By Lance Hartcort and Jariel Camen
100207.1400
After The Fight of Your Life and Strong Medicine, in the evening
-=Sickbay, USS Serendipity=-
100207.1400
After The Fight of Your Life and Strong Medicine, in the evening
-=Sickbay, USS Serendipity=-
After the Alchemy had finally arrived and docked with her parent ship, the exhausted crew had disembarked headed towards their respective quarters.
Lance, on the other had, made his way to Sickbay with his two patients. Dabin was still very much in the woods after emergency surgery earlier in the day, but Lair was showing signs of improvement. Lance was confidant Lair would be able to be sent back to her own quarters with in the next twenty-fours hours, unless an unexpected complication arose. Light duty would be assigned for at least three to four days. Dabin, on the other hand, would need at least a few more days.
Lance made sure that both patients were comfortable as well as those loved ones that insisted on hovering by their beds. The Doctor had made special arrangements for comfortable chairs to be by each of the patients’ bedsides for visitors to sit in.
He had grown concerned about one visitor, Rada Dengar. While the man showed compassion and concern for Lair, Lance finally had to order the man out of sickbay and back to his quarters to get some rest. Lance left instruction for the EMH that if Rada was to show up in sickbay any sooner then 12 hours that he was to be examined for sleep deprivation and given a sedative to help him relax.
Once all of the tasks were completed he made his way into his office and sat down. The space here was much more accommodating then the smaller, but no less equipped, Sickbay on the Alchemy. This one felt like home.
He reached over and opened a comm. “Dr. Hartcort to Jariel Camen.”
There was a short pause. [Yes Doctor?]
“I’m sorry to bother you Jariel but I was wondering if you could make some time to come and see me in my office. You should bring Fleur and Tress with you.”
There was another pause. [Is... Is there a problem?]
Lance suddenly realized that his request could have been easily misinterpreted. “Not at all Vedek. In fact, I believe that I have some good news for you.”
[All right doctor, we will be down shortly.]
Tress had just finished an early supper of macaroni and cheese. Despite Fleur being able to prepare and serve dishes that would make an Iron Chef weep, the child never seemed to want anything more complicated than macaroni and cheese. It was a dish that she enjoyed eating as much as wearing.
When they signed to Tress that they needed to go bye-bye for a short time, the girl joyfully pulled on her aviator cap and goggles, which she never left their quarters without, and led the way to Sickbay. Gillan Pace, who was not letting his sister out of his site if Sickbay was involved, silently joined Fleur and Camen as well.
“Did ze doctor say why he wished to see us?” Fleur asked.
“Just the part about having good news. That’s it.” Jariel was skeptical to say the least. He had no reason not to trust Hartcort, rather his skepticism was aimed at the medical community in general. He had heard and seen things on Bajor, perpetrated by Relanon, that had scarred him deeply. The betrayal of the Bajoran people had led to the murder of many, Tress nearly being one of them, and Fleur had temporarily paid for Relanon’s misdeeds with her freedom.
He had tried to avoid sickbay, until the bitter taste was gone from his mouth. In fact he had not been to sickbay at all in months, until his fall from the tree on Sibalt, and then he had made a hastened exit as soon as he could. Despite his misgivings, he had made time to visit Kellyn and Dabin as well during their own stays.
When they entered sickbay, the lights were dim. Dabin was asleep, but Kellyn had a reading light on and was holding a PADD. Tress immediately took off, before Jariel could stop her. Kellyn, grinned, set her PADD down, and waved off Jariel indicating it was fine.
Gillan followed Jariel and Fleur into Hartcort’s office, and stood respectfully at the back of the room, while his adoptive parents took the seats across from Lance.
“How are Kellyn and Dabin?” Fleur asked immediately.
“Kellyn is on the mend, Dabin is… fighting.” Hartcort answered.
“I know you are busy, so you must have had something important to say if you called us down here.” Jariel said.
Lance laced his fingers in front of him on the desk and looked both parent in the eyes. This subject would have to be approached carefully. Lance knew about Camen’s personal experience with having lost his own ability to speak. He had been very successful despite the handicap. So, he would have to take care as not to offend anyone with the notion that Tress was disabled and would not be able to live a full life without her hearing.
“As you may or may not know, I have taken a very special interest in Tress’s case. Having been there thought the sickness and seen that little girl’s fight and drive to live was very special. Reaffirms why I do this work,” he smiled.
“Her hearing loss was a direct result of the fever. The high fever caused swelling in the inner ears that tore away the Cochlear and Vestibular nerves from the inner ear.” He turned and pulled up a diagram on the wall monitor in his office.
“As you know there is no way to repair those nerves. Without them it is impossible to hear as the signal from the inner ear can not be sent to the brain to be processed.”
He turned back from the monitor. “The good news is that the nerve fibers are still good and all of the functions of the inner ear are also working. Unfortunately there is no medical way to reattach those nerve endings to the inner ear. This is one of the rare cases in modern medicine where I would have to tell you that her hearing loss will be permanent.”
Jariel looked from the diagram to Lance. “I thought you said you had good news.”
Lance nodded and smiled. “I have been working with a colleague at Starfleet research. I said there was no medical way to restore Tress’s hearing, but there might be a technological way.”
Hartcort continued, “A group of researchers have been working to develop a micro-implant of a universal translator. The original design was for stealth use for espionage. However I believe that we can use this to give Tress back her hearing. Modified of course for this special purpose.”
He turned back to the monitor and brought up a new image that detailed the process. “The device is very small and would be inserted between the inner ear and the skull. I would then remove the dead nerve ends and use a microbiological receptor to attach the ends to the distributor port on the device. My cohort Alison Schneider, who is one of the best scientists I know, is working on developing a way for the nerves to interface with the hardware using technology that has been adapted from our increased knowledge of the process that the Borg uses to interface biological material with technological hardware.”
He turned back to them again. “Once that step is done we connect the receptor port to the nerve ends on the inner ear. The device will replace the broken nerves and allow signals to flow to the brain once again, allowing Tress to hear.”
“You can’t let them do this!” Pace shouted, stepping from his place at the rear of the room, up to stand between Fleur and Jariel.
“What if something goes wrong?” Fleur asked. “Tress is perfectly healthy now and lucky to be zat way. Why would we disturb zat?”
“To give her the chance to get back what was stolen from her.” Hartcort replied.
“Doctor,” Jariel began. He lifted his head to look Hartcort in the eye, eliciting a jingle from the earring he wore. “I know little of the Borg, except that they have tried, on numerous occasions, to destroy Commander Salvek, his friends, his family, and almost succeeded. I can think of little more repugnant than attempting to introduce anything associated with them into my child’s body. How would I even explain that to Salvek?”
“I’m sure Commander Salvek would see the logic in attempting to restore one of the child’s senses.” Lance said.
“How would I explain it to Lair Kellyn?” Jariel shot back.
“Don’t you think she would want to at least try? If it were her child?”
“I bed your pardon, Doctor, but Tress is not Lair Kellyn’s child, she is ours.” Fleur look back over he shoulder and through the glass, at Tress, who was perched on the side of Kellyn’s bed. She was attempting to explain with her hands through sign to Kellyn about her favorite aviator helmet, and bringing a rare and much needed smile to Kellyn’s lips. “She is perfect, and I would not risk her health for anything. Not without knowing every detail of what anyone intends to do, and what could go wrong.”
Pace eased back away from Camen and Fleur a few steps, his anger settling a bit. He had been Tress’s guardian since the Plains disaster, and despite his normally gentle nature, his instincts flared any time anything even remotely presented itself as a threat to his sister.
“How many times has this procedure been performed?” Jariel asked.
He turned to Jariel. “I have performed fifteen inner ear replacement surgeries. I am happy to say that all fifteen regained their hearing. But for this particular process it would be the first time that it has ever been performed. Or that the technology has even been used.”
Lance leaned back into his chair. “I understand your concern. I want to make something clear to you. The process is completely our own. It is only based on Borg processes. Alison and her team have been working on this for several months. You can liken it to the use of genetics to help grow cloned organs for replacements for failed or damaged ones, a process that is commonly used. While cloning of entire beings is illegal and morally wrong the use of the technology is implemented to the benefit of patients.”
“In fact in most cases I would recommend just that process for her but Tress’ case is special because of the nerve damage.”
He looked at Fleur. “As for the risks, the process would be fairly invasive as I would have to insert the devices in the inner ear. There would most likely be some discomfort after the surgery such as nausea, dizziness, and possibly a mild headache. But these would clear within the first couple of hours. There would be a process of adjusting the implants afterwards, but that would not require anything invasive as they are adjusted with a tricorder externally.”
“It would take some time to find the correct setting for the implants. We would have them completely turned down to start with because she has been without any sense of hearing for quite sometime now and as it took time to get used to not being able to hear it will take time to get used to hearing again.” He frowned. “It would take several weeks for her to adjust back to normal hearing levels.”
“One of the benefits to this is that she would be able to understand any language that is available with the standard universal translator. That feature can be turned off and on, if you prefer, so that she can learn to speak other languages. Also, the sensitivity of the devices is adjustable, which also could have benefits. There would never be any foreseeable need for follow up surgeries as the devices are inserted in a location that will allow for growth.”
“If for some reason the process were to fail, no further damage will be done. She simply will have not regained her hearing. There is minimal physical risk as there is with every type of surgery. By minimal I mean less then one percent.”
He leaned back forward. “I hope that you do not misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that Tress could not have a full and happy life just as she is. Obviously,” He nodded to the happy girl on the bed next to Lair. “She is doing fine. I am simply giving you options.”
“Yes, and I truly appreciate that very much.” Jariel said. He turned to Pace, who simply shrugged a bit. The process was not so terrifying now as it was a few moments ago. Camen then looked at Fleur. “What do you think?”
She wrung her hands for a moment, and shifted her gaze from Camen, to Pace, to Tress, then finally back to Doctor Hartcort. “Less zan one percent?”
“Less than half a percent, actually.”
“And ze worst zat could happen iz it simply does not work?”
“And she goes right on being the beautiful bubbly young lady she is now.” Hartcort confirmed.
Jariel looked at Pace again, who just gave a single, apprehensive nod. “I think,” He began to Fleur, “She deserves the chance. But I would like to meet this Alison Schneider before we agree to anything. I would also want to know every detail of this device and the procedure. But, Fleur, we only do this if we do it together.”
Fleur rose from her seat, and walked to the doorway. Her eyes met with Lair Kellyn, and she held out her hand, beckoning for Tress to come to her. Kellyn pointed towards Fleur, allowing Tress to see that her mother was waiting. Kellyn gave her a nudge, and Tress scooted off the bed, toddling over to Fleur.
[[Tress, if you could hear anything, what would it be?]] Fleur signed.
Tress plopped the helmet onto her head, so she could have free use of her hands.
[[Mama sing.]] Tress signed back. Fleur nodded, and pointed the young girl quickly back towards Lair Kellyn, lest Tress see the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.
“Doctor Hartcort,” Fleur said, “We will go to Earth, to meet your colleague.”
*****************************************************
Lance Hartcort
Chief Medical Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
&
Jariel Camen
Ship’s Chaplain
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Lance Hartcort
Chief Medical Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
&
Jariel Camen
Ship’s Chaplain
USS Serendipity NCC-2012