Physically Fit

Posted on Sun Jan 31st, 2021 @ 10:28am by Lieutenant Avira zh'Kenarh M.D.

Mission: Mission 4 - Eden
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Day 87 - Afternoon
1329 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure

She'd put if off for as long as possible, but Ellie decided it was time to face up to the inevitable that was her annual physical. Doctor Phlox had been very insistent about reporting for annual physicals, refusal or trying to put it off was immediately followed by the Denobulan promising to relieve you of duty. This time, Ellie had been spared the nagging and constant reminders that her medical exam was due, but decided to go to sickbay of her own accord before it got to that point. Approaching the familiar double doors, Ellie reached for the button on the panel, pressed it gently and waited for the doors to fully open before entering. After seeing Atlantis' medical officer, Ellie approached the Andorian woman and announced the reason for her visit.

"I'm here for my annual physical, if now is a good time?" Ellie said.

Avira was standing in the back of the room, one of her medical scanners in hand. It was important to keep them calibrated correctly and make sure that the different scanning profiles were quickly available when an emergency came. Her antennae perked up when the doors opened and her head turned to follow suit, "Hi, welcome," she stepped out into the larger area of the medical bay, "Sure thing, please take a seat on the bed right there." She pointed to the empty bed propped up against the wall.

Ellie looked at the Andorian woman, and then the bed which she'd been asked to sit on. They were far from comfortable, but Ellie had been reminded by Doctor Phlox at least twice that it was sickbay and not a luxury five star hotel. Once she'd made herself comfortable on the bed, Ellie folded her arms over her chest and waited for the examination to begin.

"Have you been busy today?" Ellie asked, in a bid to make conversation.

"Luckily not, there's always small scrapes and bruises, but no plasma burns or anything." Avira quickly made a motion with her hand, as if she threw something away. From the context it was clear that it was some sort of 'knock on wood' motion to stave off any jinxing of other people's health. She grabbed the medical scanner and set the electronics on the bed into motion as well. A thorough scan through and medical profile would help them all stay healthy, happy, and ready for whatever it was the quadrant wanted to throw at them, "and yourself? Been keeping yourself fit for duty?"

Ellie nodded. Keeping herself in tip-top condition for duty was one of her main priorities, because after all, if she was removed from duty on medical grounds Ellie knew that she'd soon get bored. Plus, keeping in good shape was good for both her physical and mental health.

Ellie nodded. "Yes, I like to think so. Daily, sometimes even twice daily, workouts in the gym and making sure I eat three square meals every day"

Avira nodded a bit at that, she knew that this was probably all the MACOs were occupied with, "Well, perhaps you should consider some round meals," she pulled up the readings on Ellie's blood levels, "it seems like there's a slight iron deficiency." She ran a couple of calculations on her PADD, trying to come up with a proper solution for the deficiency, especially with their dwindling supplies. She might not be able to get it back up to 100% of optimal but the closer she could get the better, "nothing too bad, to be expected with our rather one-dimensional meal plan." She'd been providing multiple people with supplements for vitamins or minerals of one type or another, "let me get you something for that."

Ellie wasn't entirely surprised by this discovery, as in more recent months she generally tended to eat the same few things on a rotating basis rather than having a more balanced diet. Chicken was a mainstay of the MACO's diet, mainly because she liked it and it was also a very versatile ingredient. However, the discovery of an iron deficiency also offered an explanation as to why Ellie often felt tired of a morning despite having seven or eight hours of good quality sleep the night before.

"So that's why I feel tired all the time...although I'm probably just as much to blame for not eating things other than chicken" Ellie said.

"Well, it won't help, although the deficiency is not so great as to cause long term issues," Avira was rummaging around the cabinet of supplements when she found a small vial she had been looking for, "one dose of this every day, preferably with food or drink high in vitamin C." She offered the small vial to Ellie, "That, together with the promise of eating more than just chicken, should be sufficient to get your levels back."

Ellie nodded, gratefully accepting the vial and carefully placing it in one of the zipped pockets of her uniform. She made a mental note to take one dose each morning before going to the mess hall for her breakfast.

"Thank you, Doctor. Maybe a better quality of sleep will do something about the bad dreams I keep having, too" Ellie responded.

"Well, if it doesn't then I might need to advise some other medical therapies," Avira noted, there were a great many reasons why someone would have a bad night's rest and the situation that the crew found themselves in was definitely a huge influencer for that, "I can already provide you with some guided meditation exercises to help you ease your mind before sleep." She knew how some people perceived meditation, and that usually went double for the people that saw themselves as warriors, "All of those would be scientifically sound, of course, and they've already proven to be very helpful for your peers as well."

Ellie nodded, grateful for the suggestion of alternative solutions to her nightmares. "They've been going on since I was in the Delphic Expanse, but they seem to be getting more frequent and worse lately. But, I'm always willing to try anything at least once, so I'd be happy to give the meditation a go. Could you put it down on a PADD for me, please?"

Avira nodded, "of course, I'll gather some appropriate exercises and have them sent to your personal account." It would prevent her losing one of the PADDs she had in the sickbay, it's not that she needed all of them but she'd rather have them and not need them than the other way around, "is there anything else that might be concerning you?" She knew that the obvious one was 'never seeing anyone she ever knew anymore', but that was something that they would have to deal with collectively.

"Not that I can think of, Doctor" Ellie responded, sitting back up before swivelling around and getting up off the biobed.

There was the obvious, but there was nothing that could be done about the fact she was never going to see her family or friends again. That damned wormhole just had to appear when it did, didn't it? Nevertheless, the fact she was now isolated from everyone she'd ever known and loved was something Ellie would have to live with, and in time, the Australian MACO was sure that she'd come to terms with it.

"If you're happy to let me go, I'll bid you farewell for now. Thank you again, Doctor" Ellie said.

"Have a nice day, Lieutenant." Avira gave a small nod of the head as she started to clean away some of the devices that she had used for the exam. As time passed there'd be more and more of these, she'd better be ready for when that time came. There were so many things that a ship's doctor on a long term deep space mission needed to cope with that was outside of her expertise. Not every patient coming into the door would be a combat injury.