The Next Ultrasound (Part 1)

Posted on Tue Jun 28th, 2022 @ 4:06am by Captain Maho Takahashi & Commander Keisuke Takahashi 'K.T.' & Commander Victor Delling MD & Lieutenant Commander Brennyn Scott M.D.
Edited on on Tue Jun 28th, 2022 @ 4:07am

970 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Trade Troubles
Location: Sickbay, Deck 7
Timeline: 2 Days after departure from Utopia Planitia

The morning of Maho's next ultrasound she woke up feeling green as always; throwing up what she hadn't managed to digest from the previous night's dinner. Maho had spoken with Commander Misono beforehand about taking the early shift on the bridge until she was done with the ultrasound.

After taking some prenatal vitamins, which she was running low on, Maho made her way down to sickbay with her husband, whom she had an arm around his shoulders, as Maho felt particularly weak in the legs on the walk down.

The new doctor had taken the time to introduce himself shortly after the Myogi departed Utopia Planitia; and both were good with keeping to the ultrasound schedule the previous doctor had set up. During their meeting, Dr. Delling inspired confidence in both Maho and Keisuke; and both of them felt Delling would be in it for the long term, unlike the previous doctor.

The two of them made it to sickbay, and Maho practically collapsed into one of the chairs in the waiting room, unsure if her knees could continue supporting her weight at the moment.

"Captain good morning." Victor greeted her quietly, as the waiting area was not full enough that he needed to yell. "You look as if you are feeling particularly unwell today, are you not a morning person or are you feeling worse than normal?".

"It's the morning sickness, doc." Maho grumbled. "It's been a real bitch since I first started feeling it a couple weeks and as many doctors ago."

"How much are you able to keep down in a given day?" Victor asked as his practiced eye swept over her. He was guessing she hadn't kept a full meal down in quite some time. Her electrolytes were probably a good bit out of whack.

"Gosh, I want to say this morning sickness has thrown my entire eating schedule out of whack:" Maho explained. "I've found that if I keep my breakfasts light, I can generally keep those down. Lunch depends on the day I'm having: If it's really stressful, lunch will come right back up and I wind up eating a lunch-sized snack around dinnertime, which pushes dinner out later. I've yet to experience a 'calm' day since I've taken command, though. Dinner goes down good and stays down overnight before I puke up what's left in the morning before breakfast."

"Gross but meaningful question, my apologies in advance. " Victor almost chuckled at the words before he asked a follow up question" If you did not know what you'd had for dinner, would you be able to tell what it is when you throw it up again?"

"Not quite sure what you're getting at here, doc;" Maho said. "If you're asking if my first throw up of the day tastes like the previous night's dinner, then yes. It's usually chunky and I can taste the undigested food coming back up.

"That's what I was afraid of. So, some pregnancies induce a state called gastroparesis, which is a slowing of the bowels as a whole. When food sits in the stomach, and doesn't move through it can cause upset in addition to the riot your hormones are working on you." Victor chuckled and shook his head "It has not been an easy start to your pregnancy has it?"

"I guess it hasn't;" Maho admitted, her eyes going wide with the information the doctor was giving her. "And then, add onto all that the stress of being thrust into command of a Starship and the ongoing political shit show that's being fronted by your own mentor, and I suppose you have quite the recipe for a bad start to a pregnancy."

"Agreed, entirely." Victor said simply, making a mental calculation and sighing inwardly at the result. He would have to give her intravenous vitamins, and maybe a motility agent.

Approaching the waiting area, Bree could see Victor was already speaking with the captain and her husband. Bree had interacted some with the captain but hadn't spoken with Keisuke much at all. It wasn't that she avoided either of them, but that circumstances hadn't yet demanded them to get to know each other better. Scott anticipated that would change in short order.

Hearing the Captain describe her struggles with nausea and vomiting, Bree offered, "I wonder if eating several smaller meals throughout the day might prove helpful? Instead of focusing on three meals at specific times, having something in your stomach throughout the day could help to settle it."

"It is a viable alternative" Victor continued gesturing to the counselor "Forgive me Captain, Counselor Scott is regaining her full medical credentials, while I await additional staffing. She will be taking shifts away from Counseling as a Doctor to keep her skills current for the foreseeable future, and you may see her instead of myself on occasion."

"That is alright, so long as I'm still seeing you for the ultrasounds." Maho said.

"I have no intention of stepping on the Doctor's toes," Bree assured. "I do have my full medical credentials, I just wish to keep my skills sharp and family medicine and obstetrics is an area I happen to enjoy."

"I will be reviewing everything, even if you don't see me." He cast a smile over at Brennan and then chuckled at the idea that came to his mind. "Some visits you might see both of us, especially when you get closer to term."

"Sounds good, Doc." Keisuke said. "So, shall we move this to a biobed and get the actual ultrasound underway?"

Delling took a glance at the Captain, whose color looked better. He'd been delaying that exact thing because she'd practically fallen into the seat. "Do you think you're alright to get to a biobed?".

"Yes, I think so." Maho responded.

To Be Continued...

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