Palpation

Posted on Thu 31st May, 2018 @ 8:56am by Lieutenant Commander Lanis Dhuro MD & Khellian s'Siedhri MD

1,309 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Brushfires
Location: Dr. s'Siedhri's office, Tivoli Gardens
Timeline: Current

Dhuro Lanis entered Dr. Khellian s'Siedhri's office in time for the appointment he'd scheduled with the physician earlier. He didn't know for certain if he would proceed as far as a physical examination today; it would depend on the conversation he planned to have with the Romulan first. He seated himself and waited in the small lobby to be called to the back. So far, he seemed to be the only patient in the place.

Khellian had only just finished setting up the new office and getting everything just so. The tinkling sound of the chiming ball at the door made him smile a little. Exiting the backroom smoothly he stepped into his small waiting room and asked "How can i assist you?"

It was odd to see someone who looked so much like a Vulcan smiling, Lanis thought as the younger doctor entered the waiting room.

"Good afternoon, I'm Dhuro Lanis," Lanis said as he stood. "I'd like to undergo a routine physical examination." He paused. "But I'm a bit old-fashioned. I grew up and was trained at a time when I usually didn't have access to sophisticated medical scanning equipment. I learned to do physical examination first by touch, and that was my standard method for years. I didn't have regular access to medscanners, much less biobeds, until I was in my forties. I give them their due; they're miraculous devices, and I now find them indispensable--but I've never abandoned physical touch with my patients, and I feel disturbed by its lack when I am being examined. I would prefer a hands-on examination backed up by scans, to a purely scanned exam on a biobed." He gave Dr. s'Siedhri an uncertain look. "Do they teach Romulan medical students how to perform a manual exam anymore?"

"Of course, that is the basis of Romulan medicine." He sounded just slightly offended by the question, but continued without a blink. "They teach human students to do them too, however it falls out of use when one has access to such incrediable technology."

"Yes, I've noticed. Lately, some of my younger patients are so used to only being scanned that they act as if it's an invasion of their personal space if I simply want to check their thyroid," Lanis said. "That's why I didn't hold out much hope for you, because of your age. I only know that I don't want to have certain parts of my physical examination performed manually by people I work with." He gave Dr. s'Siedhri a sheepish look. "I don't care how many times they tell me, 'You don't have anything I haven't seen a thousand times before.' It's still embarrassing."

"So it is a benefit to you that I am not on the fleet side of the equation, as you Bajorans are wont to say." He gave the other doctor a measuring look and then shook his head "As for my age, you will find that I am in my prime and will remain so for quite some years, in a non-hostile environment. Those Romulans with ridges tend to have a lifespan similar to a Vulcan if one is speaking solely on longevity."

"It's of benefit to me that you're not a co-worker," Lanis said. "As for ridges, I don't care, one way or the other. I was under the impression that Romulans originally came from Vulcan, so the longevity doesn't surprise me." He shot the Romulan doctor a brief smile. "You will probably outlive me."

"It's a cultural variant actually, those with ridges have longer lifespans than those that do not. Romulans as a whole have not researched much into why...but there it is." He smiled back at the man and then settled into a chair in his waiting area, next to the other Doctor. "Are you wishing that I become your primary physician here on the station, or are you just looking for a physical exam?"

"Just the physical, please," Lanis said. "I've been in Starfleet for twenty some-odd years, so all of my medical records are with them. I get a purely scanned examination from them every year, and it just never feels thorough, even though I know it is. This is the first time I've ever had the luxury of civilian doctors being available to do the kind of exam I want." He shrugged. "I know it's not as precise, but there are ... subtleties and depths to a manual exam that just don't happen with scans--at least, in my opinion. I feel more of a connection to patients who will allow me to touch them when I examine them, however briefly."

"That sounds reasonable enough," he answered after a moment of silence stretched out between them. It seemed unusual, but it wasn't the first unusual request that he'd had. Rubbing his brow ridge he smiled a little in amusement at the whole situation.

"Then I'd like to schedule an appointment," Lanis said. "When is best for you, Dr. s'Siedhri? And is "s'SEE-dree" the correct way to pronounce your name, or is it more like s'see-ETH-ry?"

"You are closer with the second one. Stress on a Romulan word falls on the next to last syllable, so it's pronounced in three syllables s'See-eh-three." he rolled the r and put a slight emphasis on the -eh sound in the middle. "And thank you, I don't think anyone has asked the proper pronunciation of my name since I arrived in Federation space."

Lanis chuckled. "Having been called 'Dr. Lanis' by someone or other for as long as I've been in Federation space, I can sympathize. If you're lucky, I might even learn to pronounce that correct pronunciation at some point."

"Or you could simply call me Khellian, much easier to pronounce. I prefer to only be Dr. s'Siedhri when I am needed for some emergency; that way I know immediately what I am being called for."

"Then please call me Lanis. I look forward to being your patient, Khellian. Would you be interested in meeting for...whatever the Romulan equivalent of coffee is, sometime?"

"I actually quite enjoy human coffee. There isn't a good Romulan equivalent unless you count Kali-fal. While it'll wake you up, I personally do not enjoy the experience or the aroma." He gave a delicate shudder and his face showed his distaste of the beverage.

"Is that the blue drink with all the fine aroma and sinus-cleansing qualities of Earth wasabi? I agree with you; that stuff is not my idea of delicious," Lanis said. "Coffee it is, then. I've never met a Romulan before, so I'd like to get to know you better and learn about your people. When's a good time for you? I've found that people drink coffee at all hours of the day, so we aren't limited to mornings."

"I try to keep a few hours mid afternoon free to...how did my daughter put it...putz around? Is that the correct terminology? I've yet to get used to speaking Standard."

"'Putz' is a new verb to me," Lanis said. "The translator is rendering it as, 'to do tasks aimlessly' in Bajoran. I have no idea if that's really what it means. In any case, let me look at my calendar and see when I can meet with you, as my schedule isn't as flexible as yours." He pulled out a small PADD from his jacket pocket and tapped it a few times. "I'm in surgery all day tomorrow, but I'm free the next afternoon; one of my meetings got canceled. How about you?"

He scrolled to tomorrow's schedule, then the day after and nodded. "I have nothing on my calendar at this moment. Barring emergencies- which I am sure we are both familiar with."

"Oh, definitely," Lanis said. "And, while we're at it, I can schedule my actual purpose in coming here, too."

 

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