dr. stephen strange (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rehandle) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
meadowlark2019-02-04 10:22 pm
rehandle) wrote in meadowlark2019-02-04 10:22 pm
Entry tags:
@stephen.strange
Our most recent foray into sudden disaster has highlighted a great many things, but there are a couple in particular I'd like to address:
1. Medically speaking, we're understaffed
2. As a group, we're not aware of or making the best of our collective pool of resources.
We were quick to respond, and it's frankly astonishing what we were able to achieve given the immediacy and scope of the problem, but it's perfectly clear that we're not going to be living a quiet life. We need to make sure, before the next thing comes, that we're going to be able to build on the systems we created this time around. And if we're to have the capacity to respond to a mass need for medical attention without as much Morningstar presence going forward, we're going to need more hands on deck. Once that's done, anything smaller scale will be easy to account for.
So, a few things.
Firstly, I'd like to offer at least basic first aid training to anyone who'd like to accept it.
Secondly, I'd like to know who among us are already medically trained and to what degree. (This absolutely includes those with self-taught, functional knowledge, though I'll recommend you still accept the training for a wider breadth of understanding and to gain experience with the medical resources available here in the city.)
Thirdly, a show of hands for anyone among that number happy to take on a training role.
Lastly, I'd like to say thank you to anyone who dealt with injury in the field, the safehouses and general care afterwards, or anyone who helped move equipment or medics and the injured throughout the city - and especially to @clarke.griffin, without whom we wouldn't have had a working plan even half as quickly or the availability of equipment out in the field that we did. It all made a difference.
1. Medically speaking, we're understaffed
2. As a group, we're not aware of or making the best of our collective pool of resources.
We were quick to respond, and it's frankly astonishing what we were able to achieve given the immediacy and scope of the problem, but it's perfectly clear that we're not going to be living a quiet life. We need to make sure, before the next thing comes, that we're going to be able to build on the systems we created this time around. And if we're to have the capacity to respond to a mass need for medical attention without as much Morningstar presence going forward, we're going to need more hands on deck. Once that's done, anything smaller scale will be easy to account for.
So, a few things.
Firstly, I'd like to offer at least basic first aid training to anyone who'd like to accept it.
Secondly, I'd like to know who among us are already medically trained and to what degree. (This absolutely includes those with self-taught, functional knowledge, though I'll recommend you still accept the training for a wider breadth of understanding and to gain experience with the medical resources available here in the city.)
Thirdly, a show of hands for anyone among that number happy to take on a training role.
Lastly, I'd like to say thank you to anyone who dealt with injury in the field, the safehouses and general care afterwards, or anyone who helped move equipment or medics and the injured throughout the city - and especially to @clarke.griffin, without whom we wouldn't have had a working plan even half as quickly or the availability of equipment out in the field that we did. It all made a difference.
no subject
So.
[ He enters the room and opens his arms wide, like someone lining up for inspection. He wants to get a look at Stephen, too. ]
dear god I'm so sorry for how late this is I'm back now
— ah
does the kid think this is airport security?
for a moment, he just stands there with his brows raised, letting the situation confirm for him that he was never meant to be a general practitioner. then he gestures toward two chairs in the corner of the room. ]
Why don't you come and have a seat?
Np I know you were busy :)
Then, obediently, takes the obvious chair. He slouches. ]
I used to have a prosthetic, but they took it away. Or perhaps I was only separated in transit. [ Only separated. He glances at his missing right hand. That's what he wanted to ask about. ]
There are other prosthetics here. [ Much more advanced and capable than anything he's used to. ] But this is an old wound, and…
[ And he's not sure they would work for him, and he doesn't want to go through all the trouble of faking his way into one of the hospitals if it won't help any. That's frightening to say, though, so he doesn't say it. ]
danke ♥♥
now isn't the time for theorising. it's filed away for later, placed on the backburner in favour of the problem at hand. one that partially overlaps his own, going on which research he's fairly content to hope will have a positive outcome. ]
I don't think that'll be a problem here. [ sitting forward in his chair, Stephen reaches out towards his would-be patient, palms open in request. ] May I?
[ it'll mean opening up the bond but that doesn't seem like it concerns him too much. his hands and their old bone-following scars wait patiently in the space between them, barely tremoring, expression calm. no trace of bad news or a doctorly poker face. ]
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Yes. [ He nods once, bracing himself. ] It doesn't hurt, thank the gods. [ Literally— the pain in his phantom hand and much of the scarring was dulled by an encounter with the divine.
Eugenides's feelings are a predictable mix of anger and fear. Anger at the humiliation of sitting here, crippled as he is, anger at himself for getting caught and losing his hand in the first place, at being trapped in an unfamiliar place.
He's afraid of what it might mean to have a hand back, now that he's gotten used to thinking of himself without it. And he's afraid that the wondrous prosthetics they have here might not work for him, and that he's foolish for hoping for something even the gods cannot give.
It takes him a little while to notice the scars on Stephen's hands. ]
no subject
not everything he developed there he's been able to make use of here, but this is one thing that's come in very handy, especially while treating patients. there's no use in overwhelming anyone with the underlying mess of everything else he's been feeling (though it's all still there, heavily muted by the imposed calm like the shapes of fishes caught swimming downstream, flash and then gone; stress, sadness, fury, the edge of an emptiness - none surfacing, none easily defined by anyone lacking the inclination to stick their hand into the stream and catch it.)
with that in place, he's free to inspect the offered old wound, take a look at how it healed, how well or otherwise the process was done. but in truth, even looking at it now, he knows his answer. he's speaking as he goes - ]
That's good. —The technology here surpasses medical advancements made in my time. There's nanotechnology that interacts with the body in such a way as to strengthen what needs to be strengthened, create any connections the body might not be capable of itself. Between that and the nature of your injury... [ there's never anything simple about losing a limb, but latest models of limb replacements seem to pop up as often as new iPhones here and connections between bodies and their new parts can be woven ] I don't think they'd have any difficulty fitting you with a prosthetic.
[ Stephen releases his arm here, breaks the connection, sits back a little way to give him space. ]
The biggest hurdle you'll come across is explaining why you didn't acquire one immediately after receiving the wound.
no subject
Oh, well, I can lie. [ He smiles like a rider grasping the reigns of a familiar horse. ] Do they cut off hands as punishment for stealing?
[ He knows that, in fact, they cut off body parts for the express purpose of replacing them. It seems demented. ]
no subject
Really, you shouldn't be obliged to tell them. They may press for the nature of the removal, but neither the circumstances nor the reason for the wound's age are crucial to the procedure itself. Chances are they'll assume it's something shady but that describes a lot of the dealings in this city. You'll be fine.
[ though by no means let that get in the way of this opportunity for a good lie. you do you. ]
no subject
I don't want to get anyone in trouble.
[ Biomedical tracking and the like is so new to him he doesn't habitually consider it— a lot of the network talk about blood testing had been difficult for him to parse. But he thinks of the shrines in the streets and knows even this small refuge is tenuous.
He also knows that his injury makes him much more memorable, and that's dangerous, too. ]
no subject
what comes next, though, is interesting too. it's a concern both admirable and reassuring, speaking to a sense of collective responsibility for the safety of the people they all represent. it's a small safety, regularly put at risk through no fault of their own.
wanting to protect it for others, whether those others are specific or not, bodes well. ]
It's alright. What we have doesn't show up on scans or in any tests we've subjected ourselves to. There's a very low risk that you'll draw any particular attention, aside from the strangeness of not having sought out a prosthetic sooner, but mostly it'll mean that you'll need to avoid getting into too much trouble publicly.
[ and, if it helps - ] I worked in a neural implant research facility for a while here. Being in the medical field, people didn't understand why I hadn't gone with the nanites.
[ he raises one scarred hand to indicate what he's talking about. ]
I sold them a story. They found it odd, but it got me by. If you're worried, you can lie.
[ he may not technically need to, but it's a viable option for some added security provided he can find the right story to tell. ]
no subject
It wasn't an accident, and she didn't want me dead, so I had medical attention right away.
My profession doesn't require an expertise in cutting people up. [ This is one of the main reasons that he chose it. ] I could say one of the machines ran it over, but that might not pass inspection.
[ He doesn't know if that injury would look any different, to someone who knew how to recognize these things. ]
And they might try to inspect the machine for defects. What did you tell them?
[ Not "what happened" — though he'd listen to that, too. ]
no subject
[ not exactly in vogue research, people didn't get it, but why question further than that when nobody here in their right mind would want to hold off on treatment if they didn't have some obscure reason like the one he'd given?
and his excuse doesn't much help Eugenides. ]
You could cite a previous job. Or an enhancement gone wrong. Refuse to give detail, imply it was less than above board and you avoided hospital to avoid repercussions.
[ there are all kinds of people selling cybernetics in this city. not all of them are licensed. ]
no subject
[ A good lie, in Eugenides's opinion, works even if someone can see through it. ]
no subject
That's the one.
no subject
[ He hadn't been lying when he mentioned having a lot of experience as a patient. ]
no subject
Actually, no. [ because he's kind? not really. ] I was the best in the business and only took the good jobs so there was never any bad news to cover up. Patients were under heavy anesthetic for the procedures and recovery periods were a given, one we were obliged to be honest about with our patients and their families before any surgeries were carried out.
[ that and he was an asshole with close to no time for sugar coating. as for these days? ] I don't think I've grown out of the habit of being blunt. And I also don't think pretty words are the best way to form trust with a patient.
no subject
[ In truth, Eugenides has no good reason to hate doctors. They'd almost always treated him with competence and sympathy, which only annoyed him more. Sympathy was dangerously close to pity, and pity stung.
Being cooped up and vulnerable made him angry, and he tended to take that anger out on whoever was nearby, which usually was the doctor. Needless to say, he was often sedated.
Not that he has any intention of explaining all this. Instead. after a pause, he adds: ]
Maybe if you had really good drugs.
no subject
[ whatever Eugenides' previous experiences are (and they sound not the best), this time around ought to be... different, if not better. which begs the question - ]
Are you planning to go on your own?
no subject
I hadn't made a plan yet. [ His mouth twists a little in contemplation. ] But we all walk into hell alone.
no subject
[ ... cheery metaphor. ]
Sure. But when we walk into hell, it knows we're new. Hospitals? Not so much. You might want to take a friend to walk you through it.
no subject
Are you offering?
[ He looks— and is— confused. He's legitimately unfamiliar with the hospital, and so the idea that it might require a guide. Or moral support. ]
no subject
I can be if you'd like. Though I don't know if I'm your best option.
no subject
[ He suggests that mostly to see what sort of face the other man will make. ]
1/2
squint
who have you been talking to? ]
no subject
Pass. I'm not sure we want them assuming I've forcibly inducted you to some kind of cult.
[ hands. he's talking about their hands. the injure your hands and keep it that way cult. ]
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