Gemma's Winter Job Thread 1

by **Gemma Parker** on February 14th, 2019, 12:52 am

Winter 1st, 518 AV

Gemma had a rhythm. For each patient she saw, she would follow the same basic steps to make sure she did not waste time or learning opportunities.

To begin, she would check the patient’s chart. The charts were written by both the doctor and the assistant, and were always accurate. However, that did not mean she had to take them at face value. In order for her to continue providing more and more value to The Catholicon, she would have to do her best to deliberately practice her weaknesses. In this case, her weakest point was medicine, so she started with that.

She read the patient’s chart, seeing that the young girl, Avelade, had fallen while playing and had broken her left tibia. She was being given pain killers and her leg had to remain immobilized for a while until it could heal fully. Of course, her mother could have helped this girl completely, but she was away on one of her knowledge searches, leaving Gemma as the only divinely-touched healer in the city.

And she had only one mark. That meant she could not heal something as simple as a broken bone. She could help with the pain and make sure infection didn’t set in, but her magic was so limited that she always preferred to back up any magic with mundane methods, just to double check. After all, this was a person’s health they were talking about. The way she saw it, it would be irresponsible for her to simply trust that her magic would heal the wound completely and correctly.

Sadly, she knew, that was probably why she had still not been gifted a second mark, even though she prayed and trusted her goddess. It was her own abilities that she questioned.

And so, though she was paid to be a healer, she always began by using the mundane. The girl was sleeping, so Gemma approached softly and pulled the girl’s covers to the side and her gown up just enough to see the full wound. She inspected the wound and saw that the bone had been set, just as the doctor notes said, but the skin had not yet closed. Of course, this was something she should have been able to do on her own using her gnosis mark. But what if she failed.

So instead, she pulled off the bandage and sterilized the wound once more by wiping it clean. She then chose some dry Vyfox leaves from her bag and crushed them, adding water to make a paste. She spread the paste on the bandage as an anticeptic. It would smell bad, but it would accelerate the healing and prevent infection, even without divine aid. She then used clean gauze and tape, and made sure any blood was cleaned away.

As she did all this, she placed her hand on the girl’s leg and prayed for her to be healed, but her prayer was not bold. She did not ask for the girl to be completely healed, but for her sleep to be peaceful, her pain to be muted, and her recovery to be accelerated. These were the prayers she knew her goddess would answer, even if she was the one asking.

WC: 538

by **Gemma Parker** on February 14th, 2019, 1:01 am

Winter 1st, 518 AV

It was time for the next patient. She left the young girl with a silent “amen” and continued on to the next room on her list.

The next patient was an old lady whose illnesses went on to a second page. Gemma smiled. She knew this woman well. She was one of the first patients Gemma had helped upon joining the staff at the Catholicon.

“Good morning, Miss Haversham.” She said as she entered the room. “How are you feeling today?” She asked. It was part of her bedside manner training to try to enter into a basic conversation with the patient if they were awake.
“Oh, you know me. If life were about feeling, I’d have quit long ago. But it’s nice to see you, dearie.” She said with a forced smile. The Konti Healer could tell that she was in pain.

She picked up the patient’s information and walked over to the side of the bed, laying her hand on the woman’s arm and praying for the goddess to ease Miss Haversham’s bone pain. Her right hand warmed at the touch, and she hoped the goddess was answering her prayer. She could feel the tension in the woman’s muscles releasing and a sigh of relief escaped the woman’s mouth. She smiled, and this time it wasn’t so forced. Gemma knew that the pain was still there, but at least now she was a bit more relaxed.

Gemma adjusted the pillow at the head of the bed and helped the woman lay down.

“There, that should help you be more comfortable.” She said, focusing on keeping her tone soft and calming.

“Oh, it’s always a pleasure to be with you, dearie. You’ve got the magic touch!” She laughed weakly at her joke.

Returning to her notes, Gemma reviewed everything that was there. “Miss Haversham, last week, when you came in, you said the pain was a six out of ten and this week you marked it at seven. Was there any reason for the increased pain? Anything you can think of?” She asked.

“I may have done a bit more cleaning than normal, but nothing too severe.” She said, a guilty look playing across her face.

Gemma didn’t need to be an aurist to know that Miss Haversham was playing down the connection between the two. But she didn’t say anything.

“Well, I understand that a house needs to be cleaned.” She said, pulling out a piece of paper and writing a recipe for ginger tea.

“But before you go cleaning again, buy some ginger and mix it into a tea. Let it steep for seven minutes in hot water, then drink it when it’s a comfortable temperature. Drink it an hour before you plan on cleaning, and then make another cup right when you’re done. It should help you keep the pain and swelling down in between visits.” She said, taking a moment to write down everything she had said in list form.

“It’s always a pleasure, Miss Haversham. I’ll be praying for you.” She said, and she headed off to the next patient.

WC: 516

by **Gemma Parker** on February 15th, 2019, 12:04 am

Winter 1st, 518 AV

“Hello, June, how are we feeling today?” Gemma asked in a kind voice as she entered the next room and went right to the patient’s chart.

“As well as can be expected, I guess.” The woman said. “My legs are swollen again.” She said, sadness in her voice.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that! Well let’s take a look, shall we?” She said, having confirmed the patient’s words with what was on her chart.

Gemma approached the bed where the patient was laying and pulled back the side of the blanket to reveal a swollen and slightly blue leg. “Yes, I see that.” She said. “Well first, let’s get your legs elevated, ok? That will help to reduce the swelling by pulling all that fluid out of your legs.” She walked the patient through what she was doing as she put some pillows under the woman’s legs, while keeping the knees bent.

“Tell me if anything I’m doing gives you additional discomfort, ok?” She said. The patient nodded.

“All right, so did any specific activity trigger this?” Gemma asked.

The woman shook her head. “Nothing. I just woke up and they were like this. I’ve been resting a lot,” she said.
Gemma nodded and looked with sympathy at the woman. “Well I’m sorry you’re feeling like this. Do you elevate your legs at home?” She asked.

The woman shook her head. “No, I sleep sitting up a little bit so the reflux doesn’t get me.” She said, gesturing at her chest and throat.

“Ah, well that’s a good idea. Maybe I can give you something for that as well. I recommend that you elevate your legs with at least two pillows, but keep the knees bent a little bit, not straight. That will help to reduce inflammation while you sleep and rest. I also suggest that you try to put at least some pressure on your legs and feet. Do whatever you think you can handle, and don’t try to do too much, but staying in bed all day isn’t what your body needs, ok? It’s ok to use a cane or to have someone help you if you think you might fall.” She said all this while continuing to check the patient for more issues.

“I’m going to give you an decoction blend that will help with the reflux and the swelling.” She said, writing down instructions. “Ginger root helps with both reflux and swelling. I want to you put about one ounce of sliced ginger root in a pot and boil it in water. Let it sit for twenty chimes, then drink it hot or cold. Do that at least three, up to six times per day. Once you make it, it lasts for up to three days, so you can make it in bigger batches, but take out the ginger once it’s done decocting or the flavor will get really strong. If you don’t like the flavor, you can sweeten it with honey, ok? That should help you a lot. Go on and rest here for a few chimes and I’ll be back soon to help you get up.”

The woman thanked Gemma as she gave her the instructions and headed on to the next patient.

WC: 539

by **Gemma Parker** on February 15th, 2019, 2:15 am

Winter 1st, 518 AV

The next patient was using the chamberpot when she entered the room, so she had to wait a moment before she could talk to him. She checked the patent’s notes and saw that he was a young boy of eleven years old. When he came out of the bathroom, he walked over to the bed with no problem, but Gemma saw that his arm had been splinted and he had a bandage on his face.

“Hello, Arno! I'm Gemma. How are you today?” She asked with a smile.

“I’m good.” He said.

“It looks like you got banged up pretty bad. Your file says you fell while climbing and a loose rock fell on your face. That’s gotta hurt pretty bad, right?” She asked.

“Nah, doc got me feelin’ nothin’.” He said. “Kinda boring here, though.” He said.

“Oh well maybe when I’m done with your checkup I can find you something fun to do, how’s that sound?” She asked.

“Good.” He said simply.

“Let’s get that arm checked.” She said, putting one arm under his arm and untying the cloth sling to get better access.

The bone had already been set, of course, and as she touched him, she used her gnosis mark with a prayer to accelerate the healing of the boy and prevent any infection. She inspected the stitches where the doctor had sewn him up after setting the break. It looked fine from what she could see.

“There’s some swelling around the incision and around the arm, but that’s to be expected.” She said, turning to the side table and pulling out honey and Vyfox leaves, crushing them together with her mortar and pestle, and applying the paste to the new bandage she was preparing.

"I’m dressing your wound with something that will reduce swelling and prevent infection, and it will also help with the pain, though the doctor’s already giving you something for that. Now let’s take a look at that eye.” She said after she had applied the poultice and put the arm back in the sling.

She unwrapped his face carefully and had to hold back a wince at what she saw. His eye was blue and black and completely swollen shut. The notes said his eye would be fine, but they had to watch fluid buildup. As she held his head, she channeled her gift through a prayer for healing and reduced swelling.

“Must have been a pretty cool climb, huh?” She asked.

The boy just shrugged, clearly bummed.

“All right, well let me get this cleaned up and see if we can reduce this swelling, huh?” She got to work. There were no open wounds, but she still had to wipe the mucus from the eye slit and apply a turmeric paste to the area. That would help with both the swelling and any retinal damage.

She also stirred some of the turmeric into a glass of water. “Drink up. Let’s hope the medicine is muting your tastebuds, too.” The boy drank the water and gagged, but finished it. He scowled at her.

She handed him a fresh glass of water to wash down the taste. “There. Now let me go see if I can’t find you something fun to do, yeah?” And off she went.

WC: 545

by **Gemma Parker** on February 15th, 2019, 3:10 am

Winter 1st, 518 AV

When Gemma entered the next patient's room, she saw that the patient had suffered from a diving accident. When she looked at the chart, it confirmed what she saw upon entering. She saw that the patient's neck was wounded, but thankfully not broken. Upon inspection, the patient was in a neck brace, and had a straw leading to a glass of water for her to hydrate. She also had bandages on her face and head, with a larger pad of gauze over the wound on the left side of the back of her head.

The patient's name was Danielle and without further delay, Gemma greeted her.

“Good morning, Danielle, how are you today?” She asked.

Unfortunately, Danielle was unable to answer. She tried to mumble something over the straw, but the neck brace was inhibiting her jaw motion.

“That's all right, you don't have to speak. I'll be walking through the steps that I'm taking. if you have any questions just raise your hand. Is that okay?” She asked.

The patient gave her the thumbs up.

“All right, then let’s get started.” She said. “So your file says you hit a rock while diving in the cove, is that correct?” She asked, receiving affirmation via another thumbs up.

“It says you gashed your the back of your head and also have cuts and scratches down your back.” Another thumbs up.

“Well today I’ll be dressing your surface wounds and giving you something for pain management.” She said. “Thankfully, it looks like there were no breaks so you shouldn’t have to worry about permanent injury. I’m going to check for feeling in your toes just to make sure there isn’t any complication due to swelling, ok?” Thumbs up.

She uncovered her feet and touched various locations on the woman’s feet. “Thumbs up when you feel me touching.” She said. The woman passed. That was good.

“Ok, great! So no paralysis, which is really good. It looks like with some bedrest and herbs on those lacerations, you’ll be good to go in no time!” She said, covering the woman’s feet and moving up to the cut on her head.

“Now for this, I need to roll you onto your side, ok? If you feel any pain in your neck let me know, but you will probably feel pain on your skin. Are you ready?” She asked. Thumbs up.

She got pillows ready for Dannielle to lean on and put them to her right, then braced herself to help the woman roll. Gemma focused mostly on keeping her head and shoulders straight, and the woman helped roll the rest of her body.

When Gemma was sure the woman was stable, she carefully removed the bloody bandages and began to dress the wound. She crushed several ounces of Vyfox together with honey and applied it to the new bandages before applying them again. As she worked, she prayed for healing in the skin and for no infection to set in, while also being so bold as to pray for the woman’s neck to be healed faster. She also prayed for reduced swelling. The woman was very calm through the whole thing, though Gemma could feel her muscles tensing throughout the process. She sent one last prayer for relaxed muscles and returned the woman to lay on her back, where she could relax better.

“Well, that’s all for now. If there’s anything else we can do for you, just ring the bell, ok?

The woman gave the thumbs up and Gemma left to tend to the next patient.

WC: 594