition between the two that would be the main contributor to the shifting. Even the best artificial grav is still, a shift between ship board and planet-side. We might not be consciously aware of it but our bodies know.

[ His expression may have suggested that yes she should have looked into this pain sooner, rather than ... now. But clearing his throat, Adrien wasn't as sharp as he might have been. Stern but not sharp.

Releasing one hand, he stepped so he could point at the datapad. Specifically he tapped to zoom view in on her torso; stomach and chest. ]

These are the areas I'm most concerned about. These scans suggest that these pieces, particularly here [ point ] here and here [ point point ] are moving inward, rather than outwards.

[ He tapped the pad and turned the image slightly. ]

This one in particular, could path towards your spleen, stomach or kidney. While we're in removing this threat, I would advise that we take this [ more pointing ], this, here and here and here.

[ He drew his hand back and turned his attention back to her face. ]

They've had two years to progress outwards, but they've gone deeper into the body and the shock of coming through the Ingress, combined with .. [ he motioned with his hand, to encompass the artificial gravity, the cold, the rigors of living on a space ship ] ...isn't going to do you any favors.

That makes sense, I have been going down planet-side a lot lately. Almost every day or every other day.

[ But Elena gets it; the look on his face, the way he clears his throat. She understands. No one to blame but herself. And now she's living with the growing discomfort until something can be done. ]

No, it doesn't seem like it is. In fact, it could end up being what kills me in the end.

[ And saying that aloud, it sends an uncomfortable chill down her spine to settle in the base, numbing her. ]

You brought up surgery, having the more fatal pieces removed— I...need to talk to my husband about this, but...what exactly does it entail? Who's going to oversee that? What's the recovery time? Will I need anything after besides painkillers?

[ So long as she didn't fight him, Adrien would retrieve the data pad and close out the scan information. He had it clear in his head already.

Stepping away from the bed, he crossed his arms tapping the pad against the side of his own rib cage. ]

There are a couple of approaches. I understand that Dr. Yewll has surgical drones she utilizes for detailed work. I prefer to do the work manually, no offense to technology, it has it's place but I want to make sure of the work I'm doing.

Either approach is going to be invasive which will require anesthesia. It could possibly done under heavy sedation and pain blockers if you'd rather.

[ Some people could handle being awake and aware of what was happening to their bodies. Some people could psyche themselves out and end up believing they felt the pain despite the blockers. The brain was a ... curious organ. ]

As for recovery, provided there are no complications, it will just be painkillers and a course of antibiotics. Personally I'm an asshole. I believe that the sooner you get up on your feet and move, within reason, the better the healing goes. Believe me when I say I want you out of Medbay, to your own quarters and picking up light but steady duty sooner rather than later.

I also won't prescribe an extended supply of heavy duty painkillers.

[ He didn't believe in them for more than the immediate post-op pain management. Too many side effects. ]

Again this is all based no complications during surgery or complications developed after the surgery.

Edited 2016-06-17 12:57 (UTC)

[ She took everything in, every bit of information he had for her, weighing the pros and cons. This seemed like a thing that was going to happen— it needed to. ]

Right.

[ A deep breath in as she was accepting what needed to be done, thinking about how she would tell Nate when she'd been keeping this from him for all this time. Elena winced then, hand pressing to her side as she moved from the bed to stand on her feet. She took a moment to lean back against the edge, lips twitching into a small but forced smile. ]

This is...the extent of it. [ She was referring to the current twinges, still running the area. ] Comes and goes. It's just... It's getting more and more, now.

Anyway, I do want to thank you. You've been very helpful, giving me a lot to think on.

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