Waking up in sickbay

Posted on Sat Jan 19th, 2013 @ 5:23am by Ensign Mandy Lane & Captain Cameron Bourne & 1st Lieutenant Kara Melo

1,308 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: The Enemy Within: Lying in Wait
Location: Sickbay, USS Calypso

ON

As the effects of the sedative slowly began to wear off, Cam started to wake up. His head was still pounding with a headache, but it was better than it had been before. Slowly opening his eyes, he winced at the bright lights of sickbay. Quickly moving his right hand over his eyes to shield them, he looked around to see where he was, "hello? Is somebody there?" He called out to whoever may be in the room.

Kara had been reading a book to pass the time while she sat in a chair in the corner of the room. It was her second day spending her time between her duty shift and bedtime sitting in Cam's room. To make sure he was okay, she told herself.

"Hi," she said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh you know, nail in the head kind of thing" Cam said, smiling slightly. "I hope I wasn't too much trouble"

"No. Whenever you got out of line, I hammered another nail into your head," she teased. "Seriously, though, you were no problem. Do you want me to ask the nurse for a hypospray to take care of the headache?"

Cam shook his head, "na, this is nothing. Try matching drinks with a Klingon battle master all night, than have a long term recon assignment on a high atmosphere world. Now that's a headache"

After a moment, Cam tried to sit up but found he was unable to move his left arm. Looking over, he saw that it was completely missing. Starting to feel panic, he looked up at Kara, "can you get the doc for me?"

"Sure." Kara found a medic right away. "Cam is asking for a doctor."

"Yes? I can come take a look." Mandy said. Cam... Which one was that again? She tried to remember but couldn't, she was, after all, still dealing with getting to know everyone. When she got to the room and saw his arm missing, she remembered clearly. That Cam. "Does it hurt?" She asked, wondering if he was needing another pain-suppressant already. He wasn't supposed to get another dose for another half-hour, but if it was hurting already they might adjust the dose then.

Kara followed her into the room and stood by the back wall to stay out of the way.

"Doc, I need to ask, what's the damage? What else am I missing?" Cam asked, swollowing his fear

"A few bits of skin. And I believe a good deal of blood too. But you should be better after just a little while." Mandy said with a smile. It seemed like he wasn't in too much pain, that was a good thing.

"Nothing major, Cam. You're still fully functional," Kara teased.

Cam smiled, "that hard up for it hay Melo?"

"You wish," she shot back, trying not to blush.

Want me to go? Mandy mouthed to Kara, seeing that the two looked to her to be flirting.

Kara looked at Mandy, trying to appear nonchalant. She did NOT want Cam to think she was interested in him in a less-than-professional way. She shook her head and mouthed back He wants to get fixed and get out of here. Then, when she realized that her words could have the wrong implication she turned bright red. She hoped the medic understood what she meant rather than what she said.

Cam looked up at the two women standing over him, "hay, you two aren't talking about me are you? I'm getting a little paranoid here"

Kara got control of herself and turned to Cam, grinning. "Of course we are. Wasn't there something you wanted to ask the medic?" Maybe that would get him off the subject. Maybe.

Shaking his head at Kara, Cam turned his head to look at Mandy, "Give it to me straight doc. I'm a Recon Marine, or at least I was before this. What are my options now? Am I relegated to desk job for the rest of my career?" He asked, sounding a little depressed. But what he was feeling was a mix of Panic, Depression, regret and dread. If he was going to be stuck behind a desk in some building somewhere for the rest of his life, he wasn't sure he would be able to live that life.

"We can grow you a new arm, it will take a few days before it's ready though." Mandy said, a smile on her face, glad to have something that could be fixed. "Until then you'll need to rest."

"What about prosthetics? I've heard stories about regrown organs that sometimes are rejected by the hosts body. The Borg have already done half the job for you" Cam asked

"If the CMO doesn't know of anything, we've got Fleet Medical nearby. They should know about prosthetics and regenerative technology," Kara added.

Cam nodded and looked up at Mandy.

"There are prosthetics available, but their functionality when fully installed is a bit limited. A fully regrown arm is your best chance at getting your original range of motion and dexterity back, something you might need if you wish to continue with something other than a desk job." Mandy explained. "The recovery period is longer for a new arm of course, what with having to train it to do everything again, but most people say they are glad they didn't get a prosthetic."

"I think I'll leave you and the medic alone," Kara said after a moment. "In case you want to ask any personal questions about your functionality." She grinned wickedly and gave Cam a mock salute. "I wouldn't want you to be embarrassed or anything."

Cam laughed, "Go jump out an airlock Melo" he said, smiling. He knew she was only joking, but he sensed an undercurrent of genuine concern

"Love you too, Bourne," she said over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.

Shaking his head, Cam his attention back to Mandy, "how long will it take to regenerate my arm?"

"With the current rate, it'll probably be about a week and a half before it's ready to be syncronized with your genes. We'll have to take a bone marrow sample then, since that gets the best results and has the best chance at avoiding rejection." Mandy paused, letting him take in the information, then continued. "It'll take somewhere around two days after that before it'll ready to be attached. Then we'll need to start training it. There will be very little muscle mass when we attach it, since attaching the arm as soon as we can decreases the risk of rejection as well. In the beginning, you will have to wear a cast on the upper part, since the bone will need time to blend with your existing bone, similar to when a bone is broken. While that heals, we'll start having you do exersizes with your hand and wrist." Thinking that that was probably enough for now, Mandy stopped with the medical babble. "You weren't left handed were you?"

Cam shook his head, "No, fortunately the Borg decided to take my off hand. How soon can you take the Marrow sample?"

"Good, you won't have to learn to write again. Though some basicss will be good practice for your new hand. It'll be best to get the sample when the arm is ready. We can do it before, but it's not advised, since it'll have to sit around and wait for the arm." Mandy said. "You should get some rest now." Mandy said, phrasing it as a request, but turning the lights off so that there wasn't much of a choice about it.

OFF:

Ensign Mandy Lane
Medical Officer
USS Calypso

Master Sergeant Cameron Bourne
Delta Platoon Leader/Marine XO
USS Calypso

Staff Sergeant Kara Melo (NPC York)
Alpha Platoon Leader
USS Calypso

 

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