I'm sorry, this chapter also got garbled. I've reposted it.
Tuesday morning in Tundra Town at the Free Clinic
"Fill out the top three forms, and make sure to sign the waivers at the bottom of the last page." The nurse at the TTFC front desk handed a pen and a clipboard of forms over to Judy.
As Judy scowled at the forms, Meredith looked down at her and asked "Do you need any help filling that out?" Judy waved her paw at her and replied, "No, I got this." She jumped down from the bench in front of the counter, and wandered over to a chair. Judy did turn back to say, "I don't have any IDs on me. I'm sorry."
"That's okay, dear, just fill it out as best you can." Meredith looked down at the nurse and she whispered back, "Most street mammals who come here either lost their IDs a long time ago or don't want to use their real names, for what ever reason. That's perfectly okay here – we just want to make sure they get the help they need first and foremost." Meredith nodded her head in response, and turned to look back at Judy. She was chewing on the end of the pen as she scowled at the forms.
Meredith glanced around the rest of the room, filled somewhat haphazardly with all sorts of different mammal species. A couple of caribou looking hung over, a sleeping arctic fox, a porcupine arguing with the wall, and another very tired looking arctic hare doe with a trio of crying kits. She pushed away from the counter, and wandered over to see if she could help the poor doe.
On the other side of the room, Hugo was taking to Victoria who asked him, "Where did you find her again?"
"What, last night? Or originally?" Hugo was a bit confused as to which question she meant. She grinned and helpfully clarified her statement in no way what so ever by replying, "Both!"
"Well, originally, she was a patient in a pilot art therapy program at Cliffside that I was conducting about thirteen years ago. She was responding very well in that program before it got shut down a few months later. I lost track of her after that, and didn't see her again until last night, wandering down a Tundra Town alleyway soaking wet."
"Shut down?" She asked him, "Why did you get shutdown if it was going good?"
"I don't know. I could never find out, but my best guess was that the program was too experimental for their administration. They were pretty conservative out there. But I did manage to get at least half of my patients transferred out of Cliffside before they shut me down. Just not her."
"Alright. Well, Sally should be able to get her back into a room just as soon as she is done with her forms and they'll get started with the physical stuff. You sitting in on this one?" Victoria queried him.
"I can, or Meredith over there can. Would it be a problem if I did?" He responded to her.
"I don't mind – it all depends on what the patient feels comfortable with. I do know that Amanda perked up when she heard you were coming down, so I'm not entirely sure you'd make it down the hall before she absconds with you."
"Amanda Panda? What does the good doctor want with me today?"
"She had a male patient come in first thing this morning that was slurring his words, and having trouble focusing without bursting into fits of giggles. She wasn't sure if it was drugs or head trauma. There weren't any injuries to the head or cranium, and the x-rays didn't show anything obvious. But she was concerned, none the less. You think you could take a look at him with her? She's got him sleeping downstairs in a bed at the shelter."
"Sure, I suppose. I'll just check up with her up now, and maybe met up with you all after that?"
Relieved, Victoria thanked him, "You are super! Yeah, Bob's not in yet, so we will have to wait at least until he examines her before we can get you a recovery treatment meal plan. We really not in a hurry here. I'm gonna want to do a blood draw, by the way. There's a nasty fungus running around the street community here, and early symptoms can look just like pneumonia, but since the anti-fungal has some serious side effects, I really don't want to prescribe it unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Okay, I will let her know, and then I'll go talk to Amanda." Hugo pushed off from the wall, walked over to Judy, and sat down next her. "Hey," he said to her.
Judy looked up at him, "Um, Hi?"
"They want me to go check on a patient downstairs who is apparently slurring and giggling. They don't know if it's drugs or head injury, so they would like my opinion on the matter. Is that okay with you?" He asked her.
"Sure, I suppose, as long Meredith is with me. Will you be coming back?"
"Absolutely. This shouldn't take to long. The doctor, Amanda, is pretty good, so I'm just going to see if she missed anything really. Oh, and Victoria wants to do some blood work. Would you be okay with a blood draw?"
Judy looked stricken, "Does she have too? I, um, really don't like needles."
Hugo patted her paw and tried to reassure her, "It's okay, they are just on the look out for a fungal lung infection that is making it's rounds. Seems the anti-fungal is pretty nasty, so they don't want to prescribe that if they don't have to." He cocked his head down, and looked at the forms she was filling out. "Jessica Lapin?" He rasied an eyebrow and cocked an ear at her in question.
Distracted and embarassed, Judy dropped her ears. "It's my street name. I don't have to use my real name here, do I?" She looked pleadingly at him, "You didn't tell them, did you?"
"No, you don't have to," he hurriedly tried to reassured her, "I just told Victoria that you were a former patient of mine, and that I found you wandering around Tundra Town last night soaked to the bone. As for your name, the TTFC doesn't submit any paperwork to the state or to any insurance companies unless you specifically ask them to. They are pretty good about keeping strict patient confidentiality here, even with their monthly reporting to the city. And they treat everybody alike – soldiers, civilians, kids and ex-cons. They don't discriminate. They don't care about your past, just your present, okay?" He reassured her, "Just let Meredith know about that, since she knows your real name. She'll understand why."
Judy nodded, and Hugo stood and walked down the hall. She finished the forms, and waked the clipboard back over to the front desk. The head nurse thanked her, saying "Thank you, dear. Sally will be out a few minutes to take you back. Why don't you have a seat?" She started to type on her computer keyboard, tuning out Judy.
Judy turned and walked over to where Meredith was sitting with the other arctic hare, each with a kit in their laps and the third one playing on floor. She sat down in the chair next to the larger doe, and stared off into space. The little doe on the floor, having identified an unclaimed lap, stood up and walked over to Judy's chair, pointing to her head and belted out loud, "UP!"
Judy, startled, stared back at the demanding little doe. Meredith chuckled, and turned to pick up the doe and place her in Judy's lap. Judy tried to protest, but Meredith just waved a paw at her and turned back to her conversation with the other hare. Judy turned back to the little doe sitting in her lap in trepidation and said, "Hello."
The kit smiled back up at her, and sang out "HI! Do you want to meet Mister Juniper Berry?" She held her little rabbit doll up to Judy, "Sure..." Judy replied, and she was given a rapid fire introduction to Mister Juniper Berry inter-spaced with complaints and explanations as to why the doe's two brothers were do-do heads. Judy just smiled, and tried to keep up.
"Jessica?" a pika nurse stood by the waiting room door, a clipboard in her paw. "Jessica Lapin?" she called again.
Judy perked up, and waved her paw, "That's me!" she called out. She turned to the doe in her lap and said, "Sorry, but I have to go see the doctor now." She picked up the little doe and set her down next to her, and climbed down out of the chair.
"Do you want to take Mr Juniper Berry with you so you don't get scared?" her pint-sized companion offered her. "No, that's okay," Judy assured her, "You keep her. Meredith here is coming with me. She can hold my hand." Meredith nodded this confirmation as well. "Okay, see you later!" the little doe called out. Judy waved back to her "Bye!"
"Sweet kit," Judy commented to Meredith as they weeded their way past the chairs. "She is, and the rest of her little family is too. I got their mother's contact info, so we will be seeing them again, I think." Meredith paused and then asked, "Jessica?"
"It's my street name," Judy tried to explain to Meredith. The older doe looked down at her and just replied "Okay."
"Jessica, I'm Sally Rosebay, and I'll be your nurse today. Come on back, and we'll get you started." The pika lead them back to an examination room, held the door open for them to file through, and came in after them. She bent down to a cabinet, and rooted around inside it for a rabbit sized examination gown which she handed to Judy. "What are we in for today, Jessica?" she asked.
Meredith handled the reply as Judy was busy undressing, "After effects of hypothermia and malnutrition."
Judy looked up in alarm as she was lacing up the gown, but Meredith just shook her head and smiled, tilting her ears over at Sally, who just jotted some notes down on her clipboard. "Okay, then let's take your measurements before Doctor Longs comes in for the exam." She had Judy step up on the scale, where she measured her height, then her weight. "Hmm.. Yup, you are underweight for your height and age, but that's okay. Bob will give you a diet plan that will get you fattened up in no time. His stuff is usually pretty tasty, and good for you too." she assured Judy.
"Fat?" Judy's ears twitched and fell back.
"Ain't nothing wrong with a little padding added to your hips, darling. It definitely helps bring the boys to your yard, I can tell you that." The pika's forward attitude had Meredith snickering behind her paw, and Judy's ears turned pink at the innuendo.
That's odd, Judy thought to herself, when did I turn back into such a prude? She stopped herself and pondered on it a bit. Well, three years of enforced celibacy on the streets didn't help, she admitted.
The door opened up, and a male capybara walked in. "Hello," he said and stuck out his paw to Judy, "I'm Roberto, the resident nutritionist here. I just have a couple of questions, if I may? Hum..." He looked at the clip board that Sally held out, "Yes, yes, definitely." He held his paw out to Judy, who tentatively took it. He felt her paw, wrist, and the muscles and bones of her arm. He also did a gentle pinch of her skin below her fur. He released her arm, and took a pen light out of his pocket.
"Open your mouth, please," he asked her. She leaned her head back a bit and opened wide, her eyes going over to Meredith, who smiled gently back to her. He examined the state of her teeth and tongue, making sure that the teeth weren't cracked or riddled with cavities and that her tongue was the right color. "May I ask what you've been eating lately?" he inquired of her.
Meredith came over and took up her other paw. Judy looked up at her, and silently thanked her for her forethought. She needed the support, and squeezed the offered paw a little bit. Turning back to the male, she replied honestly, "I've been living on the street for the past few years, eating what I could find out of dumpsters. I also ate a lot of kudzo, and other weeds." Looking up at the capyabra, she didn't see any of the judgment she feared, just sympathy.
He responded, "Kudzo's actually a pretty good food source and is rich in vitamins and minerals. It's just a bit poor in starches so it's not a good long term food source. Hum… Any food allergies?" he asked her. She shook her head. "Okay, well, we will start you off with some of the rabbit basics and add from there. Do you have a place to stay, like a shelter or someplace else with a kitchen? Or are you going back out on the streets?" He tilted his head and looked at her, no judgement in his voice, just concern.
"No, I've got a place to stay. Dr Weidii has offered me a place at his house up in Snowy Hills," she told him. Meredith squeezed her paw, and Judy looked up at her. "You can also stay with us if you want, luv," the doe kindly offered her, "We've got plenty of room." Judy just nodded, a little moisture creeping into her eyes at the kindness.
"Alright then," Roberto replied, "That works for me. Hugo's a decent enough cook, as long as you keep his desire to put hot peppers into everything he makes under control. Honestly, his contributions to our potlucks should come with warning signs attached," he shook his head.
The door opened, and Victoria walked into the examination room, which was running out of floor space with all the mammals crowded into it. "Doctor Longs!" Roberto greeted her. "Hello, Bob," she replied, "How goes our patient?"
"Good, good. I am done with my initial examination, so I'll go prepare a meal plan for her. She's all yours!" He shook Judy's paw again, and slipped past the stoat. Victoria took the clipboard that Sally offered, and Sally slipped out as well. As Victoria read the notes, she gestured for Judy to get up on the examination bed.
Judy climbed up into the bed, and Meredith sat down in the chair next to it. Victoria started her basic exam checking the eyes, ears and throat. "Any loss of sensation in your extremities? Any tingling or numbness in your fingers, toes, or the tips of your ears?" she asked Judy as she examined those body parts.
Judy shook her head, "No, they feel fine. But I am starting to wheeze and cough if I laugh or move too fast."
"Hum…" Victoria took out her stethoscope and hooked into her ears. "Sit up straight, please, and breath in deeply and slowly." she requested of Judy. As she did Victoria moved the stethoscope around Judy's chest. Victoria stepped back, and frowned. "I heard a little rattle in there that I don't like. It's probably the onset of pnemonia, typical of what I would expect of hypothermia in Tundra Town, but it could also be a fungal infection that we have going around right now, so I would have to take a blood sample to be sure. Will you be okay with that, Jessica?" she tilted her head at Judy.
Judy looked a little nervous, "I don't really like needles," she told Victoria. "That's okay, we don't need to do another needle," Victoria assured her, "We can just use the IV tap on your paw. Nice job, by the way. Did you do that?" She turned to Meredith. "Hugo said you were a nurse over at TTC."
"Head Nurse of the Maternity wing, actually. Thank you. I am a pretty good stick, if I do say so myself, Doctor." Meredith sat up straight, and placed her paw over her heart.
Victoria smiled, "Just Victoria, dear. We aren't big on formality here." She turned back to Judy, "I'll check with Bob, but I think we can also do a glucose pack after the blood draw, to replenish the lost fluids. He'll probably also want to do a vitamin booster, so that can go into the IV without needing another needle. And until we get the blood work back and know for certain what we are dealing with in your lungs, I'm going to go ahead and prescribe an AZ-Pak for you to start with. Have you taken an AZ-Pak before?" Judy just nodded, but she wasn't about to explain why.
"Alright, I'll be back in a few minutes. Sally will be in shortly do the blood draw, and hook up the IV." She took her leave. Meredith took that as an opportunity to climb up on the bed next to Judy, who was looking a little overwhelmed, and give her a hug.