The Different Shades of Bodily Fluids

[Okara]

Summer 20, 518 Impatient fingers twitching a pillow to sit perfectly straight, Okara walked across the patient room of the Panacea with hurried, agitated steps. She had been working at the small clinic long enough that Jansen had felt comfortable scheduling her to work alone that shift while he checked in on some residents around the settlement. Okara felt nervous about being left by herself. She knew she could handle minor ailments but on her walk to the clinic that morning she had convinced herself that the Tidepool would likely burst into flames and a horde of hung-over burn victims would poor into the clinic on her inexperienced watch. She tried to keep her mind off disasters by busying it with tidying up the Panacea. Once the simple cots were made up as perfectly as she could get them she pulled a metal tray and an assortment of medical tools from drawers in the lab. Carrying them to a counter in the patient room she laid out the tools along in the tray in by order of size. Shears, scalpel, forceps, needles. Several rolls of bandages and a few lengths of catgut sutures completed the tray. Okara stared at the counter for a moment, considering what else she might need to be prepared for the needs of a patient. Clean water! Good, clean water was always important. The Panacea had a well-stocked supply of water barrels from the community water storage system. The water storage was not far away from the clinic but you didn’t want to be running back and forth to refill in an emergency. Okara found a metal pitcher and filled it from a barrel tucked into the corner of the room. She placed it beside the tray of tools and covered it with a small square of cloth to keep out any insects. Now she was truly prepared. Thonk… thonk. Clearly just in time as well as she gazed up to see who was rapping on the door frame to announce their presence. She noticed a furrowed brow beneath lanky, blonde hair. The man rambled in wordlessly and seated himself on a cot. Okara noted a slight limp on his right side as she approached him. ”Hello, I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Okara and I apprentice here. What can I do for you today?” Okara said with a pleasant, softly soothing tone she was beginning to adopt as her patient voice. ”I fell and cut my leg a while ago and it started healing but now it’s just getting painful and swollen.” The man said gruffly and yanked down his pants. Okara was a little taken aback by his brusque manner but she reminded herself that she could not take it personally. She had a duty to help her patients regardless of how they treated her. She looked down and immediately noticed a swollen, red lump on the man’s thigh. Across the lump was the puckered line of a small laceration that had healed shut. ”I’m going to touch the area. Is this very sensitive?” she asked and lightly placed her finger tips on the edge of the lump. The man’s sudden inhale of breath was a clear answer and she removed her fingers. Clearly he had not cleaned the wound thoroughly after it happened and it appeared to be very infected. The process of clearing out infection was rather straight forward but she had never done it herself before. It made her wish the blue-skinned doctor was there to watch over her shoulder or heal the wound with his more powerful gnosis marks. But there was no use in wishing for that, she was alone and she had a patient in need. Word Count: 618

[Okara]

”Alright sir… um, can you tell me your name please?” Okara asked. She wanted to explain what she was about to do and she preferred to know the name of the person she was about to do it to. ”Artik.” the man said. After a moment of silence Okara realized that was all she was going to get. ”Alright Artik. It appears your leg has a big pocket of infection just under the surface. I’m going to have to cut into the skin and drain the infection away. Once it’s all cleaned out I will bandage you up and then it will be done.” Okara explained and smiled, hoping her smile was reassuring. ”Is it going to hurt?” Artik asked. One side of his mouth pursed and he narrowed his eyes at Okara. ”Cutting the infection open may be painful, yes.” Okara affirmed. She had the urge to placate him and say no, it would all be fine, but Jansen had impressed upon at length how important it was to be completely honest with the steps and effectiveness of treatments. Patients should be able to trust their healers and lies, even well-intended lies, did not build trust. ”Petch this. I should have grabbed something to drink before I came here. Well, let’s get this over with.” Artik murmured irritably before settling back onto the cot and staring at the roof above. Okara moved over to the counter where she had laid out supplies. She cleared everything off the tray except for the scalpel and two rolls of bandages. Moving quickly to the lab she grabbed a small jar of healing salve and brought it back to the tray. She grabbed two small towels and placed them on top then carried the tray and pitcher of water to Artik’s side. Okara gently tucked one of the towels under Artik’s thigh. She knew things were about to get juicy and she wanted to limit how much cleanup she would need to do afterwards. She kneeled beside the man and laid the other towel on her knees so it would be near at hand. Grasping the scalpel, she placed her fingers on either side of the plum-sized lump to hold the skin steady. With a deep breath to steady herself she pressed the scalpel into Artik’s skin and began drawing it across the lump. The gruff, blonde man growled deep in his throat and Okara could hear him grit his teeth. Deep red blood slid down Artik’s thigh from the incision. So far it was only blood so Okara realized she had not cut deeply enough to reach the infection though she had to be near. She pressed the scalpel and cut into the incision once more. The deep red of his blood was quickly joined by a thick, yellow-white fluid. Okara pressed gently against the side of the lump to encourage more of the infection to drain. Whenever the drainage slowed she gently pressed further in and more of the fluid spilled out. A putrid odor soon assailed Okara’s nose and she bit the inside of her cheek to maintain her composure. No matter how awful the sights, sounds, and smell of a patient got the healer must never show that they notice or are bothered. Word count: 544

[Okara]

Gently she pressed more and more until nothing else would drain from the incision. Using the fingers of one hand to gently spread open the incision site, she picked up the pitcher and poured some water in to flush out the remaining infection that may be left clinging inside. She let the water empty then flushed it twice more to be certain. Setting the pitcher down, Okara used the towel that lay across her knees to gently bad at Artik’s leg around the wound to clean it. Looking around, Okara silently cursed herself as she realized she had left the shears on the cupboard. She stood and moved quickly to grab them and return, frustrated with her own inexperience in not realizing everything she would need. Okara gently rubbed some of the wound salve around the edges of the incision site, making sure not to cover the incision itself so any further infection that developed would drain out. She cut a few squares off the bandage roll and laid them against the wound, then wrapped a length of bandage around Artik’s leg to hold it all in place. She gazed at her work for a moment then leaned back to look at Artik’s face. She noticed the man had thrown an arm across his eyes and his face was pale. ”Well, it’s all cleaned out. If you come back each morning we can redress the wound so it stays clean. That will let us keep an eye on any further sign of infection so it doesn’t get quite so bad again. I hope it-“ Okara advised and then trailed off as Artik stood to pull his pants on and then walk out of the clinic silently with a backwards wave. He was not the most pleasant man but she was glad to have helped him. Hopefully he did come back for fresh wound dressing so she wouldn’t have to repeat the drainage process again too quickly. Sighing, Okara turned to clean up the mess. Most of the infection had been caught by the towel but some blood had stained the sheets and would need to be washed. She stripped the cot and tossed the sheets and towels into a wicker basket which contained any cloth that needed a good, long boil at the end of the day. She moved the tray and bandages back to the counter then brought the scalpel into the small philtering lab where she could clean it in boiling water. A few chimes later, Okara had thoroughly cleaned her hands and was watching the scalpel bob in a glass beaker of boiling water when she heard movement from outside the Panacea. She turned the oil-fueled flame off with a frown as she turned to investigate. ”He-helloo….bluegh…” came a weak voice followed by a wet sound. Okara stepped out of the lab to see a short, brunette woman bent out vomiting on the Panacea floor. Okara rushed to her side and half carried, half guided the woman to a clean cot. She helped the woman lay down on her side then grabbed a large ceramic basin from the counter to lay next to the woman. ”I’ve placed a bowl here if you feel the need again.” Okara explained, knowing the woman could see but wanting to reassure her anyways. Once she was sure she was comfortable, Okara hurried to the counter and grabbed a few towels. She used them to quickly clean up the vomit so no one would accidentally step on it. That was the last thing she needed, someone slipping in vomit then gashing their head on something. She tossed the dirty towels into the wicker basket and returned to check on the woman. Word count: 619

[Okara]

As Okara returned the woman leaned over the basin and quietly puked again. Okara leaned down and gently rubbed her back. Once the woman finished she laid back and Okara took the basin to empty its contents. When she returned she laid the basin near the woman again. ”I made that bowl, you know. I’m glad it works so well.” the woman said with a sardonic smile. ”I’m Nesra, I wish we had been introduced under different circumstances but there you have it.” ”Your bowl is beautiful, Nesra. I’m Okara. I’m sorry you aren’t feeling well. Can you tell me when the sickness started?” Okara asked gently, her tone taking on that soothing quality she was developing. ”It was really sudden. I woke up, had breakfast, then went to throw some pots like I usually do. About an hour or two ago I started feeling really sick and overheated. My stomach cramped up something terrible and I had to make a run for the jungle. It was not pretty. I thought maybe it would go away if I laid down for a while but it hasn’t so I made my way here.” Nesra explained slowly. Okara noted beads of sweat on Nesra’s face and placed the back of her hand against the woman’s forehead. ”You feel very warm, I think you have a fever. I’m going to make you some tea to deal with the fever. I’ll be back in a few chimes, I’ll just be in the lab so call out if you need me.” Okara said and Nesra nodded before closing her eyes to lay shivering on the cot. Okara walked into the lab and set a beaker of water over a heat source to boil. She began looking through the various drawers and jars of labelled ingredients as she remembered the few bits of herbal lore she had learned in Mura. She finally found the jar marked ‘white willow’ and drew out a piece of dried bark. She set it in a mortar and used a pestle to grind the bark into a rough powder. She measured out two small spoonfuls of the powder into the beaker. She tapped her fingers impatiently on the counter as she waited for the water to come to a boil. Her mind turned over the possibilities of what could be affecting Nesra. There were lots of things that caused fever and vomiting but unfortunately Okara was too inexperienced to understand the finer differences between those things. Could she be poisoned? Perhaps she had eaten something spoiled? Did she have malaria? Or a bout of influenza? Having a patient waiting in discomfort and precious few solutions made Okara feel helpless and impotent. She considered running to find Jansen but leaving her patient to suffer alone seemed heartless and reckless. Word count: 467

[Okara]

Eventually the water came to a boil and after a few chimes Okara smothered the oil-fueled flame. The tea would need some time to steep and cool. A moment after she did so heard Nesra call her name. Okara stepped quickly to attend to the woman. As she drew nearer, Nesra leaned over the basin and heaved though her stomach was empty so only green bile and some foam came out. Okara heard a wet sound and looked to see liquid staining the back of Nesra’s dress. Okara gripped her shoulders to steady the woman and helped her lay back when she was done heaving. ”I’m sorry… I felt the urge to relieve myself, which is why I called to you, but then I had to puke and I just couldn’t hold anything back.” Nesra said miserably. She looked rather ashamed of the state she was in. ”There is nothing to be sorry for. When the body is ill it purges itself, and it is better to purge the sickness then keep it in. We can not always control what our bodies do. Let’s just get you cleaned up so you feel more comfortable.” Okara said with a kind smile as she began stripping the sheet beneath Nesra. She dropped the sheet in the wicker basket of dirty laundry before gathering several towels and a pitcher of water. Okara kneeled beside Nesra who drew her dress up and over her head, tossing the soiled garment aside. Okara poured some water on one of the towels and gently cleaned the woman’s limbs. She tucked a second towel beneath Nesra in case she had could not control her bowels again. A third towel she handed to Nesra to drape over herself as she wished. Okara returned to the lab. She soaped and rinsed her hands before turning to deal with the tea. She found a simple ceramic cup and placed some straining cloth over it. Gripping the edge of the beaker she had boiled tea in with a hot pad she poured it over the cloth. Once the cup was half full she set the beaker aside and gathered up the straining cloth. She gave it a light squeeze into the cup then set the spent material aside. Okara carried the cup out to Nesra and helped the woman take a few sips. ”Go slow, your stomach is too upset to drink quickly. Rest between sips.” Okara cautioned. Every few chimes she helped Nesra sip the cup. The willow tea would help reduce Nesra’s fever but she doubted it would solve the potter’s problem entirely. Her issues seemed centered around her stomach and Okara was hesitant to treat her with stronger measures without understanding exactly what the problem was. The cup was half drained when Okara heard approaching foot steps. ”Hello there! What have we here?” Jansen called out as he walked into the clinic. Okara speedily stood and met the Akalak doctor halfway. She quietly summarized what she had observed of Nesra and what the potter herself had described happening. Jansen tapped a blue finger to his chin as he briefly considered the problem before him. ”You say it came on suddenly a few bells after breakfast?” Jansen asked and Nesra nodded silently. ”Did you eat any meat or seafood for breakfast?” Jansen asked and Nesra nodded again, hesitantly. ”Then I think the most likely answer is that your meat was not cooked fully and you have food poisoning. Lots of things can cause fever, vomiting, and diarrhea but given that you were fine at breakfast and the illness came on so suddenly it is the most likely answer. I can heal you as well, so you will be feeling much better in a moment.” Jansen said with a nod as he decided on the diagnosis. The doctor approached Nesra and leaned down to lay his hand on her stomach. Okara knew the power of his gnosis must have cured her as her body visibly relaxed. The Konti smiled in relief. She may not have been able to accurately diagnose Nesra but she was glad the woman was feeling better. Okara rinsed out Nesra’s dress while Jansen verified that their patient was well. Nesra slid the wet garmet over her head and bid them farwell, promising to drop off some fresh pots from the kiln in return for their service. Okara scuffed her foot on the floor when Jansen finally turned to her, embarrassment written on her face. ”The willow tea was a good idea. It helped relieve the fever.” Jansen said warmly, recognizing the emotion in the Konti’s face. ”I’m glad you think so. I wish I had realized what was going on, though.” Okara admitted with some redness blooming in her cheeks. ”Don’t be hard on yourself. This is why you are still an apprentice, you are learning. Fever and vomiting can be hard to diagnose, there are so many things that can cause it. Now you know the symptoms of food poisoning and can diagnose yourself next time. Your gnosis isn’t strong enough to out right heal it, but that’s why the willow tea was a good idea. Food poisoning passes quickly, it only lasts a day or two, the best you can do is just help a patient feel more comfortable in the meantime.” Jansen said and patted her shoulder comfortingly. ”And now since I’m hear to handle the patients you can get the laundry done.” Jansen laughed. Okara rolled her eyes and went to grab the wicker basket of dirties. She was glad to have the experience of her mentor around again, to lean on and learn from. Word Count: 942

[Okara]

Grades and Awards   Okara Experience Organization 1 Observation 3 Medicine 5 Philtering 1 Lores Organization: Arranging Medical Tools for Quick Access Medicine: Maintaining Composure with Difficult Patients Artik: Appearance, Can be a Difficult Patient Medicine: Draining an Infection and Dressing the Wound Afterwards Nesra Arlean: Appearance, Occupation Medicine: Questioning Patient to Investigate Symptoms Frustration of Not Knowing the Correct Diagnosis Medicine: Symptoms of Food Poisoning Notes Self grade, yay for me! Please edit your post in your grade request to reflect that it has been graded. PM me with any questions.