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 Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:08 pm
"Keeta Harding?" A voice came from the door leading to the back. A woman stood there with a medical file in her hand. "The doctor will see you now."
Keeta got to her feet and followed the woman into the back of the clinic. They went through the routine of taking vitals, which was anything but routine to Keeta, who had never seen a blood pressure cuff in her life. After getting all the information she needed, the nurse dropped off Keeta in one of the rooms. After informing her that the doctor would be in shortly, the nurse left, closing the door behind her. Alone in the room, Keeta spent her time waiting examining the various charts and diagrams on the walls.
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Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:18 pm
"Wow, you're not what I expected."
The door opened on a lithe redhead with very pale skin and a long ponytail. Under her labcoat, the doctor wore a black turtleneck and black jeans; there was the impression that she ought to have gunbelts, but she looked absurdly young to have those 'accoutrements.' She was roughly 25, and her very sharp green eyes glanced from Keeta to the folder in her hands as if she wasn't sure she had the right room.
"You look like such a nice person," she continued dryly, closing the door behind her, "for the lifestyle you've been leading. Dr. London Witherspoon- how are you feeling about all of this, Ms. Harding?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:38 pm
Keeta was caught off guard by the abrupt manner in which Dr. London entered the room and addressed her. If she wasn't what the doctor had expected, that was all fine and dandy, because Dr. London wasn't what Keeta had expected either. None of the healers she had encountered in Evin had ever spoken to her like that, that she could remember.
"I....I'm rather shook up about it actually," she said after a moment. Keeta had thought about other ways she could have responded to what the doctor had said, but it wouldn't do to upset the person who was going to try and help her with the baby she was going to be having.
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Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:54 pm
"That's good. You SHOULD be. If a woman isn't freaking out at least a little bit, then I'm not really sure she ought to be having a baby...unless she's already got five. That's different."
Taking a seat in the rolling stool, Londy set the file aside and turned to face her patient. The signs of wear were evident on her features; it wasn't often the GMFC saw unexpected mothers. Most came to the Clinic to get help with getting pregnant, so they walked into it knowing what was going on.
"First things first," she continued, voice softening slightly, "everything really is gonna be okay. Women have babies all the time. You're about to get a new star in your life that will take up more of your attention than you EVER expected, but it's going to be wonderful. Have you been sick at all? Come up with any out-of-the-ordinary food allergies?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:47 pm
Keeta relaxed a bit, when the doctor's tone softened and it was clear, that for the moment at least, was she not going to reprimand her for getting into the situation she was in. In fact, Dr. London started to reassure her. She appreciated it more than she let on. It was nice to have someone tell her that it was going to be ok.
"I want it to be wonderful. But I'm still sort of scared, I don't know what to expect as far as the baby itself....As for being sick, I've thrown up a few times in the past couple weeks, but nothing other than that. I figure it's morning sickness though....from what little I know about being pregnant. "
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Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 8:04 pm
"Mmmhmm. You may experience eating disorders and unusual medical conditions-"
Londy paused, and regarded the other woman thoughtfully. "Wait. How familiar are you with our medical technology and terminology? You don't feel like a native Gaian; if I start throwing strange words at you, make sure you stop me. Basically, being pregnant changes a lot about the way your body works. You've been abusing yourself for a while...so that could have some side effects, too. For the baby to be safe and healthy, you'll have to clean up your act."
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Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:44 pm
"I know....and I will...." Keeta said somewhat meekly. "It's that kind of behavior that got me into this in the first place. I swear I haven't touched anything like that since I found out, but.....you're saying I could have already hurt the baby? Is there any way to find out, or help it, if I have? I've already messed up once. I don't want to make it worse without even knowing that I did it....." Concern was clearly written on the woman's face.
Keeta shook her head, before answering Dr. London's other question. "And, no, I'm not a native Gaian. I was born in Evin, a ways from here, across the ocean. We came in via the Isle of Gambino. I've been able to understand everything you've been saying to me so far, at least contextually. It's a lot of the technology that's confused me so far. For example, what was that thing they wrapped around my arm and got tight, before I came in here?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:27 pm
That made sense. The woman wasn't STUPID, after all, just unfamiliar with some of the items and phrases around her. Fair enough. "Blood pressure cuff. It tells us something about how well your body and heart are working. Your readings seem to be just fine, but it's routine to take your blood pressure and all of those other things the nurse did whenever you come in."
"As long as you keep yourself clean and stay away from any addictive substances- drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, etc.- you'll do fine going forward. Yes, some damage might have already been done. We have no way of knowing how much, if any, until you're farther along. But...that's to be expected. You have a good attitude, and that will make up for a lot of mistakes." She smirked a little, and cocked her head to the side. "And I'll be giving you a detailed nutrition guide, as well."
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Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:46 pm
"Oh." Was all Keeta could say to Dr. London's explanation of the blood pressure cuff and other things she had encountered earlier. So doing all that was normal? Guess I'd better get used to it...I'm probably going to be in here several more times before I'm through this, she thought to herself.
Keeta was a bit disheartened and scared to know that she might have already hurt the baby already, but it seemed like there was no use in worrying at the moment. There was no way to tell yet and the doctor didn't seem overly concerned....
"Nutrition guide? As in what to eat?" she asked. That wouldn't be a big problem for Keeta. As a half-elf, she tended to eat fairly "naturally" and consequently, healthy.
"I do have another question though...." she started, blushing again and spoke quietly, almost to the point of mumbling. (This really was becoming an unfortunate habit for her). "Is there any way of telling before my baby is born, what kinds of features it may have? My erm....partners....were diverse and I was wondering how that might affect my pregnancy? But I suppose that falls under the same category of whether I hurt it or not. It's too early?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:46 pm
"Got yourself in pretty deep, didn't you?" London asked dryly, and reached out to pat Keeta's hand. It was a surprisingly motherly gesture; Londy didn't seem the 'motherly' type at ALL. "Don't worry. There is SO much we can do with our level of technology; we can correct a lot of problems your baby might have, and when he or she is born we can identify the race of the father exactly. With all of the uncertainties you have, you came to the right place. Our staff holds counselors, doctors, nurses...all the people you both need to help you get through this well and happy."
In response to the nutrition question, she nodded and reached into the pocket of her labcoat. One slender hand emerged, fingers wrapped around a stout white bottle. "How to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, etc. One of these vitamins a day. That's going to be very important for you. There's also a chance that you might contract a few of the pregnancy-related conditions I was talking about earlier, so it's important that you come in regularly for checkups, even if you feel fine."
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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 4:22 pm
"I guess I did...." Keeta admitted, with embarrassment, in regards to the comment that Dr. London made about her situation. And she was indeed surprised by Dr. London's gesture. She would have never expected it with the way the Doctor had entered the room minutes before.
"You can?" Keeta asked in wonder when Dr. London told her that they would be able to identify the race of the father. All this technology was amazing to her. "Is it also true that you can take a picture of the baby when it's still inside of me? I thought I had heard about other people doing that."
Keeta took the vitamins from Dr. London's hand and turned the bottle over, reading the label. She would make sure she would do everything that she was told. She would do her best to make up for her screw-ups.
"Any other do's and don'ts? I want to make sure I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to. I don't want to make more of a mess of this, if I can help it."
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