Fleet Captain Addison MacKenzie - Tough Calls
Addison MacKenzie
(( Meranuge IV near the impact zone, Holodeck 2, Deck 2, USS
Artemis-A ))
MacKenzie and Syrex, having provided care to a girl with a relatively minor
condition now found themselves faced with a man missing two of his limbs,
bleeding profusely. While Syrex came up with a plan for tackling the injuries,
Addison had been sent to the cooler of blood that had been brought down from
the local hospital, only to find that there weren’t many units of the kind of blood
this patient would need. She shook her head to herself – the hospital was just
as overrun as they were in the field and, while she was sure their replicator
units were running on overtime to produce more synthetic blood, it likely
wouldn’t be making its way out to them, and certainly not in time to save this
man.
MacKenzie returned to Syrex with the three units and held them up.
MacKenzie: This is all we’ve got.
Syrex: That’s it? No universal blood? Whatever is universal for this
species…
MacKenzie bit her lower lip and shook her head, not wanting to continue to yell
over the patient screaming beneath them.
MacKenzie: It’s your call, Doctor.
Syrex: It’s not worth it. If we’re wrong in
what we give him, his blood will curdle worse than old milk. ::Clears her
throat:: he needs a tourniquet, and fast-or we’ll have to take off the rest of
his arm.
Doctor Syrex grabbed a piece of cloth from the floor that had been previously
ineffective in trying to mute the patient. She tossed it over to MacKenzie
before turning back to the patient.
Syrex: I’m assuming you know about make-shift tourniquets?
MacKenzie: ::nodding, moving to the side:: Rudimentary, but
hopefully an effective stopgap. What about his leg?
Syrex: I’m confident the rest of their leg will be fine now. It’ll
survive, that is. Not a pretty victory, but they won’t bleed out. Unless we get
this arm sorted.
That, as they say, was a fact.
MacKenzie: Should we try the tourniquet? Not that I’m an advocate
of putting a dirty cloth around it…
Syrex: It’s not going to work in this case, I’m not confident we
won’t just delay the inevitable by giving them an infection.
MacKenzie: Well, I think we could manage an infection far more
effectively than we can if we don’t do something to prevent him from losing his
limb or bleeding out…
Alyndra sighed in frustration.
Syrex: This just isn’t working. The bleeding should have stopped by
now. Do you have any other suggestions? I have one, but it’s radical, and
frankly, I’m open to other options.
MacKenzie: With what we have at our disposal? There isn’t much open
to us. What’ve you got?
Syrex: Response
MacKenzie shook her head slightly. The suggestion was radical, to be sure, but
in the field with very few resources and even fewer options, you had to think
on your feet and be willing to consider possibilities that wouldn’t normally
cross your mind if it meant saving a person’s life. …or making the tough call
that you couldn’t save his life. They were now at such a crossroads,
with the call ultimately being left to Dr. Syrex.
MacKenzie: And you think you can do it?
Syrex: Response
MacKenzie smirked slightly as Syrex reached for the instrument tray.
MacKenzie: Computer, end program.
The dusty, dirty tent quickly disappeared, replaced by the familiar black and
gold grid of the holodeck. She nodded to Syrex.
MacKenzie: Well, doctor, it appears you know your stuff, and you’re
willing to make tough calls.
Syrex: Response
Tag, and TBC!
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Fleet Captain Addison
MacKenzie, M.D., Ph.D., FASFS
Commanding Officer
USS Artemis-A
Captains Council Member at Large
V239601AM0