Fort Weyr - Central Infirmary
This room looks fairly similar to most other infirmaries, with it's faint scent of antiseptic and an eerie quiet that goes along with convalescence. Rows of cots line both walls, each separated by a privacy screen. Breaking the line of cots along the outside wall is a entrance to the dragonhealing section of the infirmary. The far end of the oval room is filled with metal cabinets that hold the tools of the Weyrhealers trade, as well as a desk from which the healer can supervise his domain. Upon one wall rests a thick 'chart' containing the information on all patients within the infirmary.
Aaaaahhh, noontime. It is just after lunchbreaks for the candidates, and the first aid lesson scheduled to be taught by Pralius is finally ready to begin. Though he's announced an open door policy for the class, the candidates and residents who are there at the beginning get a special treat: they get to see how the back room of the infirmary looks before class starts.
Several tables and reclining chairs have been set up in the back area usually reserved for the healers' breaks. Each table has a similar compliment of first aid medical supplies. Bandages, gauze, splints, pressure wraps, and much, much more, all spread and neatly organized on their surfaces. Pralius stands, both hands on his cane, left leg still tightly wrapped in the soft, splinted cast of late healing, back to the wall, waiting for his 'students' and hoping really hard that he wouldn't screw up.
Risner, not quite finished with his lunch, just brings it along with him. At least as far as the doorway. There, he hastily stuffs the last bit of meatroll into his mouth, rubs his fingers on his pants, and proceeds inward. He's still chewing when he finally gets to the back room, but at least there are no crumbs! A hand is lifted in greeting towards Pralius, and he offers an awkward, full-mouth-stuffed sorta smile.
Moydeo hurries into the infirmary from lunch, oh man, why'd this have to be called at lunch time? She slows to a walk though when she reaches the door to the infirmary, and walks in, getting pointed to the back room. She walks into the room, and nods to those there already. "Hello." She says, giving Risner, and Pralius, a smile.
The Pralius before the assembled candidates is not their friend. It's neither the fun-loving Pralius with the odd coat nor the dedicated healer Pralius looking at their hurts, no, this is much scarier. This Pralius bear the face of an Apprentice determined to see a Journeyman's knot on their shoulder no matter what. Once the bulk of those who have decided to arrive on time, if on time matters for an 'open door' class, Pralius bangs his cane once on the floor for quiet, then glares at a pair of twelve-turn-old candidates who keep chatting until the quiet. Then there's a hint of the usual Pralius in a nod and a smile to his friends before he moves on into his 'lecture':
"This class is to help you learn basic first aid. Should you impress and chose to ride search and rescue or should you be left on the sands it will serve you well. There's no way I could teach you all the ins and outs of healing in a week, let alone a few hours, but I shall attempt to instruct you in the basics. Should you wish further training you can seek out one of the other healers or myself at another time." He turns, half-limping to where the afore-mentioned twelve-turn-olds have begun making faces at eachother as if he wouldn't notice. Banging his cane at their feet, he snarls softly, "You. What is necessary to know before applying numbweed to an open wound?"
The boy looks at him like he just spat up a toad, turning instead to Moy, he asks more nicely, "Moydeo, do /you/ know when you should or shouldn't apply numbweed to a wound?"
As the tone of the lesson is set, Risner's expression turns serious. He gives Mo a little smile, but he's soon giving Pralius is full and complete attention, nodding his head. Those twelve-turn-olds are mostly ignored, though they do get a sympathetic wince at the Apprentice's singling them out. And then Mo. Hm. Risner himself is looking a little lost, (and a little grateful the question was not toward him).
Oh boy, this should be a fun class. Moydeo eyes the twelve turn olds that are making faces, and chatting, and then winces as they're singled out, and then she'ss singled out, shards, why her? "Um, don't apply to really deep wounds, as it might cause infection." She's completely guessing though. "And apply to wounds to help stop bleeding, as well as to numb the injury spot?"
Pralius frowns at Moy for a moment, then grins broadly, "Mostly right. Applying numbweed to any improperly cleaned wound can cause infection. Applying numbweed to especially deep wounds or in especially large quantities can actually /cause/ bleeding instead of help staunch in. Deep wounds should be surface numbed only, and wrapped until they can be seen to by a trained healer." He pauses for a moment, then turns, pointing at a young girl around 14 or 15, "You. What do we use to clean and disinfect wounds?"
She looks completely flustered for a moment, then stammers out, "r-r-r-redwort?" Praliuns nods, then turns, raising an eyebrow at Risner, "So, bartender turned candidate, what should you do if someone breaks a limb?"
Risner does a quick little double-take as it's his turn. There's a furrowing of his eyebrows, a little frown to his lips, and when he answers, it's likely not what Pralius expected. "Um. What kind of break? I mean, is there bone through the skin?"
Moydeo nods to Pralius., and then listens to the other girl, and then looks to Risner for the answer. She silently takes in the info already given, and listens for more.
Pralius shakes his head, "Let's keep it simple for now. Single break, no bone showing, no broken skin, but your friend certainly isn't walking home. What do you do?" That cane is tapping gently again.
There's a moment of silence as Risner gives the question considerable thought. "Well, I'd probably try to, ah, how do you say it? Stablize his leg or something, so it doesn't, um, move or something. I dunno. Are we on mountian?" Technicalities. Risner eventually just gives up and decides, "I dunno what to do besides just not move him."
Moydeo erms. "But if you're on the mountain." Or wherever else it could of happened. "You would need to get help. Coudn't you, after stabilizing it, help them back to here, or help, by supporting them on one side. Or if there's three of you, on both sides?" She asks, and stops, realizing the question wasn't asked of her. "Ooops, sorry."
Pralius nods, bringing the cane down with a soft but echoing thump, "It's called splinting." He points to the wooden splints on either side of his left fibula and tibia, "These are wooden splints, the most common and easiest to fabricate in the wilds. Any cloth can be used, even bits of a torn t-shirt, to bind them to the leg as a temporary cast." He turns on Moy, eyes hard, then they soften, "Yes, you /can/ help them down or to the nearest infirmary if necessary. However, with as many firelizards as there are today, if anyone present as one, it's better to send them for help since healers and search and rescue riders often bring stretchers with them, making the transit even safer."
There's a bit of a smile on Risner's face. He got it half right, sorta! Pralius' splinted leg is given a quick look, curious but studious, Risner's head tilted to the side a little. His own firelizard, around his neck, appears to be deeply asleep despite the lesson going on. "Not sure if Absinthe could do it," he murmurs. But it's more a curiosity than a question.
Moydeo nods to Pral. "That's true as well." She agrees with him. It is hard to find somebody that doesn't have atleast one firelizard of their own. Her youngerst, and strangest looking, brown, Garou is curled up on her shoulder, dozing. "Well, if you can train them to take messages, I guess you can send them for help." She says.
Pralius nods, prodding Ivy gently awake with his right hand before continuing, "They usually manage to get the point across pretty well, especially when it's their bonded that's hurt." Yeah, he knows that one from experience. He turns, sweepingly indicating the prepared rests and healing items, "Please get into groups of two or three and practice making a soft cast like the one on my left leg. Be careful, though. I'll be watching."
Risner gives a bob of his head, though Absinthe remains unconcious to the world. He heads for the nearest setup, glancing back at Mo obviously in hopes that she'll be in his group. "Wanna tie it on my leg?" he offers, giving his leg a poke.
Moydeo watches the other candidates pair, or trio, off, as she heads after Risner, and nods. "Sure, take a seat." She says, and eyes the provided things, and then Pralius' leg speculatively for a moment. Hmm, she'd certainly do her best.
Pralius waits until the groups have managed to form, forcing a few when one less popular boy is left standing alone, then limps through the groups and between the tables watching here and there. Occasionally making corrections, but only once does he let out an outraged sigh. The two twelve-turn-olds have outdone themselves. Somehow, more interested in fun than in learning to tie a splint, they managed to tie themselves together with the bandage and gauze such that they now look more like a kidosaurus than two candidates. Pral doesn't seem to know what to do with them for a moment, then, taking his belt knife, he slits them apart without damaging either, then just glares at them until the turn and run from the room. Scary apprentice Pralius is in.
"Alright," says Risner, sitting down and stretching his leg out. He goes so far as to plop his foot on the table, so his leg is accessible. "Just keep it below the knee, kay?" he says with a grin. "I'm not Milo, but hey." There's a glance towards Pralius, and Risner hmms. "Start with the stick-thing?" he offers Mo, totally ignoring the crazy twelve-turn-olds.
Moydeo nods to Risner. "Right, start with the sticks." She says, and picks them up, placing them on either side of the 'break', before starting to wrap it, and the sticks, in gauze, before she works on the bandage. She blinks, and looks up at the sigh from Pralius, and spots the twelve turn olds, and rolls her eyes. "Shards, can't kids take anything serious?" She mutters to Risner, as she works on tying the splint to his leg. "Let me to know if I do anything too tight." She says to Risner, I mean he's not /really/ injured, so she'd hate to bruise him or something.
Pralius continues working his way down the row. Some of the groups are doing quite well. Others… not so much. One group even seemed to think that they should splint the whole leg, leaving their group member completely unable to walk. When he finally gets to Moy and Ris' table he nods, making an approving noise, "Good start. Just be sure to wrap it tight so that it doesn't come off during transit." He grins, then moves on, continuing his stream of observations
Moydeo looks up, and nods to Pralius. "Got it, I don't want to bruise him though." She says, hoping the serious apprentice can understand that. She continues to tie, finally adding the bandage as well, wrapping, and tying it over the sticks, and gauze, biting her lip as she concentrates.
Pralius finally reaches the end of the row, then turns back, nodding, "I think that was good practice for all of you. Take a brief break," he points at a table off to the side with citrus juice and some finger snacks. "Once you've eaten lightly, we'll move on to some of the more complicated things."
Moydeo finally finishes, and evidently it's approved. She sits back, and nods to Pralius, as she moves to stand up again. She heads for the table, and gets some juice, and finger snacks, bringing some back for Risner as well. She looks around for a moment at the other 'teams' blinking for a moment at the one poor guy with the leg completely wrapped up. She does munch on the snacks though, along with Ris.
Pralius nods, watching carefully who eats what and how much before banging his cane on the floor to call them back to attention. It works oddly well. "Now. Who can tell me the most important thing about a head wound?"
Some jump a bit at the banging of the cane on the floor. But they look up at Pralius at the qqueestion. "Uh, try and stop the bleeding, and wrap it securely?" Moydeo makes another guess at it, looking to the others.
Pralius grins a tad evilly, "Good guess, but it depends on the kind of head wound. That's fine for mild lacerations, but what about a concussion?"
Moydeo hmms. "Uh, don't…let them sleep for several hours, because they might not wake up if they sleep?" She says, that was some what right for a concussion, right?
Pralius nods, "Good." Then he turns, staring down a boy who appears to be 15 or 16 and drilling him the uses of fellis before turning back to the group as a whole, "Who here know how to find a pulse?" Several hands shoot up and he waits to see how many.
Well, good for them that do know it, cause Moydeo doesn't know how. Oh, wait, yeah she does, from the excercises, atleast to a point, so she raises her hand.
Pralius smiles and nods, "I want everyone who does know how to pair up with someone who doesn't and help them practice. Remember. There's more than one place to take a pulse, people. Practice all the ones you know." And he begins prowling again as groups form, correcting placement here or showing another method there.
Moydeo pairs up with one that didn't know, though the only ones she knows really are the obvious ones, on the side of the kneck, and on the wrist. So, she shows her how to do those.
Pralius nods, mostly making affirmative sounds this time around, though he does stop by one pair and correct them from using the thumb to using the forefinger, announcing to the whole class, "There's a small pulse in the thumbs as well, so you should never use them to check another pulse location. Also, don't forget that in the case of a light or thready pulse you can always lean in and listen to the heart itself." Then he continues prowling, giving Moy a nod as he passes.
Moydeo nods to Pralius, as she looks up and listens, along with Risner, and the one she's partnered with. "Uh, how do you find the ones in the thumb?" One of the other candidates asks.
Pralius rolls his eye slightly, then does his best to chuckle, "You don't. It's no reliable and is very irregular. But it's beating can ruin your count on a different pulse." Turning on the nearest gathering, though the question is posed to the entire group, "If you were on the mountain today and found someone there, non-responsive and a light or thready pulse, what should you do?"
"Send a firelizard for help!" One of the younger ones pipe up immediately at the question. "Make sure the air way is clear, and make them comfortable, and warm till help arrives?" Another says. Moydeo is quiet for a moment, just listening.
Pralius nods to the youngster, then to the older lad, "Both correct answers. What if it were the middle of summer?"
Moydeo hmms. "Try and give in the water, and if really hot, move them into the shade, carefully?" She says, unsure if that was right, even though, you're not supposed to move the injured, right?
Pralius gives Moy an odd, sideways glance, then shakes his head, "That could be right… or very, very wrong. For one, you should never just poor water down someone's throat. Always use a clean rag or similar medium to drip it slowly so that the patient doesn't choke on the help. Second, it is possible for someone to be too dehydrated to drink, in which case apply water to the forehead, lips, and other exposed skin could be more useful and less dangerous. Though all of you," he indicates the entire gathering, "made the same simple mistake with both cold and hot. You should /always/ check pulse and breathing first." He turns back to Moy, "Why?"
Moydeo oohs, and nods in understanding, see? It was good that she took this, she could of killed the person. All the group blinks for a moment, but Moydeo hmms. "To make sure they're alive?" She asks.
Pralius nods, "That's certainly the important part. However, it's not as true in the cold. Someone's heatbeat can be so faint as to seem silent, but they can still be alive." He turns, addressing the whole group again, "You're not dead until you're /warm/ and dead. The human body has amazing resiliency. Still, there's another reason, too. The threadier the heartbeat and more ragged or slow the breathing, the more danger they're in. Alternately, incredibly rapid breathing is also a danger sign."
Moydeo ohs, and nods, as she listens. "Alright, that does make sense." She agrees, and goes silent to listen again.
Pralius grins, relaxing some as he falls into something of a groove, then motions to the floor, "Pair up, we need comatose bodies and people to carry them. Be gentle, remember, no matter how heavy or ungainly, these are real people you're dragging around. But I want everyone against the far wall in under 5 minutes." Oh, yeah, because he's the master of treating the object of search and rescue respectfully.
Moydeo pairs up with Risner, as the rest of the candidates all pair up, most of them choosing the lighter one of the group to be the lifeless one at first of course. It's not long before the teams get to dragging, many grunts, and complaints about the draggee should loose weight.
Pralius looks grin, quickly stopping any group pulling by the arms and correcting them to under the shoulders and through the armpits before spurring them on, "First group there gets a prize. But only if the dragee is truly dead weight."
The ones that didn't need correcting take the lead as they head for the wall, moving quick as they can, though the weight is definately a burden that's slowing them down. One team manages to get there. "We made it!" They say, but then thee dragging partner just dumps the other on the floor. "Ow!" Thee dragee complains, and sits up, rubbing at where he hit, the other partner looking apologetic.
Pralius glances at the group that claimed winning and bangs his cane, "Disqualified, poor treatment of patient." Somehow, in his wandering, he's managed to acquire a small box. The prize, perhaps?
Ashri has been here the whole time, really! She's just so small as to avoid notice up until this point. Notice, that is, because she is being carted by Moydeo and Risner toward the wall and is doing her best impression of a slab of meat. She's pretty good at it too, eyes shut and curls dragging the floor. Hopefuly no one tracked any mud in today. She does breathe, but shallowly, seeing as her arms are held up above her head. Come on, Moy and Ris! Haul that patient!
"Ah maan!" Both members of the 'winning' team say at being disqualified, and then get into a 'it was your fault!' argument. Moydeo, and Risner both glance at the team, and then continues to drag the slab of meat, er the patient to the wall, just beating out another team, carefully setting Jay down.
Pralius smiles evily, then nods when Ashri, Moy, and Risner become the winning runners up. The tiny box having multiplied to three, he walks forward, handing each of the three a box, "For exemplary performance and proper treatment of your patient," he glances at the other team, "you get ointment." He waits for the huh?s to die down before continuing, "Not just any ointment, that will keep your skin moist in almost any weather and allow you to smell and feel fresh. But there's only a little as it's hard to make, so use it wisely." He grins, then."
Jayashri stands up, dusting herself off before coming her fingers through her hair and then taking the box she has been given. "Ooh, just what my poor hands needed," she breathes gratefully as she examines their chapped exteriors. "Much obliged." She tucks the box into a pocket, still trying to make herself halfway presentable after having been hefted across the floor. "I'll use it very wisely."
Moydeo oohs, and takes the box of hers, and smiles. "I will definately as well, thank you." She says. Risner takes his as well, with a thank you. Moydeo nods to Ashri, and looks at her hands. "Mine can use some of it too." She chuckles, cold doesn't do well for anybodys hands, or skin.
Pralius grins, nodding some, "Good. Now, are there anymore questions or topics someone feels I missed before I get to the final declarations?"
Jayashri shakes her head. "Not that I can think of, Pralius, but if I do I know where to find you." She smiles, finally getting her hair to look halfway normal instead of matted and tangled. "I appreciate your taking the time to teach us all of this. I'm sure it'll come in handy no matter where we end up, but particularly as potential riders."
The rest of the teams, especially dragees dust them selves off, and straighten to listen, most shaking their heads no at the question. Moydeo does as well. "Not right now, but if I do, I can always come find you." She says, and nods in agreement with Ashri.
Pralius nods, motioning for the group to generally form up again, then grins, looking truly nice for the first time in a while, "Well, I think this went well enough. It's time for us to bid adieu for now. Should any questions come up later, feel free to seek out another healer or myself. As a show of my appreciation for your coming, you'll each receive a small jar of numbweed and a first aid pamphlet. It was great to have you all here and for those of you who are candidates, good luck on the sands."
"Awesome, numbweed!" Ashri is perhaps a little over-eager for the token. "I'll keep than handy in case I have another round with the paring knife next time I'm in the kitchen." She chuckles, knowing Pralius will probably remember the incident. Maybe Moydeo as well. She bounces over to where the appreciation gifts are laid out, picking up one of each and tucking them into her pockets as well. Handy things, those. She does hang around as the crowd thins a bit, perhaps not wanting to get run over by a mad departing dash. 'Course, if she did she'd be close to help! "Hrm, wonder if this would help with bruises," she asks the numbweed jar as she pulls it out again.
Moydeo smiles to Pralius. "Thank you for holding the class, I found out some thing that I didn't know before." She grins. "And thank you for the luck." She smiles. The rest of the group gives murmurs of thanks as well, for the class, and if candidates, for the good luck, movin to get their appreciation gifts, and file out for the caverns, some discussing among themselves. Moydeo grins at Ashri. "It just might! Those evil paring knives have it out for us." She remarks, as she moves to get her additional gifts as well. "I'm certainly glad I came, this was informative."
Pralius grins, chuckling some, "It'll certainly be good for small cuts like that… might be a little too strong for your average bruise, though… there's thinner stuff for that." He inclines his head to Moy, "I'm glad you liked it, all of you. I hope it wasn't too rough for a first time. I hope it serves you well."
Jayashri nods, offering the Healer a grin. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," She tucks the jar back, waving to the two of them. "I'll see you two around. I have some stuff I want to do before curfew." Her grin broadens, but she does not elaborate just what that may be as she pulls her gloves and hat on whilst walking toward the door, her scarf the last thing on before she exposes herself to the outside world.
Moydeo grins as well. "See you Ashri." She calls after the other girl, and tucks away her things. "Well, I guess I should get back to chores, to get them done before curfew." She says, and smiles to Pralius. "Thank you again Pral, and see you around." She grins, and heads into the lower caverns, Risner leaving soon as well, after saying good bye, and all.
Pralius nods, waving as the last of his friends filter out, then collapses unceremoniously into a chair. Teaching is hard.
