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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Beyond - Legends "Wasting the Day in Bedlam" - Dear Diary Challenge 2012- Updated 10/16

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by TrakNar, Jan 2, 2012.

  1. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    You know, since the boards are back and I have a nice back log, I'm gonna kick it off with a memo from Dr. Karastee.

    From the desk of Dr. Gawynn Karastee

    Over the weeks since his initial ECT treatment course, I have been observing Zuckuss and his treatment has been progressing admirably. He had responded well to his ECT, and I will schedule him for monthly maintenance treatments. He has also maintained good behavior, which supports the theory that his outbursts were triggered by inmate involvement. If Zuckuss maintains this behavior on a consistent basis for one full month, I will put in a recommendation to have him be acclimated to the honor programs.

    However, there is an upcoming change in Zuckuss's routine that I am concerned about. Recently, Dr. Melmit Waltrap from the Behavioral Health Unit of Republic Central has been called in and the acting warden has expressed interest in having Dr. Waltrap work with Zuckuss. Dr. Waltrap is a respected individual, but I worry how this change will affect Zuckuss. Zuckuss responds well to constants and routine. He had functioned in the past with the assistance of 4-LOM. I had attempted to maintain a constant presence, while requesting that his guards and security detail do the same.

    Dr. Waltrap's presence may upset this balance, which may trigger a relapse of Zuckuss's symptoms. I will explain my concerns with the warden and see what can be done to make this transition as smooth as possible.

    Though, it has come to my attention that this change may be in response to my involvement in Zuckuss's care. I will speak to the warden regarding this and I will not allow him to take me off the case. Zuckuss has shown signs of a promising prognosis, and giving his case to another doctor may undo that.
     
  2. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    yes continuing with a nice interesting post
     
  3. Hazel

    Hazel Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2010
    I missed Zuckuss. I'm glad he appears to be better. Let's hope he doesn't get into trouble.
     
  4. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    Very nice update. Hopefully he won't be too upset by change.
     
  5. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    Got a new entry written up. Well, this was originally going to be a later entry, but I decided to use it now. I'll delve into the backlog in due time.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Fourth month, [illegible] day, 28 ABY

    Another sleepless night. There has been a mix-up with his medication. Somehow, Dr. Karastee was taken off of his case while she was on holiday, and Dr. Waltrap put on. But Dr. Waltrap, despite his title, is not a doctor (he is a psychologist) and cannot [prescribe] medicine. Karastee is back and she [illegible] had word with the warden, but due to some mishap with flimsiwork, Zuckuss can't get his medicine until next week!

    In the meantime, Zuckuss has been exercising at night to try and exhaust himself. Push-ups, sit-ups, stretches, crunches, [short] of [illegible] running laps in his cell. It hasn't helped. He had grown accustomed to a human sleep schedule, and now when he can't sleep, it bothers him. Also, the withdrawl [sic] [illegible] [symptoms] from being off of his medication [illegible] are bothersome. Worse than the side-effects. He hates these dizzy spells! He hates the [illegible] blurred vision! He wants his medicine!

    How could [illegible] this happen? Why did it happen? Blasted [illegible] insurance! Dammit, if the warden knew the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist, this wouldn't have happened!

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Doctor's note: I cannot apologize enough, but this matter is out of my hands. I had a planned holiday set, and I had put in an order to refill Zuckuss's medication before I left. Somehow, while I was away, the acting warden had taken it upon himself to assign my duties to Dr. Melmit Waltrap, including prescribing medication. Dr. Waltrap is licensed only to counsel; he is not a medical doctor. He cannot prescribe medication and he certainly cannot schedule and administer maintenance ECT treatments!

    Zuckuss will not be able to receive his medication until about five to six days, due to this error. He has been off of his medication for about four days now. This is troublesome as it only takes five days for him to metabolize and flush any remaining medication from his system. After this, once he starts on his medicine again, it will take another six to eight weeks for the drugs to reach therapeutic levels in his bloodstream. It is also unsafe for Zuckuss to be stopping and starting his medication like this.

    This has become a source of contention between the warden and I, and with Dr. Waltrap's involvement, it has started to affect our relationship as well. I cannot blame Dr. Waltrap for this, as he himself had informed the warden that he can't prescribe medication. Dr. Waltrap can help in Zuckuss's cognitive and behavioral therapy, but he cannot administer any medical treatments. As the acting psychiatrist, I am the only one on Zuckuss's case who is qualified. And thus, I am livid that the warden felt that with Dr. Waltrap's involvement, I was no longer needed. —Dr. Gawynn Karastee

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    Tags: AzureAngel2, earlybird-obi-wan, Hazel, Jedi_Lover

    I am loving this tag system. :p
     
  6. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    Oh...I would be livid. What the hell, isn't there communication devices that can contact a medical doctor somewhere? It sounds like the warden is not running a very tight ship.
     
  7. Hazel

    Hazel Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2010
    Not being able to sleep sucks. I hope this isn't going to be a major set back ib Zuckuss' recovery.
     
  8. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Yeah, you are back with a great update. Because most of my days seem like a stay in Bedlam since I was stupid enough to go working in the Netherlands instead of staying in Germany and earning decent money there as a teacher, I seek things that cheer me up. Like the sunflowers outside in the garden, the neighbour cat AND this fanfic!

    I hope everything will be back to normal for Zuckuss soon! That is dreadful, but unfortunately those mistakes also happen in RL in hospitals & clinics.
     
  9. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    Those things do indeed happen all the time. It doesn't take much, either, for someone to sign the wrong paper or look at the wrong chart, and suddenly, your appointment gets dumped so that someone else can have it. Or, your meds get lost. Not even the GFFA is immune to human error.

    That entry was inspired by true events, as I'm dealing with a medication mishap. Long story short, I moved and had to change doctors. I'm still a patient in the same system, but now seeing another doctor in a different location. I make an appointment in Gettysburg, the office cancels it and schedules it in York, where I don't live and can't get to, and of course, they don't inform me about this. So, I have to cancel that appointment, update my address with them (again, since I had already done this through Intake), and then reschedule the appointment in Gettysburg. This time, I couldn't get a sooner appointment, so I ran out of meds and won't get them until next week. Haven't slept worth a damn and I'm aggravated with the office.
     
  10. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    That sucks. I like my doctor because I can leave a voice message and she can email the pharmacy and they give me more drugs. I think if all else failed I would go to the ER if I was out of meds and having a lot of problems. I live in the middle of nowhere so usually there is nobody in the ER and it acts as a Urgent Care clinic. I went there two weeks ago because it was Friday night and I couldn't see my doctor until Monday and I was having medical problems. They gave me a week prescription and made me promise to follow up with my doctor...which I did. But I can do that since Military Health insurance has low copays.
     
  11. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    That sucks. For Zuckuss and for you. And a really interesting update.
     
  12. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    I know how you feel. The Dutch doctor, a young starter, that treats the rush on my chest since a couple of weeks gave me the wrong medicines. Now I have little scars all over my chest and the rush spread onto my back. We still do not know what caused it. But the worst thing, now the rush spread elsewhere & he won´t send me on to another doctor. I am in constant pain since my last appointment with him on Friday. And my husband is fed up to listen to my complaints that something like this never would have happened in Germany. I feel like some toy rabbit here.

    So reading fanfic late at night helps a bit. I cannot sleep anyhow with the pain.

    Sorry, dear bird, but I am very upset with the Dutch health system. And you know how the Dutch education system treats me as a teacher since 5 years.

    This is perhaps why I feel so sympathetic with Zuckuss. I know how it is to be trapped in a bad place with no easy way out.

    Please write on, dear TrakNar!
     
  13. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    I'm gonna have to get my butt in gear and post these rapid-fire if I intend to catch up with this month. To help that along, I am skipping a number of backlogged entries and will attempt to address them in Karastee's notes, if those entries are of any importance. I am also tweaking a number of dates. The forum move really tripped me up with this.

    Anywho... typed up another entry. I'm gonna attempt to post a number of entries this week, so I can catch up.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Fourth month, 22nd day, 28 ABY

    Zuckuss has not been feeling very well, and his cough had gotten bad and frequent [enough] that he was sent to the infirmary for tests. Zuckuss had been coughing up a considerable amount of mucous, so he was given a breathing treatment and started on a course of antibiotics. The attending also prescribed a cough medicine with a narcotic pain-reliever, which—no surprise—Zuckuss cannot keep in his cell.

    [illegible] His breathing is a bit better and he was discharged from the infirmary and [illegible] sent back to his cell. The antibiotics [upset] his stomach and the cough medicine makes him tired... and very elated. Very elated. Even though he sleeps all day and has [strange] [illegible] dreams.

    Zuckuss spoke to Dr. Karastee about what he saw in the mists, that the others know that he [illegible] uncovered that [weapons] cache and that they are displeased with him, to say the least. Karastee urged Zuckuss to be very careful and remain vigilent. [sic] He also heard her speak to his guards and request that they maintain a [illegible] tight security on him.

    Well, it is light's out, and the medical droid is coming to give Zuckuss his medication. perhaps the [illegible] mists will come to him in his dreams, and give him hints as to what he can expect...

    -----------------------------------------------------

    Doctor's note: Zuckuss's fears are not unfounded. A few weeks ago, as he was being returned to his cell after spending his rec in the workshop, an inmate threatened him. That evening, I was called in, as Zuckuss was refusing his meal. I was asked to speak to him about that, as the guards suspected that he was initiating a hunger strike. As inmates will do this from time to time, I was asked to find out why, and persuade Zuckuss that starving himself will not accomplish his goals.

    However, Zuckuss said plainly that it was not a hunger strike. He told me in no uncertain terms that the mists told him to refuse his meal, that there was something wrong with it. I asked the guards to take his meal and check it. Sure enough, tests came back positive; his meal had been poisoned. As inmates often work in meal preparation, and others will deliver the meals, we suspect that the poisoning happened either in the kitchen or during transit to the pod. The meal was disposed of and the floor warden will look into who was working that night and see if he can determine a suspect.

    In the meantime, I asked one of the guards to fetch Zuckuss a meal from the employee kitchen. I also spoke with the floor warden regarding the incident, and Zuckuss will be receiving his meals from the employee kitchen from now on.

    This was not an isolated incident, and this will have no detriment on Zuckuss's integration into the honor programs. Dr. Waltrap and I have been working with Zuckuss and he has been making considerable progress. He has not received any disciplinary write-ups for nearly three months. —Dr. Gawynn Karastee

    ------------------------------------------------------------

    Tags: AzureAngel2, earlybird-obi-wan, Hazel, Jedi_Lover
     
  14. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Nice to see that the poison was averted by Zuckuss's fear and dr Karastee
     
  15. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    You really make me think hard what is real and what not with your story.
     
  16. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    Alright, clearing out another month, so let's go, go, go!

    Fifth month, [illegible] day, 28 ABY

    Zuckuss is scheduled for and eye exam in a couple days. Drs. Karastee and Waltrap noticed how Zuckuss leans in to read [documents], so they assume that he may have some vision difficulty. They asked if he had gotten eye exams [before], and he said only in the Alliance, He was deemed [near-sighted], but was told that [illegible] it was minor and didn't require correction.

    Zuckuss's medication is [illegible] taking effect, and he is getting drowsy. It is affecting how he thinks. He is going to get some [sleep].

    -------------------------------------------------------------

    Fifth month, [illegible] day, 28 ABY

    Zuckuss had an eye exam today. The [exam] was conducted by a medical droid with programming on Gand physiology. The droid was brought in after the optometrist failed to get an accurate (or rather, any reading) with a standard test of eye pressure. So, a droid was brought [illegible] in, and the test [illegible] redone using a metal probe—on each of Zuckuss's lenses! It was time-[consuming], but [illegible] necessary, as Zuckuss had not recieved [sic] a routine [eye] exam in years. He was long overdue.

    After the [exam], [illegible] Zuckuss was informed that he was near-sighted , with the right eye worse than the [illegible] left. As of right now, correction options are limited to corrective lenses for inmates. Also, Zuckuss's species makes [fitting] him for such devices practically impossible. As Zuckuss has no difficulty with his vision in his [illegible] day-to-day functioning, aside from reading and depth perception, he has [illegible] declined any vision correction.

    [illegible] Dr. Karastee, who [accompanied] Zuckuss for his exam, suggested that he consider using a hand-held magnifier for reading. If he is permitted, then he will [use] one.

    In the meantime, though, Zuckuss needs to rest his eyes. They're tired from being poked and having light shone in them!

    --------------------------------------------------------------

    Doctor's note: As he explained, Dr. Waltrap and I have noticed that Zuckuss exhibits some difficulty with reading documents. He either leans in to read his court flimsis, or he holds them close to his face. I have noticed that he will squint when focusing on far-off objects. While we were accompanying him to the interview room, I asked Zuckuss to read a sign that was at the end of the hall. He squinted and admitted that he could not read it clearly enough to discern what it said. The sign was identifying the junction to the chapel and visiting rooms.

    This difficulty may play a part in his Basic reading skills, as if he cannot read the words clearly enough, he will have difficulty in reading overall. If the parole board allows it, then we will put in an order for a hand-held magnifier that Zuckuss can use when he needs to read documents. It would be made of a single piece of a clear polymer, as we don't want him breaking it, or others stealing it and potentially using it to create weapons. Zuckuss has shown that he can be trusted with a number of pre-approved items that would otherwise be deemed as contraband, and he has no record of creating or possessing shanks.

    With how cooperative Zuckuss is with staff, I will use this evidence to integrate him into other programs and get him another step closer to his eventual release. —Dr. Gawynn Karastee

    -----------------------------------------------------------------

    Tags: AzureAngel2, earlybird-obi-wan, Hazel, Jedi_Lover
     
  17. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    Why do I think the "Over 30 Writer's Club" thread inspired this update?;) You couldn't give him a normal eye puff test, you had to pull out the metal probes. :( Poor guy. Now I really feel bad for him. Ouch!
     
  18. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Poor Zuckuss having those tests. Reflecting your own?
     
  19. Hazel

    Hazel Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2010
    I hate those test! I can definitely sympathise with Zuckuss.
     
  20. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    Yep, I drew upon the eye-poke test from my specialist. One visit, I had it done twice, as the first time, the drops didn't get in my eyes and numb them properly, so they put in the drops again, waited, and then redid the test. I was still recovering from eye surgery, so the drops were doing weird things with my right eye. It stayed dilated for two days! I looked pretty weird for a while...

    But yes, compound eyes with each lens being a unit of the eye and each unit possessing its own vitreous body, then each lens would no doubt need to be tested individually to assess intra-ocular pressure. Basically multiplying our own simple eyes into a compound eye. Though one thing that Zuckuss lucked out on would be the dilating drops; he has no iris and no pupil, and thus nothing to dilate. And each eye unit is connected directly to the optic nerve, so no retina, either. Just a conical structure of photoreceptor cells surrounded by support and pigment cells.
     
  21. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    ACK! Why are you torturing that poor boy! That sounds absolutely awful! It gives me the shivers just thinking about it.:(
     
  22. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    Oh, come on... you know that torturing characters is fun... ;)
     
  23. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    You sound like MsLanna/ Etain. She also likes to torture her characters. Anyway, chilling update!