M'galec to the Rescue

Writers: Eimi, Suzee
Date Posted: 7th February 2011

Characters: M'galec, Lethseves
Description: M'galec goes to work in the infirmary with the help of a visiting Master Healer
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 13, day 17 of Turn 5

M'galec had spent the whole first candlemark of his shift this Fall
removing a weyrling's toe nail after they dropped a large sack of
firestone on it. He could have done such a proceedure in his sleep.
But then the call came in. He was needed immediately. A massive
Threadscoring. Finally, something that was worthy of his talents! He
scrubbed up with redwort and hurried into operating room.

"Who is assisting?" he asked, stepping through the curtain, being
careful not to touch anything with his newly sterilized hands.

"I am" boomed a voice from across the room. Master Lethseves had been
visiting from the Healer Hall when the injured began coming in and he
volunteered to lend a hand. He had heard of the surgical skills of a
certain bronze rider and intended to observe as well as assist. His
once red hair was fading and silvered at the temples but his hands
were still steady and he could take over if the bragging of the Weyr's
people was so much puffed up rubbish.

M'galec was a little taken aback. "Who are you?"

"I'm here to assist you." he said holding his own hands in a similar
position to M'galec's "I arrived for a visit and thought I'd pitch in,
but he's your patient." he smiled. "Names Lethseves."

"Have you ever worked a Threadscore injury before?" The bronzerider was
not about to play guide for a visiting tourist, no matter their rank.
This was Threadfall and serious business.

"I have" he said simply. There was no need to embellish and it was a
good mark for the other healer to inquire about an unfamiliar healers
abilities. "I am certainly not as experienced as you, but I have
encountered it in the past."

"All right, then." The bronzerider nodded to the apprentice to bring
over his surgical robe. "Is she out?"

Lethseves donned his own robe along with the surgeon then moved to
where the woman lay.

"All right, what do we have here?" he asked, looking directly at the
master.

Lethseves had seen Threadscore before and this rider had obviously
gone immediately /between/ which was the best first treatment and had
probably saved her life. But the burn across her back covered fully
half the area. The edges of the score were puffed with reaction and
possibly cold between infection. He could only imagine what kind of
pain she would be in if she were conscious. But she had already been
put out and slathered with numbweed. He leaned into listen to the
wound and popped back up. The telltale crackling sound causing his
eyes to dart to the other man's face. "A sleeper," was all he said.

"All right then," M'galec sighed nodding to the apprentice. "We will
drown it. Get me a bucket of water. Have another one at the ready."
Turning back to his assistant, he pointed to a cupboard along the wall.
"You will find towels in there. Better line the floor with them so we
will not be slipping around."

Lethseves called out "Or rush mats would be good too if you've got
them, thicker the better." The water would go through the mats and
their feet would stay above smear of the water on the floor. He
reached for the second bucket and had it at the ready. These kinds of
surprises could turn nasty in a heartbeat.

"No time. It is close to the spine and we cannot let it burrow into the
bone." The bronzerider nodded to the apprentice to come closer as he
used metal tongs to gently peel the burnt edges of skin back. "Pour
slowly. We need a continuous steam and we don't want it all to splash
out."

The apprentices hands shook slightly as he did as M'galec ordered,
listening carefully to his every instruction. The boy had never stood
so close to a live Thread before, but he was more afraid of the healer's
anger than he was the thing that was beginning to writhe noticeably
within the wound.

It was not going as quickly as M'galec had hoped. "Get ready with that
second bucket. This one seems to have a lot of fight to it."

Lethseves watched the level in the bucket the boy held as it steadily
poured into the wound. When the level dropped dangerously low he added
to the stream gradually from the bucket he held and nodded to the boy,
"go refill that quickly." He continued his pour watching as the
writing invader slowed its movement. His eyes transfered to the tongs
wielded by the other healer, then back to the bucket.

The boy returned panting, his bucket refilled and Lethseves encouraged
him with a smile.

"Enough," M'galec said with complete authority in his voice once he had
decided the chances that there was still life in the Thread were small.
"Keep the bucket handy, lad. What is her pulse now?"

He reached for her throat and then her wrist. "Strong and steady.
She's good so far."

"Good. Hold these clamps," he said nodding to the metal implements he
had been using to hold the wound open. M'galec now had to reach in and
dig out the Thread that hopefully was good and dead. "Bring that bucket
over again, lad." The bronzerider wasn't going to take any chances.

The Master grasped the clamps and expertly positioned them out of
M'galec's way yet holding the flesh positioned for the man to remove
the ugly dead thing from the woman't back. "How's this?"

"Very good," M'galec muttered, though his mind was already on the task
at hand. The Thread was dangerously close to the spine. He couldn't
just grab at the very first inch he saw. The healer had enough
experience to know it was just the tip of the thing. Hopefully it had
not burrowed too deep, but if he didn't find exactly how far down it
went, he ran the risk of breaking it off and leaving more in there,
which would most likely lead to a deadly infection.

This already was shaping up to be a tricky one. "Apprentice," he called
to the boy once more, "look at how the Master is holding those clamps.
I want you to very carefully take those clamps exactly as he is doing
and hold them there for me. I need the master's hands free."

"This side son" he said to the indicated apprentice. He didn't want
him reaching across the woman for any length of time. He adjusted the
angle of the implements slightly for the youngster's height and said,
"keep the tension slight." Then he moved closer toward the patient's
head once he'd let go of the clamps. He reached toward the wound and
pressed open the edge of the pucker where the filament had taken hold.
M'galec's deft fingers were beginning to impress him.

"I need forceps and more light," M'galec directed towards the master
nurse. If he was going to have any hope of removing every piece of that
thing, he was going to need to see it clearly.

Lethseves slapped the forceps into his outstretched palm before he
moved the light and summoned an assistant to bring another.

"It is not attached yet." M'galec was relieved by that. If the Thread
had boared into the bone, or worse yet, the spinal cord, there would be
little he could do. Still the area was too sensitive to be poking
around in. The last thing he wanted was to damage that vital area while
trying to dislodge the thing. He mentally calculated the risks. The
Thread hadn't so much as twitched as he had poked and prodded it. It
was most likely dead. "I have to go in with my fingers. Get someone in
here to hold the bucket." Just in case the thing wasn't completely
dead.

"You," the master said immediately pointing at one of the young men
nearby. The apprentice grabbed a nearby filled bucket and another ran
to begin filling the empty ones. Lethseves watched the tendril for any
twitch at all, it seemed dead but you didn't know for sure until you
had it in the bucket.

The sweat was beading on M'galec's brow as he concentrated very intently
on the job at hand, using his fingers to gently probe and pull the piece
of Thread until with a triumphant "There we are!" it pulled loose and
possibly even intact. Once it was free of the flesh, the bronzerider
immediately threw it into the bucket. "Check that. Does it look broken
at all?"

Lestheves bent over the bucket careful to keep his shadow out of the
water and looked at both ends carefully. "No Break!" he said. "You got
it all." he smiled at the bronze rider, "Excellent work!" he added.

"Thank you," the bronzerider said absently, still looking intently at
the wound. "But we are not done yet..."

It was some before they had completely cleaned the wound and checked
maticulously for any foreign matter that might lead to infection. They
could not be too careful with a wound so close to the spine. However,
if as long as no infection developed and with proper rehabilitation, the
rider should be able to return to duty in a month or two. M'galec said
as much to the master as he pulled of his surgical gown wearily. "As
long as her dragon was not scored as well," he ammended with a sigh.

The closing of the wound went well and he had seen with his own eyes
the steady hand and fine skills he'd heard about. He nodded to the
other man as he stripped his own gown. "Her dragon is unharmed and
being reassured by some of the others. But I'm sure she'd welcome
communication from you as well." He smiled "Well done."

"Thank you," M'galec nodded, handing his robe off to an apprentice.
"And I appreciate your assistance. Your experience in the surgery is
most welcome. But unfortunately, the job is not yet done. This Fall
has just started."

As if on cue, an apprentice ran up. "You're needed, sir. A Blooded
Weyrling coming in."

"Get me a freshrobe and a cup of klah." The bronzerider gave the Master
a small, though sad smile. "And so it begins again."

Last updated on the February 25th 2011

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M'galec to the Rescue