I have FOMO on Hospital Wing

Xavier Lundstrom

March 19, 2021 8:29 PM

I have FOMO by Xavier Lundstrom

OOC: CW - passing mentions of vomiting

Descriptions of the infirmary decor taken from Katey's posts in previous terms BIC:

Xavier was hyped for this afternoon. It was flying! Their first flying lesson! He was even more excited and also slightly nervous after dragging himself through Charms and Transfiguration that morning, and getting absolutely zero results. Apparently that was normalish at first, but he’d still felt pretty cruddy about it as everyone else seemed to be making at least some progress (or it felt like it from where he was looking). Anyway, hopefully flying would go better. He was pretty athletic, so he had to be good at that, right? Except he was allegedly naturally magical but it didn’t appear to mean anything.

He absolutely did not have a headache. Or, if he did, it was only from screwing up his eyes in concentration, trying to convince himself that anything about his stupid transfiguration pebble had changed. It wasn’t the start of a migraine. Not on his first day of classes. Not right before flying. Even if the pinching feeling at the side of his temples was exactly like one. Even if he’d lost all his appetite. It just wasn’t. It couldn’t be. That would be so unfair.

Still, just in case, he was swinging by the school nurse. He had always been told that the best course of action with his migraines was to take the medication well in advance of them setting in to try to fend them off. This made sense in theory, given that he would absolutely rather that they did not start, and that they often involved throwing up if they really got going, which made medication rather ineffective. Not that any of it had ever been effective when taken in advance either, but it was a solid theory.

He recoiled slightly at the extremely pink letters that greeted him on entering the infirmary. He was pretty sure they were just offensively bright and that his reaction was not a symptom.

“Hi,” he stated to the nurse. “I’m Xavier. My mom wrote to you about me?” he half asked, even though he knew full well she had, explaining about his condition and that they ought to take the warning signs seriously, as within an hour he was likely to be hypersensitive to light, balled up in pain, and quite possibly vomiting. “My head’s all pinchy, like it is when I’m gonna get a migraine. Except I’m probably not, but the thing is I have flying class later, so I figured better safe than sorry. Got anything to make sure it doesn’t get worse?” he asked hopefully.

13 Xavier Lundstrom I have FOMO 1529 1 5

Katey Willow

March 20, 2021 7:07 PM

I'll make the diagnoses around here. by Katey Willow

Katey absolutely loved this time of year. Despite some, uh, rough Opening Feast memories from the year before, the return time period was something she looked forward to every year. It was time to take stock of her inventories, get the Hospital Wing in perfect, sparklingly clean order, and to finally have some company again. Over the summers, Katey didn’t really see very many people, or in fact have anyone to really communicate with. She definitely sent Jean-Loup too many letters, but she hoped he was enjoying those recipes she had sent.

The school was better off when her Infirmary was emptier, but she did have some reliable company with Johana Leonie helping out. It was nice, having something of an assistant again. She missed Jean-Loup dearly, but she was growing just as fond of her new little doctor in training. And while she was working to learn all of the languages with influence around Sonora, she had shifted her primary focus from French to German now, although she did not completely neglect her studies. Every so often, she tucked a few French phrases she had learned into her letters to Jean-Loup, just like she hoped to start slipping German into her conversations with Johana Leonie. Now she just needed to get down Johana Leonie’s hot beverage order, like when she’d bring herself coffee and bring along a second cup for her previous assistant.

She had the place up to snuff with her signature sparkle by the first couple days of term, the flowers still fresh on the table when her first patient of the year walked in. Xavier introduced himself, and Katey’s mind flushed with an exact visual memory of his mother’s letter, her mind’s eye showing her every loop in the woman’s handwriting. He described his pain, and Katey gave him an understanding smile.

“Nice to meet you, Xavier,” she said. “Sorry it’s under pinchy conditions. You can call me Miss Katey, or Healer Willow if you prefer.” She personally liked the former best - the second option made her feel stuffy and old - but a lot of these Sonora kids were such Proper Little People, and she found herself answering to the more formal option more frequently. It was Miss Katey whose Hospital Wing the bright pink letters on the wall declared it. “I’ve got something made special and ready just for you. Give me a sec to pop back and grab it.” Her smile grew wider as a quiet and temporary goodbye, and she disappeared ever so briefly into the back room. She had specifically placed the vial right on the first shelf inside the door to the storage room, not sure when Xavier’s first migraine would come or how far along he would be by the time he showed up. Really, the only thing that took any time was also getting him a glass of water - the potion wasn’t exactly going to be tasty.

A moment later, she returned with a small lidded vial. “Okay, so you know how sometimes Muggles have more than one type of medicine for the same thing? Magic is kind of like that with some medicinal potions,” she explained. She could tell from Xavier’s mother’s letter that they weren’t especially familiar with magic. “So I’ve got this one I want you to try. Based on your relative size and age, I think it should be the most effective. However, if you try it and it doesn’t work, or you experience any kind of side effects, let me know, and next time, we can try a different one, okay?” Katey handed Xavier the potion. “This one might make you a little drowsy or feel kinda foggy, so go ahead and take it now and sit a few minutes so we can monitor how you’re doing before you go off and try to fly, huh?”

12 Katey Willow I'll make the diagnoses around here. 1505 0 5

Xavier Lundstrom

March 21, 2021 7:13 AM

I'm very familiar with this condition by Xavier Lundstrom

Medical professionals, especially those dealing with children, came in two types in Xavier’s (more than average) experience – super chirpy, and sick of sick people. Or maybe the latter had never liked anyone, though why they went into medicine was beyond him. Nurse- healer(?) – Miss Katey (it was what the letters said, so he guessed she liked that, even if they were blurry at the edges now)- she seemed to be the first kind. She was chirpy. That was probably good, so long as she would be quiet if he actually got sick.

But he wasn’t going to. She had magic potions.

“Yeah, nice to meet you,” he nodded.

He waited whilst she went out back. As well as the pinching in his temples, he could feel something tight in his chest. It was the constricted feeling of hope, pushing up against the limited space he was willing to give it. It was a daydream he entertained often, wishing, hoping, praying that his migraines would go away (on the whole, you were mostly meant to pray more for other people, or for things like patience or good qualities rather than material things you wanted, but firstly, a functioning head was not a material thing, and he was pretty sure his family prayed for him to get better, and even though he was technically ‘another person’ in those circumstances – well, it just didn’t seem completely unfair to at least try asking, given how badly the migraines sucked, and he was pretty sure most people agreed with him on that, so long as he didn’t fall out with God if it didn’t happen).

When Miss Katey came back, she didn’t have the most reassuring speech he had ever heard. Okay, he supposed having a few options was a good thing. It just took a little bit away from the whole ‘wham, blam, magic potion’ vibe to hear her talking about ages and recommended doses and alternatives if this didn’t work. Not to mention side-effects. Drowsy or foggy didn’t sound like conditions anyone would let him go flying in. She still mentioned getting him to class, though it was a little hard to tell whether she meant he could, or whether she was joking about it. Even though this absolutely wasn’t funny.

“This is my best shot at making it to flying class?” he confirmed. He still had the rest of lunchtime and all of potions class for her to monitor him, so he guessed it might be possible. If magic worked. Once that was confirmed, he took a deep breath, trying not to be weirded out by the fact he was about to swallow a magic potion, and poured it back. Hastily followed by several gulps of water. This was still followed with a distinct ‘bleugh’ noise and a look at Miss Katey like she had mildly offended him.

The main thing he first noticed was cold. It was like when someone put a cold wash cloth on your forehead. Or like that super fresh cold feeling some mints gave you in your mouth. Only inside. It was… like he’d eaten a mint inside his head. He gave Miss Katey a slightly puzzled look because that was a weird thought, and he sort of held her vaguely responsible for him having it right now. The pinchy feeling was still there. But it was also cold. Like a mint.

He sat down, and blinked at her a few times.

“I was going to go… to flying… later,” he formulated the thought slowly because having a minty fresh brain made it go slowly. Weird. He would have thought mint was fast if it had a speed. Minty people- commercials about toothpaste and mouthwash, they were… Snappy. “When?” he checked.

13 Xavier Lundstrom I'm very familiar with this condition 1529 0 5

Katey Willow

March 21, 2021 9:47 AM

That's fair. by Katey Willow

As a school medic, Katey’s job didn’t really require a whole lot of prescribing. Most of the injuries and ailments here were pretty simple, one-and-done type deals. A kid broke his arm, so you mended it. Somebody had a cold, you gave them a pepper-up potion. And generally, if a student had a medical condition, they would probably come with a regiment of medication already in tow, and then she would just have to monitor their refills and her inventories, working closely with Mary to make sure everything was always on hand when their supplies ran out.

But when a Muggleborn came with a medical condition, it changed the game a little bit. Katey had to find a way to translate their experience with medicine into a magical context, select the potion that was the closest, and sort of play it by ear a bit. It was a new experience to do so with Xavier, but Katey was up for a little challenge.

She kept a close eye on him as he took his first dose, doing her best not to giggle at the expression on his face. Much like Muggle medicine, potions generally tasted pretty bad. Although with some Muggle medicines, especially those intended for children, she knew it was a product of their design, to keep them from getting into things they were not supposed to and taking too much. With potions, however, it was more of a product of their components. Things like newt eyes and bug wings didn’t often taste like cotton candy, in her professional experience.

Xavier seated himself and spoke slowly, seemingly confused. That was normal. “I’m not sure exactly what time, but don’t worry, the fogginess should wear off pretty quickly,” she reassured hmi. “And if you’re not ready to fly in time, I’ll let the coach know to excuse you today, and we’ll get you caught up later. Just sit and relax for a few minutes and we’ll see how it goes. Do you want anything while you wait? Some more water, maybe?”

12 Katey Willow That's fair. 1505 0 5

Xavier Lundstrom

March 21, 2021 5:30 PM

It really isn't by Xavier Lundstrom

"NO!" Xavier protested, the word rising automatically, any reason to back it up stumbling along somewhat behind. He had been sliding towards the chair anyway but abruptly stood back up as he protested. "Not later. I wanna fly with everyone else," he answered. Make up class wouldn't make it up, she had to realise that. It wasn't the same as being part of things. And if he missed class, what would his peers think? Would they think he was weak or weird? Even if they didn't, he'd still be different and left out.

But that was later. He would sit, and then later he could go. He thought that was what they had agreed? He sank down, both because he was Being Good, and because it actually seemed like a nice place to be, and obediently held his glass out for more water.

He sipped, trying to be patient, but it was hard when he was both worried and when everything was new. A few minutes felt like forever, especially when you didn't know how many of them you needed to wait for. If he was told to wait quietly for thirty minutes, he could do that. But waiting until he either got definitely better or definitely worse... He glanced at the clock again.

"You made my head cold," he informed her, because he had learnt over the years to try to explain what was going on inside his own body to medical staff. "But it's still pinchy. It's cold and pinchy. When does it make the pain better?" he asked.

13 Xavier Lundstrom It really isn't 1529 0 5