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Distress Call

Chapter 17

Valentine stood with Naydrad and the rest of the O.R. Crew off to the side of the Prep-room while Dr. Conway talked with the patient who appeared calm, but Dr. Prilicla’s mild shaking showed that the patient was not completely carefree. Valentine wondered how much her own stress was contributing to the shaking. She had confidence in how she would handle the device, but there were a few unusual factors in this operation. Her biggest concern was that something would happen to the feed from Starfleet medical. She was counting on the comments from Dean Kerban, Dr. Crusher, and Dr. Anderson - the three who had conducted the operation in simulation so far - being her crutch for this.
Dr. Prilicla flew toward her then said “Friend Valentine, the patient has asked to speak with you.” then it added “You might take comfort, friend Valentine, in knowing that your emotional state matches that of many doctors when they faced their first major operation here at Sector General.”
“Thank you, Dr. Prilicla.”
***
Nurse Jauld sat with the rest of the group of trainees as they watched the feed from DBLF Operating Room 2 on the lecture hall’s large repeater screen. In the feed, the patient had been transferred from the gurney to the operating table, and Naydrad was directing the crew in placing the trays and repositioning the lower array of monitors. Valentine, and the trio of doctors who would be figuratively watching over her shoulders, were going to rely on those monitors throughout the operation. The two very large repeater screens mounted higher in the O.R. were there more for the benefit of those watching in the observation gallery. One screen would show the overall view of the O.R. and the other would be switched to the sensor view used for guiding the scope, the feed from the scope, or detail views of the operating field as would be most appropriate during the operation. The repeater screens tuned to the feed throughout the rest of Sector General, as well as those watching elsewhere via the sub-space communications network, would see a split screen feed. Other trainees and their teaching doctors filed into the lecture hall and took seats.
***
Valentine spoke with Dr. Crusher over the network while they waited for Naydrad to inform them that the patient and everything else was ready. She saw that Dr. Crusher was speaking from her office on Enterprise and Captain Picard and a Vulcan were there with her. “We are currently in orbit over Vulcan. Everything is currently on hold here as when the members of the Vulcan Science Academy learned about the operation, they insisted on taking a break from the introductory meetings so that we, and Dr. Vontek, could watch this event.” They spoke of things until Naydrad gave the signal.
Dr. Conway stood by the table then looked toward the lower of the two cameras giving the overall view of the room. He said “For those who are watching this from locations distant from Sector General, and for those who will be viewing this record in the future here on Sector General, I am Senior Physician Peter Conway, the lead surgeon on this operation. Primary Assistant is Charge Nurse Naydrad and Specialist Assistant for the internal portion of this operation is Starfleet Cadet Valentine Wiggin, who developed the initial concept of this procedure and has been involved with its development to where it is at the time of this operation.” He went on to introduce the rest of the crew then those who were in the O.R. to monitor the events. After that, he gave an overview of the patient’s condition and an outline of the procedure. With the for-the-record formalities out of the way, he scanned the monitors then requested the last of the pre-incision wipe-downs of the entry field. He then requested the scalpel.
***
Nurse Jauld noticed that she was not the only one taking notes as the operation progressed. The physicians and senior physicians seemed to be as diligent as their trainees in their note taking. She reminded herself softly “Of corse, Sector General is a teaching hospital, and no matter your level of training, there are always new treatments and procedures to be learned.” However, she was taking notes on the things the trainees and staff around her probably took for granted by now. At last, Dr. Conway had finished the opening and prepping the stomach. Naydrad used a handheld spreader to hold the incision open while Valentine stepped closer to the table then lifted her scope from its cradle. Jauld and everybody else in that lecture hall leaned forward as if doing so would give them a better view into the operating room that was ten decks away from them.
***
Valentine felt her jitters lift away as she slowly inserted the lens end of the scope in through the incision. Naydrad had repositioned the spreader once the working end of the scope had been inserted then she steadied the scope while Valentine moved one hand to the controls. Valentine turned the leading end ninety-five degrees to her left (relative to the angle of the incision) then advanced the tip toward the passage between the slightly deflated stomach and the muscle wall. This Klingon designed technology was amazing. While she fed the long tube of the scope into the Kelgian’s body. The material bent then straightened in a way that held that turn, or fold, in position relative to the incision.
During the development then the preparations for this surgery, Valentine had developed her own way of keeping the two Educator Tapes straight in her head. She pictured them as companions - the Kelgian DBLF staying behind and to the left while the Melfin ELNT stayed back to her right. The Kelgian in her mind started saying “Something’s wrong.” just as she came to that realization. She slowed her progress while she studied the images from the scope and the sensor. She said firmly “The passage is too narrow. We need to pull a little more vacuum in the stomach. Dr. Conway, Do you wish to supervise that process?”
“You are the specialist for the internal portion of this operation. Carry on.”
“Yes, doctor.” Then Valentine asked “Dr. Prilicla. Please inform me immediately if you detect any negative change in the patient’s state of mind.”
“Yes, friend Valentine.”
Valentine supervised the additional deflation of the stomach and this was accomplished without any cautions from Dr. Prilicla. She resumed the slow but steady insertion of the scope.
***
In the Observation Gallery overlooking DBLF O.R. 2. A Nidian, wearing only its gold edged Diagnostician ID tag on an armband and its translator pack attached to a band on its other arm, was giving a running critique of Valentine’s performance for the nearby trainees and surgeons. “Its movements are slow and cautious - as one would expect for a first time procedure. Good eye and good reflexes - catching that glitch with the stomach deflation.” And so continued its commentary.
***
As she approached the next turning point, Valentine brought the Kelgian mind forward so it was even with her own. She had studied the anatomy charts, the photos and film clips of Kelgian surgeries, but none of that was knowledge built upon experience. The Kelgian mind, on the other hand, was the mind of a surgeon who was a specialist in Kelgian internal surgery. As her confidence in the Kelgian mind grew, she began to take on a sureness in her movements. Sureness, but not recklessness. Both the Kelgian and the Melfin in her head would not let her get too sure of herself. As she made the last turn and the target mass came into view in the feed from the scope, her attention was drawn to a detail in the background.
“Before I proceed,” she began “I’d like to ask if any Kelgian or anyone with a DBLF tape and experience who is seeing this live would concur with what the Kelgian in my head is telling me. There is lung damage that did not show up in the sensor scans.”
Naydrad looked at Valentine’s screen, then up at the enlarged image on one of the upper screens. “Yes.” she replied “There is some lung tissue damage.”
Dr. Crusher said from the LCARS screen “We did not simulate for any lung damage.”
A soft chime sounded then a voice spoke on the room’s PA system “Patching in a call from Diagnostician Bendell.”
A brief moment later, another voice said “Cadet Valentine. I am in the Observation Gallery above you. I concur with your diagnosis. I spotted the damage as soon as you did. Dr. Conway, with your permission, I will scrub then join you in the O.R. to talk Valentine through this complication. My suggestion is that you and Valentine continue with the planned procedure before we deal with the lung damage.”
“You have my permission, Dr. Bendell. Valentine. Are you willing to take on this additional surgical task?”
Valentine gave it a moment of thought. She knew that she would face unexpected things like this during her career, but she had not expected it to happen this soon. In her moment of thought, she came to focus on one of the unwritten truths at Sector General - One does not give orders to a Sector General Diagnostician. She took that level of respect as her concluding factor “Yes. I am prepared to let Diagnostician Bendell talk me through the additional procedure. It is better to take care of both problems now. Opening the patient again too soon could introduce more complications.”
***
The trainees and the doctors in the lecture hall reacted first to this complication, but eventually, they realized what Valentine had revealed with her call for information. A senior physician exclaimed “She is holding a tape.”
One of Dr. Conway’s trainees asked “Did you know about this, Nurse Jauld?”
Jauld saw no point in keeping it quiet now, so she replied “Yes. She and I have been taking part in a series of tests ordered by Dr. O’Mara to reevaluate the ban on females using the Educator Tapes.”
Another trainee said “But you two are Star Fleet. Does that mean the rules will be different for Star Fleet than for here?”
“Others are taking part in the tests. That is all I can say about that.”
Someone else called out “They are resuming.”
Everyone returned their attention to the repeater screen.
***
“Cadet Valentine,” said Diagnostician Bendell who now wore a Nidian sized set of surgical scrubs “in the interest of brevity and clarity, I will address you as Valentine and I ask you to address me as either Dr, Bendell, or just Doctor during our part of this operation.”
“Yes, Dr. Bendell.”
“Good. Now resume the current procedure while I hold a brief discussion with Dr. Thornnastor.”
Valentine continued the slow process of pulling the mass toward the incision. Naydrad was ready to direct the mass to a specimen dish when Valentine withdrew the scope. With the mass being prepared for Pathology, Valentine turned to Dr. Conway.
“There is still internal work, Valentine, you are still calling the shots.”
“I know that, sir, and that’s what I am doing. Would you step in and use the tricorder to run some scans of the area in the C and F bands while I wipe down the scope to prepare it for the next task?”
“Yes, Valentine.”
Dr Bendell approached Valentine then they held a brief discussion about the attachments and how they could be used. Valentine had begun inserting the scope again while they talked.
“Dr. Bendell, Valentine,” said Dr. Conway “I think you two should have a look at this. I’ve tagged the scan for a main repeater screen. There it is.”
“Someone please send this call for me -” shouted Dr. Bendell, “DBLF Crash Team to DBLF O.R. 2. Required immediate.” then it said in a softer tone “The safest approach is to stop the patient’s heart while we deal with that aneurism. Valentine, once the heart is stopped, you are to place a permanent clamp just before the aneurism then one just after the blockage. Remove the clamped section from the artery, but do not withdraw it yet. You are to splice the artery. Once that is done and the heart has been restarted, you may withdraw the damaged section.”
“Your instructions are clear, doctor but I should not follow them.” While she continued, Valentine began withdrawing the scope for the crash team to do it’s work, and to change the attachment. “Exposure to defibrillation shock could ruin the memory properties of the scope. I do not like not having the scope in to immediately watch for leaks, but we should protect the only one we have out here. I can tell you that getting back to the site of the splice will be quicker as before I withdraw it, I will place that scope configuration into the operation memory.”
“Understood. Do it that way. I will be honest with you, Valentine. All the minds in my head - including my own - are screaming for me to take over this operation, but I cannot because I have no idea how to use that tool” it gestured to the scope “and I’m sure by now everyone in this hospital knows what is going on and that you are the only person in this sector qualified to use it. I know you are facing greater challenges than you prepared for today. Well, welcome to Sector General, Dr. Wiggin. Such unexpected challenges are a fact of life here.”
“I have become aware of that, Dr. Bendell.” She stepped away from the table to give the team room to work.“Sorry, Dr. Prilicla.” she said when she noticed a quiver in Dr. Prilicla’s limbs.
“Friend Valentine. The feelings of concern for the patient are coming from everyone in this room - including myself.”
***
“I can tell that she is still a student,” said Dr. Crusher, “but I can also see the influence of that DBLF Educator Tape. They’ve told me that the knowledge will be taken away when the tape is erased, but I hope she will retain the confidence of having done this. She is gaining experiences out there that would have been years away in the usual Starfleet Medical track.”
Dr. Vontek said “And so far, she has been giving a good representation of Starfleet Medical out there.”
Dr. Crusher’s communicator sounded then “Dr. Crusher, this is President Bala. Could you mute your audio feed to Sector General for a moment?” After Dr. Crusher informed Valentine that they would be silent for a moment, the President continued “I have a favor to ask of you. I have been trying to reach Colonel Skempton at Sector General but have been told that he is in discussion with the Federation Medical Council and will not be interrupted. I want to talk with them too. I understand that you have a good working relationship with Dr. Thornnastor and that Dr. Thornnastor has a direct contact with the Colonel. Would you please get the following message to him, via Valentine if you have to?”
***
Because Valentine had already begun the next part of the procedure, it was Naydrad who received the message. She called out “Dr. Thornnastor. There is a message that Dr. Crusher asks you to pass to Colonel Skempton.”
“Unless the information is classified, please have Dr. Crusher speak it aloud. The Colonel and the Federation Medical Council are closely following the progress of this operation.”
Valentine heard the message, but she was not paying attention to it. She was concentrating on getting the ends of the artery aligned for splicing. “I don’t like this.” she said “There is too much tension, if the patient engages in any strenuous activity, there will be a risk of the splice breaking.”
Dr. Conway replied “Unless Dr. Bendell offers a different approach, we will withdraw and close the patient after we have verified the integrity of the splice. The lung damage is of concern, but not immediately life threatening. The patient will be confined to bed rest and simple physical therapy while its condition stabilizes and we devise the plan of action for the followup procedure.”
“The only thing I will add is that I would like Valentine to do a visual survey of that whole area before we close. We will want to give our friends at Starfleet what they will need to create an accurate holodeck simulation for their tests of our proposed procedure.”
Valentine said “A visual survey. Understood, Dr. Bendell.” She continued working on the splice. After that task was completed, and verified with the heart restarted, she did the survey then withdrew the scope. “Dr. Conway, I am ready for you to take over and close, sir.”
“Carry on, Valentine. I believe the concerns of the Colonel and the Council have been alleviated by now. I’m sure Nurse Naydrad will use this as a teaching opportunity.”
Naydrad said “Yes, I certainly will, Dr. Conway.”
***
Nurse Jauld joined the rest of Dr. Conway’s trainees for their long overdue meal break. Through both her communicator, and her translator pack, she heard that the majority of the conversations around her in the cafeteria were about the operation. Trainees, physicians and senior physicians alike were talking about the scope, and the mention of Starfleet’s holodeck simulations - and they each had ideas on how those tools could be used in their field of interest.
Doctor Mundric asked “Have you used any Holodeck sinulations?”
“Yes, for medical training as well as for recreation.”
“Recreation?” asked several at the table.
“Yes. Holodecks are available as part of the selection of recreational activities on modern starships. A holodeck can simulate both real and fictitious settings. In fact, on a dare, shortly before being assigned here, I did the Potato-Burglar’s Run which is from one of the books of King Hiccup’s realm.” She grimaced, then added “I had to go to Sick-Bay to have a fracture mended after that.”
***
“You are feeling sad, friend Valentine. Why? Even with the surprises, the operation was considered a success.”
“But there shouldn’t have been any surprises, Dr. Prilicla.”
“Every surgery has the risk of– ”
“But, we didn’t have to have those surprises on this one. We wouldn’t have if I’d have asked Dr. Conway for permission to do the tricorder scans when we were planning the procedure. We would have known about the blockage, worked it into the procedure and had it simulated. But, instead, I decided to go along with the rest of you and rely on the Sector General generated scans. We might have lost that patient because of that mistake.”
“None of us had any idea that a chemical reaction caused by the impact could cause such a degree of masking. I’m not ashamed to tell you that I had not even thought about the tricorder until you asked friend Conway to do the scans. That equipment is still too new to us. But, you had thought about it, then made the decision at the right time to prevent a tragedy.”
Dr. Bendell had come close during that conversation. He said “Dr. Prilicla is right. That equipment is still too new to us. That is why I will insist that you teach me how to use one while I assist you in preparing for your followup operation on the patient.”

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

Distress Call

Chapter 17

Valentine stood with Naydrad and the rest of the O.R. Crew off to the side of the Prep-room while Dr. Conway talked with the patient who appeared calm, but Dr. Prilicla’s mild shaking showed that the patient was not completely carefree. Valentine wondered how much her own stress was contributing to the shaking. She had confidence in how she would handle the device, but there were a few unusual factors in this operation. Her biggest concern was that something would happen to the feed from Starfleet medical. She was counting on the comments from Dean Kerban, Dr. Crusher, and Dr. Anderson - the three who had conducted the operation in simulation so far - being her crutch for this.
Dr. Prilicla flew toward her then said “Friend Valentine, the patient has asked to speak with you.” then it added “You might take comfort, friend Valentine, in knowing that your emotional state matches that of many doctors when they faced their first major operation here at Sector General.”
“Thank you, Dr. Prilicla.”
***
Nurse Jauld sat with the rest of the group of trainees as they watched the feed from DBLF Operating Room 2 on the lecture hall’s large repeater screen. In the feed, the patient had been transferred from the gurney to the operating table, and Naydrad was directing the crew in placing the trays and repositioning the lower array of monitors. Valentine, and the trio of doctors who would be figuratively watching over her shoulders, were going to rely on those monitors throughout the operation. The two very large repeater screens mounted higher in the O.R. were there more for the benefit of those watching in the observation gallery. One screen would show the overall view of the O.R. and the other would be switched to the sensor view used for guiding the scope, the feed from the scope, or detail views of the operating field as would be most appropriate during the operation. The repeater screens tuned to the feed throughout the rest of Sector General, as well as those watching elsewhere via the sub-space communications network, would see a split screen feed. Other trainees and their teaching doctors filed into the lecture hall and took seats.
***
Valentine spoke with Dr. Crusher over the network while they waited for Naydrad to inform them that the patient and everything else was ready. She saw that Dr. Crusher was speaking from her office on Enterprise and Captain Picard and a Vulcan were there with her. “We are currently in orbit over Vulcan. Everything is currently on hold here as when the members of the Vulcan Science Academy learned about the operation, they insisted on taking a break from the introductory meetings so that we, and Dr. Vontek, could watch this event.” They spoke of things until Naydrad gave the signal.
Dr. Conway stood by the table then looked toward the lower of the two cameras giving the overall view of the room. He said “For those who are watching this from locations distant from Sector General, and for those who will be viewing this record in the future here on Sector General, I am Senior Physician Peter Conway, the lead surgeon on this operation. Primary Assistant is Charge Nurse Naydrad and Specialist Assistant for the internal portion of this operation is Starfleet Cadet Valentine Wiggin, who developed the initial concept of this procedure and has been involved with its development to where it is at the time of this operation.” He went on to introduce the rest of the crew then those who were in the O.R. to monitor the events. After that, he gave an overview of the patient’s condition and an outline of the procedure. With the for-the-record formalities out of the way, he scanned the monitors then requested the last of the pre-incision wipe-downs of the entry field. He then requested the scalpel.
***
Nurse Jauld noticed that she was not the only one taking notes as the operation progressed. The physicians and senior physicians seemed to be as diligent as their trainees in their note taking. She reminded herself softly “Of corse, Sector General is a teaching hospital, and no matter your level of training, there are always new treatments and procedures to be learned.” However, she was taking notes on the things the trainees and staff around her probably took for granted by now. At last, Dr. Conway had finished the opening and prepping the stomach. Naydrad used a handheld spreader to hold the incision open while Valentine stepped closer to the table then lifted her scope from its cradle. Jauld and everybody else in that lecture hall leaned forward as if doing so would give them a better view into the operating room that was ten decks away from them.
***
Valentine felt her jitters lift away as she slowly inserted the lens end of the scope in through the incision. Naydrad had repositioned the spreader once the working end of the scope had been inserted then she steadied the scope while Valentine moved one hand to the controls. Valentine turned the leading end ninety-five degrees to her left (relative to the angle of the incision) then advanced the tip toward the passage between the slightly deflated stomach and the muscle wall. This Klingon designed technology was amazing. While she fed the long tube of the scope into the Kelgian’s body. The material bent then straightened in a way that held that turn, or fold, in position relative to the incision.
During the development then the preparations for this surgery, Valentine had developed her own way of keeping the two Educator Tapes straight in her head. She pictured them as companions - the Kelgian DBLF staying behind and to the left while the Melfin ELNT stayed back to her right. The Kelgian in her mind started saying “Something’s wrong.” just as she came to that realization. She slowed her progress while she studied the images from the scope and the sensor. She said firmly “The passage is too narrow. We need to pull a little more vacuum in the stomach. Dr. Conway, Do you wish to supervise that process?”
“You are the specialist for the internal portion of this operation. Carry on.”
“Yes, doctor.” Then Valentine asked “Dr. Prilicla. Please inform me immediately if you detect any negative change in the patient’s state of mind.”
“Yes, friend Valentine.”
Valentine supervised the additional deflation of the stomach and this was accomplished without any cautions from Dr. Prilicla. She resumed the slow but steady insertion of the scope.
***
In the Observation Gallery overlooking DBLF O.R. 2. A Nidian, wearing only its gold edged Diagnostician ID tag on an armband and its translator pack attached to a band on its other arm, was giving a running critique of Valentine’s performance for the nearby trainees and surgeons. “Its movements are slow and cautious - as one would expect for a first time procedure. Good eye and good reflexes - catching that glitch with the stomach deflation.” And so continued its commentary.
***
As she approached the next turning point, Valentine brought the Kelgian mind forward so it was even with her own. She had studied the anatomy charts, the photos and film clips of Kelgian surgeries, but none of that was knowledge built upon experience. The Kelgian mind, on the other hand, was the mind of a surgeon who was a specialist in Kelgian internal surgery. As her confidence in the Kelgian mind grew, she began to take on a sureness in her movements. Sureness, but not recklessness. Both the Kelgian and the Melfin in her head would not let her get too sure of herself. As she made the last turn and the target mass came into view in the feed from the scope, her attention was drawn to a detail in the background.
“Before I proceed,” she began “I’d like to ask if any Kelgian or anyone with a DBLF tape and experience who is seeing this live would concur with what the Kelgian in my head is telling me. There is lung damage that did not show up in the sensor scans.”
Naydrad looked at Valentine’s screen, then up at the enlarged image on one of the upper screens. “Yes.” she replied “There is some lung tissue damage.”
Dr. Crusher said from the LCARS screen “We did not simulate for any lung damage.”
A soft chime sounded then a voice spoke on the room’s PA system “Patching in a call from Diagnostician Bendell.”
A brief moment later, another voice said “Cadet Valentine. I am in the Observation Gallery above you. I concur with your diagnosis. I spotted the damage as soon as you did. Dr. Conway, with your permission, I will scrub then join you in the O.R. to talk Valentine through this complication. My suggestion is that you and Valentine continue with the planned procedure before we deal with the lung damage.”
“You have my permission, Dr. Bendell. Valentine. Are you willing to take on this additional surgical task?”
Valentine gave it a moment of thought. She knew that she would face unexpected things like this during her career, but she had not expected it to happen this soon. In her moment of thought, she came to focus on one of the unwritten truths at Sector General - One does not give orders to a Sector General Diagnostician. She took that level of respect as her concluding factor “Yes. I am prepared to let Diagnostician Bendell talk me through the additional procedure. It is better to take care of both problems now. Opening the patient again too soon could introduce more complications.”
***
The trainees and the doctors in the lecture hall reacted first to this complication, but eventually, they realized what Valentine had revealed with her call for information. A senior physician exclaimed “She is holding a tape.”
One of Dr. Conway’s trainees asked “Did you know about this, Nurse Jauld?”
Jauld saw no point in keeping it quiet now, so she replied “Yes. She and I have been taking part in a series of tests ordered by Dr. O’Mara to reevaluate the ban on females using the Educator Tapes.”
Another trainee said “But you two are Star Fleet. Does that mean the rules will be different for Star Fleet than for here?”
“Others are taking part in the tests. That is all I can say about that.”
Someone else called out “They are resuming.”
Everyone returned their attention to the repeater screen.
***
“Cadet Valentine,” said Diagnostician Bendell who now wore a Nidian sized set of surgical scrubs “in the interest of brevity and clarity, I will address you as Valentine and I ask you to address me as either Dr, Bendell, or just Doctor during our part of this operation.”
“Yes, Dr. Bendell.”
“Good. Now resume the current procedure while I hold a brief discussion with Dr. Thornnastor.”
Valentine continued the slow process of pulling the mass toward the incision. Naydrad was ready to direct the mass to a specimen dish when Valentine withdrew the scope. With the mass being prepared for Pathology, Valentine turned to Dr. Conway.
“There is still internal work, Valentine, you are still calling the shots.”
“I know that, sir, and that’s what I am doing. Would you step in and use the tricorder to run some scans of the area in the C and F bands while I wipe down the scope to prepare it for the next task?”
“Yes, Valentine.”
Dr Bendell approached Valentine then they held a brief discussion about the attachments and how they could be used. Valentine had begun inserting the scope again while they talked.
“Dr. Bendell, Valentine,” said Dr. Conway “I think you two should have a look at this. I’ve tagged the scan for a main repeater screen. There it is.”
“Someone please send this call for me -” shouted Dr. Bendell, “DBLF Crash Team to DBLF O.R. 2. Required immediate.” then it said in a softer tone “The safest approach is to stop the patient’s heart while we deal with that aneurism. Valentine, once the heart is stopped, you are to place a permanent clamp just before the aneurism then one just after the blockage. Remove the clamped section from the artery, but do not withdraw it yet. You are to splice the artery. Once that is done and the heart has been restarted, you may withdraw the damaged section.”
“Your instructions are clear, doctor but I should not follow them.” While she continued, Valentine began withdrawing the scope for the crash team to do it’s work, and to change the attachment. “Exposure to defibrillation shock could ruin the memory properties of the scope. I do not like not having the scope in to immediately watch for leaks, but we should protect the only one we have out here. I can tell you that getting back to the site of the splice will be quicker as before I withdraw it, I will place that scope configuration into the operation memory.”
“Understood. Do it that way. I will be honest with you, Valentine. All the minds in my head - including my own - are screaming for me to take over this operation, but I cannot because I have no idea how to use that tool” it gestured to the scope “and I’m sure by now everyone in this hospital knows what is going on and that you are the only person in this sector qualified to use it. I know you are facing greater challenges than you prepared for today. Well, welcome to Sector General, Dr. Wiggin. Such unexpected challenges are a fact of life here.”
“I have become aware of that, Dr. Bendell.” She stepped away from the table to give the team room to work.“Sorry, Dr. Prilicla.” she said when she noticed a quiver in Dr. Prilicla’s limbs.
“Friend Valentine. The feelings of concern for the patient are coming from everyone in this room - including myself.”
***
“I can tell that she is still a student,” said Dr. Crusher, “but I can also see the influence of that DBLF Educator Tape. They’ve told me that the knowledge will be taken away when the tape is erased, but I hope she will retain the confidence of having done this. She is gaining experiences out there that would have been years away in the usual Starfleet Medical track.”
Dr. Vontek said “And so far, she has been giving a good representation of Starfleet Medical out there.”
Dr. Crusher’s communicator sounded then “Dr. Crusher, this is President Bala. Could you mute your audio feed to Sector General for a moment?” After Dr. Crusher informed Valentine that they would be silent for a moment, the President continued “I have a favor to ask of you. I have been trying to reach Colonel Skempton at Sector General but have been told that he is in discussion with the Federation Medical Council and will not be interrupted. I want to talk with them too. I understand that you have a good working relationship with Dr. Thornnastor and that Dr. Thornnastor has a direct contact with the Colonel. Would you please get the following message to him, via Valentine if you have to?”
***
Because Valentine had already begun the next part of the procedure, it was Naydrad who received the message. She called out “Dr. Thornnastor. There is a message that Dr. Crusher asks you to pass to Colonel Skempton.”
“Unless the information is classified, please have Dr. Crusher speak it aloud. The Colonel and the Federation Medical Council are closely following the progress of this operation.”
Valentine heard the message, but she was not paying attention to it. She was concentrating on getting the ends of the artery aligned for splicing. “I don’t like this.” she said “There is too much tension, if the patient engages in any strenuous activity, there will be a risk of the splice breaking.”
Dr. Conway replied “Unless Dr. Bendell offers a different approach, we will withdraw and close the patient after we have verified the integrity of the splice. The lung damage is of concern, but not immediately life threatening. The patient will be confined to bed rest and simple physical therapy while its condition stabilizes and we devise the plan of action for the followup procedure.”
“The only thing I will add is that I would like Valentine to do a visual survey of that whole area before we close. We will want to give our friends at Starfleet what they will need to create an accurate holodeck simulation for their tests of our proposed procedure.”
Valentine said “A visual survey. Understood, Dr. Bendell.” She continued working on the splice. After that task was completed, and verified with the heart restarted, she did the survey then withdrew the scope. “Dr. Conway, I am ready for you to take over and close, sir.”
“Carry on, Valentine. I believe the concerns of the Colonel and the Council have been alleviated by now. I’m sure Nurse Naydrad will use this as a teaching opportunity.”
Naydrad said “Yes, I certainly will, Dr. Conway.”
***
Nurse Jauld joined the rest of Dr. Conway’s trainees for their long overdue meal break. Through both her communicator, and her translator pack, she heard that the majority of the conversations around her in the cafeteria were about the operation. Trainees, physicians and senior physicians alike were talking about the scope, and the mention of Starfleet’s holodeck simulations - and they each had ideas on how those tools could be used in their field of interest.
Doctor Mundric asked “Have you used any Holodeck sinulations?”
“Yes, for medical training as well as for recreation.”
“Recreation?” asked several at the table.
“Yes. Holodecks are available as part of the selection of recreational activities on modern starships. A holodeck can simulate both real and fictitious settings. In fact, on a dare, shortly before being assigned here, I did the Potato-Burglar’s Run which is from one of the books of King Hiccup’s realm.” She grimaced, then added “I had to go to Sick-Bay to have a fracture mended after that.”
***
“You are feeling sad, friend Valentine. Why? Even with the surprises, the operation was considered a success.”
“But there shouldn’t have been any surprises, Dr. Prilicla.”
“Every surgery has the risk of– ”
“But, we didn’t have to have those surprises on this one. We wouldn’t have if I’d have asked Dr. Conway for permission to do the tricorder scans when we were planning the procedure. We would have known about the blockage, worked it into the procedure and had it simulated. But, instead, I decided to go along with the rest of you and rely on the Sector General generated scans. We might have lost that patient because of that mistake.”
“None of us had any idea that a chemical reaction caused by the impact could cause such a degree of masking. I’m not ashamed to tell you that I had not even thought about the tricorder until you asked friend Conway to do the scans. That equipment is still too new to us. But, you had thought about it, then made the decision at the right time to prevent a tragedy.”
Dr. Bendell had come close during that conversation. He said “Dr. Prilicla is right. That equipment is still too new to us. That is why I will insist that you teach me how to use one while I assist you in preparing for your followup operation on the patient.”