Timestamp: 11th of Summer, 517 AV
Nya had returned the next day. She paid Jansen his thirty gold for the suture kit and had waited patiently for the class to start. It was just Trevor and herself this time. Nya was glad to see there was no half rotted pigs or foul flesh to sew up. She had appreciated the lesson, but in reality it had seriously worked over her senses and played havoc with her instinct. There was a certain irony in teaching healing using things that were rife with decay.
Jansen was casually settled in the middle of the room so Nya took a seat after offering a smile to Trevor and opened her journal. She had the makings of a fairly decent healing manual laying in her lap when all was said and done. She took out ink and examined her quill to make sure it was going to function well enough and then dipped her pen and got ready to write. She dated the journal, noted that these were entries from a class Jansen was teaching, and settled down to listen.
Jansen didn’t disappoint. He started out the class working with what he’d promised… the topic of how to treat multiple wounds. “Okay, as promised, we are going to talk about multiple wounds, then we will go through snake bites, animal bites, and jellyfish stings. Common Syka things are not so common elsewhere. So bear with me, we’ll get through all this, we’ll move on to treating fever, infection and poisoning. We can finally finish off with creating basic medical kits you can travel with. That should round out the day nicely. “ He added, outlining where he was going with the rest of the class and what exactly they were going to learn today.
“Then, if you don’t mind, I’d like you both to do some work here at the clinic. Trevor is already an apprentice, but Nya if you can swing by and help out especially if you know it’s busy, then that would be a big help. It will expand your skills exponentially to actually use the knowledge you learn here. Even if nothing is going on we can always make bandages and all kinds of medicines and just for your help I’ll share what I know. I can’t afford to pay more than Trevor right now, but I can repay time with training and that’s sometimes more valuable.” He said, looking between them both.
Nya smiled and nodded. Needed. She wanted to feel needed and important. She wanted a job to do and something to fill her leisurely days. Volunteering to help Jansen and Trevor sometimes would be a fantastic thing to do. It would give her a break from her hunting and leatherworking. Maybe, just maybe, it would help her fit in better among the settlers as well.
Nya glanced at Trevor, curious as to what he thought. Would he mind her dropping by and helping once in a while? She hoped not. If there was any sort of frown on his face or indication that he wasn’t keen on the idea, then she’d not do so. The Kelvic was truly aware of territory and already knew that Trevor was far more comfortable around this small facility and around Jansen himself than she was.
Moving on, Jansen began their lessons in earnest. “The very nature of Syka, especially the jungle and out on the reef in the sea means that single injuries are very uncommon. More than likely the things that are capable of causing severe bleeding can also cause multiple wounds. I’m talking about fangs, claws, and sharp shark teeth. Even snakes can strike twice if not three or four times. As overwhelming as a patient with multiple wounds can be, there is a real trick to dealing with them. First and foremost, remain calm. You aren’t going to do your patient any good if you get overly excited. You need to stay detached and analytical when you are dealing with multiple wounds, especially if more than one are life threatening.“ Jansen said, then paused, letting that sink in to both pupils.
When he saw that they were both following him and paying attention he continued.
“Take a good look at the wounds and quickly sort them. Identify the worst to the least of the injuries and treat the worst first. The worst will have bright red or actively flowing blood. The lesser wounds will be dried, crusty, and are partially closed. Concentrate on the wounds that have the most severe bleeding and stop the bleeding. I know I’ve taught you the steps to control bleeding, but skip them when you are talking about multiple wounds with a lot of blood. Sometimes we are talking about the fact that you need to plug a hole and move on. Keep doing that until you have bloodloss under control. Once you do, look for shock and treat for shock. Remember, confusion, drowsiness, sweating or confusion all indicate shock and shock can kill just as easily as bloodloss. You have to tune out the pain or complaints of the patient too. Don’t treat for pain until you have bloodloss and shock under control. Always do your best. Once you have bloodloss and shock under control, then treat for pain. Once pain is under control, then treat for infection. I will teach you about infection today and how to avoid it completely when a wound is first received. Then I will teach you about how to deal with infection once you get one. Some types of wounds – animal bites are notorious – almost always result in infection so you want to treat for infection immediately even if one hasn’t set it.” Jansen said, looking thoughtful, before he continued onward.
“A patient with a great deal of bloodloss needs fluids. Get liquids into them any way you can. IF they can swallow, get them to drink lots of water. If they cannot swallow and you have access to the ability to inject water, do so under their skin. Boil and cool the water first. Many times dealing with dehydration is the fastest way to get a patient to recover.” Jansen said, not having wanted to deal with dehydration in this particular class, but finding himself going over it anyhow.
“You can tell a person is dehydrated because they will get thirsty. They might have a dry mouth, feel tired or sleepy, and have a very low urine output. The urine that they do pass might be very yellow or amber. Dehydrated people get headaches, dizziness, can’t produce tears, and have extremely dry skin. You will find in worse cases they can’t walk normally, often have rapid heart rates, fever, and very poor skin elasticity. When you pinch them their skin only very slowly sinks back to its normal position rather than snapping back immediately. They can become lethargic, get confused, or even have seizures. They can become unconscious and thus become unable to be woken. Severe dehydration leads to shock and death.” Jansen said, running them down the list of symptoms.
He took a breath even as Nya used the moment to catch up on her notes. She’d been writing frantically and steadily since Jansen had started his lecture. Her hand was already cramping even as she shook it out and ignored the discomfort.
“Treatment is fairly simple. Get water into the people. Give them fruit juice, fleshy water-filled fruit like melons. Give them simple nutritious meals. Cool the body. Remove excess clothing. And water water water. The more you can get them to drink the better. IF they are vomiting and truly ill, cool them first then get them to take small sips of water or suck on juicy fruit slowly until their stomachs settle and they can drink.” He added, seemingly ticking off a mental checklist in his mind.
“Now, any questions before we move on?” Jansen asked, looking first at Trevor then at Nya. Nya shook her head then glanced at Trevor to see if he had any questions either.
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