Ensign Sival: First Duty Shift
James Scott Schumann
(( OOC: Slight wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey skip. ))
(( Main Medical, Deck 7, USS Juneau ))
For many people, the first morning back after being recalled to duty is not a pleasant one. The typical ‘Monday Morning’ syndrome, caused by sleep patterns being forcibly reset. However, Sival was rarely affected by this condition. It was partly due to his half-Vulcan nature. He required fewer hours of sleep per night than full humans, and as long as he stuck to his meditation regimen, he could go periods with even fewer hours without losing focus or emotion regulation. Thus, despite the events of the previous day, Sival was rested, and dare one say (he dared not say) enthusiastic about his first full duty shift aboard the USS Juneau, and his first full duty shift as a Starfleet officer.
It was a much more crowded sickbay today compared to the days prior, since the incident when all of the Juneau’s crew had been recalled to ship. Apparently many had decided to stay there rather than return and continue their holiday.
There also appeared to be some correlation between the return to the ship and, what Sival believed, was a higher-than-expected number of visits.
Monday Morning Syndrome.
So far, nine people had come in with complaints of nausea, three with unspecified body aches, one with a … rash, and 17 with complaints of a headache.
Headaches. The most common Monday morning complaint. Sival knew it was actually mid-week by Earth’s calendar, but it may well have been a Monday based on the headaches alone.
Not that Sival had a headache or was complaining himself. He enjoyed being busy with the flow of the day’s work. So far, he found the pace of work to be agreeable, even if the conditions were mundane. Sival was helping people efficiently and compassionately, at least according to Sival’s standards.
About a couple hours into his shift, a man in civilian clothing came in. Sival recognized him as Commander Williams (by now he had memorized more of the staff roster). The two began discussing something none other than a headache, but something seemed different about this conversation. Sival began to probe with deeper questioning.
Sival: Have you had it for a while?
Williams: Yes, it started last night. A cloth with cold water on my forehead usually solves it.
Sival was impressed. This was an excellent technique that was often as effective as and less invasive than most analgesics. Intense cold stimulation can distract the body from its current distress, and it sometimes can cause the body ‘to forget’ the original pain altogether. It is often effective for headaches and even anxiety.
That it was not effective this time caused Sival to probe deeper.
Sival: Has anything stressful happened recently that may have triggered it?
Williams: No, I don’t think so.
Williams: But the funny thing is I always get them after something stressful. Not in the middle of it. But I can’t think of anything. Haven’t been off the ship either if that’s going to be your next question.
The commander clearly knew the checklist. Sival always believed that patients were better in tune with their bodies than their doctors. So if this man, who was clearly intelligent, knew both the questions and the answers to them, then Sival didn’t feel the need to press further. The cause was probably innocuous enough.
oO Monday Morning Syndrome. Oo
But he would give the most plausible suggestion.
Sival: Headaches can occur for any variety of reasons. It is one of the body’s most common symptoms. But all things being equal, if no other symptoms and environmental factors are present, then it may just be a case of simple dehydration.
Williams: Well I was exposed to the same sound waves as everyone else. Unless you have a sudden increase in people with headaches I doubt that’s related.
oO Sound waves? Oo
Sival raised an eyebrow, but before he could question further about it, Williams continued.
Williams: You might be under the impression this is my first headache. I have them quite regularly but never after a good sleep. Doctor Indobri told me she wanted to check it out as it’s not normal.
Commander Williams provided some important information that affected Sival’s approach. Now Sival knew that the headaches were chronic, and there has also been a recent change. Now he experiences headaches regardless of if he feels well-rested or not.
Sival made a note of the information into his PADD. While he usually would not carefully examine a patient based on a complaint of a headache alone, this information led him to concur with Doctor Indobri’s recommendation. It was, indeed, not normal.
Sival: I see. That is a prudent course of action. Please have a seat on biobed five, and we will take a closer look.
As he was talking, a young lieutenant entered and walked right in front of Sival, ignoring him and staring at Commander Williams. He appeared to be in some kind of daze, or, at the very least, lost in thought. Sival walked over to him and gently put his hand on his shoulder.
Sival: Good morning, Lieutenant. How may I help you today?
Kendrick: Dammit, do you always sneak up on your patients like that?
Sival took a step back. That was not the reaction he had expected. He looked at the lieutenant. It was Lieutenant Kenrick, whom he also knew from the crew’s roster.
Sival: My apologies, Lieutenant. I didn’t mean to startle you.
Williams: Easy, Lieutenant, they are just doing their job.
Kendrick: My apologies. I didn’t mean to lash out on you like I did. It was just a very short night, making me a bit edgy, that’s all.
Like Cmdr. Williams, his interaction with Lt. Kendrick did not fit the pattern of the others of that day, so he wanted to be sure he gave full attention to him as well.
Sival: Not a problem, Lieutenant. Please have a seat on biobed four. The nurse will take your vital signs, and I will be with you shortly. Be sure to tell her exactly what happened.
Kendrick: We visited a couple of bars on Lightside Station, but to tell you the truth, I can’t even remember most of what happened.
Williams: I’m not a doctor but that sounds like a hangover to me.
Kendrick: Response
Sival believed that either Cmdr. Williams and Lt. Kendrick were already on friendly terms with one another, or Cmdr. Williams was fishing for information. Or it could be something else. Either way, Sival was careful about joining in the small talk, and he restricted his contribution to strictly generic, factual information.
Sival: Amnesia is commonly associated with alcohol poisoning.
The lieutenant apparently didn’t want to engage in this conversation, as he changed the topic.
Kendrick: You recently transferred to the ship? I can’t remember seeing you here before.
Sival: Yes, Lieutenant. I came aboard after Juneau docked at Lightside Station.
All the meanwhile, Sival had begun the standard battery of tests associated with head pain. He ran tissue scans, bone density scans, pressure scans, and many more. He moved around the bio bed to be at just the right angle, sometimes to Cmdr. Williams left, then his right, or slightly above him. Sival was being as thorough and as accurate as possible.
Williams: Anything interesting in my head doctor? I don’t want to be rude but the scanning is actually making it worse…
Sival found the comment confusing. If the remark was sarcasm, it was lost on Sival.
Sival: That is unlikely, Sir. Medical scans are designed so as not to cause any pain to the patient.
Williams: Response
Sival: Well, I do not see any immediate red flags; however, the scans have collected a lot of data, and they will need to be analyzed further before we have any conclusive results. Since you have already been seeing Dr. Indobri about your condition, I will share these scans with her for her analysis.
Williams: Response
Sival: For now, I am giving you 0.5 cc of acinolyathin. It should help relieve the pain. Do come back to sickbay if it does not.
The nurse had already prepared the hypo. Sival administered the medicine.
Williams: Response
Sival: You’re welcome, Commander. Is there anything else that I can help you with?
Williams: Response
Sival nodded with respect, then turned to Lieutenant Kendrick. He briefly took a look at his vital signs. His blood pressure was slightly elevated, but that was normal for someone who hadn’t slept much the night prior.
Sival: Lieutenant Kendrick, what brings you into sickbay today?
Kendrick: Response
Sival: I see. And what were you doing that may have contributed to your symptoms - that you do remember, of course?
Kendrick: Response
TAG/TBC
Ensign Sival
Medical Officer
USS Juneau, NX-99801
J239808S11