Let's Get (our onboarding) Physical....

Posted on Wed Aug 16th, 2023 @ 2:36am by

1,743 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Campor III - Resupply
Location: Deck 12: Medical Bay
Timeline: MD 12: 1100 hours

Nurse Daisheliss Kerr waited patiently for Counselor Drylo to show up for her onboarding physical. She was busy studying the deck layouts that she wasn't as familiar with in preparation for potential emergency medical response call out.

Feeva stepped out of her office, and hurried down the corridor. She wasn't late, but she would be if she didn't hurry. She rang the chime but entered anyway. "Hi. Counselor Drylo! I was meant to do my onboarding physical today!" She sighed.

"Welcome, Counselor, come on in," Lissa said greeting her in a cheerful and energetic voice. "I'm Nurse Lissa Kerr, and I'm sure you are ready to get this over this, so lets get you in an exam room. It'll only take a few minutes." Lissa held out an arm gesturing which room the counselor should walk towards.

Feeva nodded, and headed in the way the Nurse pointed. "Thank you, I would appreciate it. I need to bring my daughter in later on; she'll need vaccines for the school," Feeva said. She climbed onto the biobed in the room. "Do I need to change out of my uniform?" She asked.

"No, not at all, this will be short and sweet," Lissa called out over her shoulder as she grabbed a medical tricorder from a drawer. When she turned around she explained, "The biobed is taking your weight and vitals, I just have a few annoying questions to ask you, and we'll run a more detailed cellular scan with the tricorder, and you'll be free to go." Lissa's demeanor was upbeat and professional as she explained the process.

"All good?" Lissa asked, taking out her PADD with the Counselor's information and the standard questions.

Feeva nodded. She was used to it by now. "Yes, ma'am. I know the basic protocols, thank you. I did have a recent exam at Starbase 16, so I expected this one to just be a follow up. I had a minor accident-I burnt my hand on some very hot tea because the replicator in my office went on the fritz-but I feel fine now and the dermal regenerator worked well!" She held out the hand that burnt-her right, non-dominant hand, and showed the nurse where the injury had been.

"Can't even tell," Lissa commented approvingly. "You know there's a rumor about engineers right? Apparently their proclivity for injuring themselves extends beyond the walls of the engineering department," Lissa teased.

Feeva smiled. "I have heard that. Apparently, that also applies to Counselors. Yesterday, I ran smack into the Captain!" She was STILL embarassed. "Otherwise, I feel great. I am in good health. I don't exercise like I'd like to, but that's mostly because I have my daughter to look after, but I figure that's plenty of physical activity. Four year olds can really move!" She said. "Otherwise, I just try to eat healthily and don't drink much." She shrugged.

"Yes, most parents of young children say that for sure." Lissa looked at her PADD and entered some information. "Well you answered the first few questions for me. Vitals look good, weight is relatively the same as well."

Lissa took out her tricorder and began her scan. "Really the purpose of doing these at the beginning of every assignment is get your baseline health parameters in our system, even if your last physical wasn't that long ago. We're often exposed to a lot of unknowns out here, if anyone starts presenting with symptoms of any kind, the more data points we have, the better able we are to pinpoint what may have triggered the onset, and what our targets are for getting the patient well again."

Fee nodded. "That's logical," she said. Then she laughed. "That sounded rather Romulan, didn't it?! What I mean is that that is what I expect," she said. "I would imagine that's especially true of the parents aboard; kids are like walking Petri dishes. I had a virus as a child-something akin to Scarlet Fever, and I remember that my father caught it, too, eventually, as he was my main caregiver," she said. "I swear, having children is the punishment we get for misbehaving for our own parents."

"I'm sure you only feel that way some of the time," Lissa responded, winking at the counselor knowingly as she finished her scans. "Okay, Counselor, everything looks great here. Just a couple of questions. You answered most of them before I asked," Lissa looked up with a smile. "So are you sleeping ok? And how are you energy levels?"

Fee nodded. "Yes, only sometimes. Particularly when she's upset and I can't fix it," she said. "I haven't been sleeping well lately, but normally, yes. Leena isn't adjusting as well as I had hoped, and she's kept me up." She said, not saying much more. "So of course, my energy levels are a bit low. Hopefully, after a bit more time passes, she'll be more used to it, and be able to sleep on her own again. She was born on a Starship but doesn't remember it. She only knows the Starbase I transferred from," she said. "Where her father died. I suspect that has a lot to do with it-she feels we're leaving him behind. The Vissians aren't particularly religious or spiritual people, and though her father was Human, he wasn't, either, so I don't think she has a concept of an afterlife, though I've done my best to reassure her that he's always with her." She shrugged. "It's been difficult for me to explain to her that I had to move on. The Fleet required it, and besides...I needed a fresh start."

Lissa looked at her sympathetically. "Yeah, that's a lot," she agreed. "And kids definitely process things differently and at their own pace, but one thing that seems to be true across the board with children, is that they are resilient, and they do bounce back from things like this," Lissa said, trying to reassure the Counselor.

"Has Leena been able to start school, or get into any of the children's programs or playgroups yet? With children sometimes the best way to help them start to move on, is to give them something positive to focus on. It can help them compartmentalize the negative feelings," Lissa suggested. Her eyes widened as she realized she was talking to a mental health professional and she tried to backpedal. "I mean I know you know that. Of course. I just thought I could maybe help you brainstorm some things we could find for her to do that she might enjoy."

Lissa leaned against the biobed a few inches down from where Feeva was sitting. "And you know, who does counsel the Counselor when she's feeling low?" she asked

Feeva laughed a little. "I don't mind the suggestions, Ensign," she said. "The preschool started yesterday-early-I had to make some calls and essentially beg. It was that, or explain to the Captain that Leena comes to work with me until it DOES open. It normally opens a few days after launch, to give last-minute arrivals time to settle in. I am still vetting some people I may ask to watch her, as well. I can't be too cautious, but I also know that it DOES take a village.

As for who I talk to? I have a mentor and my own Counselor I speak with weekly," she said. "Usually via holoprogram, but still, it's helpful. The Fleet ensures we have that to avoid burnout. Or worse," she said. "I'd like to meet some people here to spend adult time with," she blushed, realizing the unintended double entendre. "I mean...adult conversations and the like, things that don't revolve around toys, juice, and cartoons," she clarified.

Lissa smiled encouragingly, "I'm sure it won't be long at all then before she's distracted by friends and playgroups and settling into her new home."

Lissa typed something into her PADD, "I'm sending you a couple of replicator recipes for some chamomile teas that may help Leena settle in at night - perfectly safe for children, and adults find them useful too. It's an earth flower. Humans have been using it for hundreds of years."

Feeva nodded. "Thank you. We have a similar plant on Vissia. My husband was Human, I am familiar with Chamomile but it didn't occur to me to try that."

"Was there anything else on your mind today, Counselor?" Lissa asked.

Feeva sighed. "No. But I think probably continuing on with grief counseling soon is a good idea. Resettling is always hard, and this past few weeks have brought up some things for both myself and Leena. I have learned coping skills, but she has only begun to be able to articulate her feelings about it," she said. "Which we deal with in real-world terms-I don't baby her. She knows that death is final, and her father won't be coming back to see her ever. But she also knows that it was an accident, that he loved her deeply, and that if it was possible, everyone involved would redo it." She shrugged.

"It sounds like you are doing a great job with her," Lissa said encouragingly. "I'm glad she comes to you and trusts you. It sounds like you have a great relationship, even if you both are going through unthinkable grief right now," she added.

Feeva smiled. "Thank you. We're trying to muddle through together," she said. It was nice to hear the reassurance that she was doing ok. Leena was well fed, always clean, with fresh clothes, and Fee was always available for her daughter-she sometimes felt inadequate as a parent but she knew she could be much worse.

"Well, we're all done with your physical, but if you ever need anything, even if it's to talk or grab coffee sometime, you know where to find me," Lissa offered, hopping off the biobed. "It was great meeting you."

Fee climbed down from the Biobed. Why was everyone so tall?!

"Same! Thank you, I can see myself out. It's just across the hall, after all," she said.

"Take care," Lissa called out as as Feeva left the exam room. Lissa entered the rest of the information into the Counselor's medical profile and stepped out into the main receiving area. It was bound to be slow for the next few days.

Lt. J.G. Feeva Drylo
Counselor, USS Columbia

Ensign Daisheliss Kerr
Nurse, USS Columbia

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