Bad bedside manners

Writers: Eimi, Paula
Date Posted: 20th June 2006

Characters: Lymria, Chupsin
Description: Lymria brings her sick children to a less than hospitable Chupsin
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 12, day 4 of Turn 3

Lymria rather enjoyed having more children to take care of than her son, except when they got sick. She was holding her crying baby against her shoulder, while little girl hung from her other hand. She wished the journeyman would receive them fast. Chupsin walked down the row of cots to the mother with her two children. "Have you been helped yet?" "No, we haven't," Lymria said, worry making her tone sharp.

"Well, I'm very sorry ma'am, but since we have all the Amber Hills refugees here now too we are slightly understaffed. We are going as fast as we can." Obviously not fast enough for _some_ people. "Now what seems to be the trouble?"

"They're sick, obviously. Both are vomiting and Omrian has fever," Lymria told. Oh, yes, _obviously_. Like he could just _look_ at a child and know what's wrong with them! "All right, which one is Omrian?"

"The baby is Omrian, the girl is Lyale," Lymria answered, wondering where he had learned his bedside manners. Or the lack of them.

"Well, lets check them out then, shall we?" He indicated that she should take them to a small office room off to the side. "Have they been in here before? Do we have records for them?"

"No and no. We came from Amethyst Cliff hold and possible records are buried somewhere there," Lymria answered. Of course they didn't have any paper work. _No one_ ever seemed to have any paper work. "Well, then if you just wait right there in that room for me, I'll just grab a new set of hides for them and I will be right with you."

"How about treating your patients first and worrying over the hide-work later?" Lymria asked with annoyed voice. Like on cue, Lyale started gagging again. "Do you have a bowl?" Lymria asked.

He walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a bucket and set it in front of the girl. "I'm sorry ma'am, but so far I have seen nothing that would make me think that this is a terrible emergency that it can't wait five minutes, and the hidework _is_ important. We need to know a bit about the age, weight, medical history, allergies and whatnot so we can decide what kind of medicine we can prescribe. I will be back in just a moment."

Lymria let out few of the more colourful trader-expressions when the little girl threw up. "For Faranth's sake, just give me some nutmegoid bark, meadowsweet or maybe mint would be better since it eases stomach craps, and I take care of their treatment myself!" The only reason why she had come to the infirmary was that she had no herbs.

"I don't give our stores away to just _anyone_ ma'am. I don't even know your qualifications," though she had been annoyingly accurate in her herbal knowledge. "If you will just wait a moment while I get the paper work started, I will give the children what they need. Please calm down and let me do my job. You will upset the children and make it all worse."

"My grandmother is a master healer, she sharding knew what she was teaching me," Lymria said thru clenched teeth and sat down to calm down Lyale, who had also started to cry. She touched her forehead and neck. "She's getting fever too." "And you are wasting time. If you would have just _shut up_ and let me do my job, I could have had the hidework here and finished by now. You are not helping _anyone_ by trying to tell me how to do my job. I will be back in a minute." He turned around and didn't care she screamed to the red star, he was not going to be told what to do in his own infirmary!

Lymria counted slowly to the ten to control her temper. She reminded herself that she was no longer in a trader caravan where everyone was expected to do their part and efficiency was more important that formality, nor was she longer lady of a minor hold, but a young widow and refugee, with three children to take care in a horribly hide-bound hold. Chupsin quickly returned with hidework and pen in hand. "Now, let me see the little boy first."

Lymria handed him the baby without a single word. She was worried that Omrian was getting dehydrated, being unable to held anything inside him. "Does he have any allergies you know of?" the journeyman asked as he took the boy's temperature and listened to his heart.

"No allergies. He's been a healthy baby." "And they doth became sick at the same time?" he asked as he handed the little boy back. "What about the third child?"

"Yes, last night. Torgny is not sick as far as I can tell, he's at the harper class. I did tell him to come home right away if he felt sick in anyway," Lymria replied. Well, at least that was good thinking. "Well, I think its probably just a stomach flu. At least I can see nothing that would make me thing otherwise. The girls name is?"

"Lyale, age five," Lymria kept her answers short. _SHE_ could have told it was just a stomach flu. That didn't make the kids any less sick. Chupsin took out the hide and marked down the information for them both. "And your name?"

"Lymria." "And you are their mother?" He hoped this rude and impossible woman hadn't managed to actually breed.

"Only Omrian's, rest of them are fosterlings," Lymria replied with unfriendly look in her eyes. Really, where had they found this healer?
He had obviously slept past the lessons of bedside manners. "But you are the fosterlings sole guardian?"

"That's bit unclear yet," Lymria replied. "Unclear?" Chupsin asked with eyebrow raised. This woman just more and more annoying...

"They are orphans, the Steward is finding out if they have relatives willing to take them, or will I keep them." "I see." He hoped for the children's sake a family member could be found. "Well, I will go get some herbs for the children, and a fortifying herb to help you and the third child resist catching the flu.
Don't be afraid to give them fluids. They may throw it up later, but its better than having nothing in their stomach."

Lymria just nodded automatically. That man would have never survived in a trader-caravan!

Last updated on the June 20th 2006

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Bad bedside manners