Roderich's Relationships

S T A F F

Braelyn Leveque - A kind and good-natured nurse. Relatively new to this hospital. I happened to come upon her on her first day; since then, we have maintained a close friendship bolstered by our mutual love of music and her ability to make pleasant, attentive conversation. To anyone who asks, as not to incite office gossip, the answer to whether we are in a relationship is 'NO.' In my own mind, the answer seems to have slipped as of late into the realm of 'yes.'

Aldrich Beilschmidt - A caring, intelligent surgeon. Seems to exhibit similar workaholic tendencies to myself, which make me feel better about my own. It's nice to be able to speak to him in German and have few others understand. I regret that much of our contact has been over that MRSA fiasco of my making.

Francis Bonnefoy - Yet another of those new employees I seem so frequently to run into. Seems a competent nurse, but his willingness to prank, apparent distractability and unprofessional interest in my personal life are unsettling. I have mixed feelings about this one.

Lovino Vargas - For a technician in this field, he makes quite a fuss about having to come in contact with people. I suspect he may be more personable than he normally seems, but his judgmental personality does not mesh well with my demanding qualities. I try to tolerate his presence, at least.

Natalia Arlovskaya - A young surgeon, but, contrary to my initial expectations, skilled at her work. Comes across as cold, yet admirably determined. Can be deliberately vague and I cannot say for certain whether or not some trauma occurred in her past, but she made somewhat of an implication that it did.

Kiku Honda - Another young one. Still very much imbued with the styles and mannerisms of his home culture. I have not known him long enough to form an opinion, but judging by his age and the problems with Ivan, my thoughts have not been all that favorable as of late.

Antonio Fernandez Carrideo - A continuously peppy and energetic doctor. Can be prone to caring too much--i.e., coming to see me over trivial cases that he could figure out himself if he tried--but I cannot fault him much for that.



P A T I E N T S

Ivan Braginski - Oh, where to begin? It's patients like this FITH PITA that, were I a lesser man, I'd give a nice YOYO and drop. A mere lumbar puncture took a good extra fifteen minutes because of his disregard for hygiene and excessive anxiety. I have a sneaking suspicion that his general symptoms are inventions on his part and his ailment FMPS. Hopefully I can resolve this one soon.

William Green - Initially a WITPOMS, but ended up a genuinely interesting case. Good-mannered and helpful, with a pleasant curiosity. I wish him the best on Xyrem.


I would also like to make note of these infections that I am currently treating patients for.

- MRSA: a nosocomial, antibiotic-resistant version of staph that is spread through direct contact. Manifests as bumps or boils on the skin and can lead to sepsis. Must be treated quickly--I've found tetracyclines or vancomycin normally do the trick.
- Clostridium difficile: a bacterial infestinal infection that results in severe diarrhea. Can be caused by antibiotic disruption of the normal intestinal flora--if the antibiotics likely responsible cannot be discontinued, I recommend metronidazole for mild cases and vancomycin for severe. If vancomycin does not work, fecal transplants have been consistently effective.
- Legionellosis: If the administration would only bother to clean the showers more often, we wouldn't have to worry about this one. As it is, I try to treat this respiratory infection with a quinolone antibiotic.
- Tuberculosis: I trust the general practitioners to handle this one normally, but bring the extrapulmonary and antibiotic-resistant cases to me. That is, if the bacteria colonize an unusual region or the patient does not respond to rifampicin or isoniazid. A multi-drug treatment can be necessary in these cases.
- Gastroenteritis: stomach flu, with my cases comprised of victims of norovirus, Shigella, E. coli, staph, and the ubiquitous Salmonella. Most I see require a quick prescription and little input, while some others, including immunocompromised individuals, are on very strong medication.
- Syphilis: an incurable sexually transmitted infection with a rash, lesions and flu-like symptoms, with possible neurologic involvement. I treat it primarily with penicillin.
- HIV: an immune system infection that requires complex antiretroviral therapy.
- Other STIs: include gonorrhea, candidiasis, herpes and trichomoniasis at the moment.
- Tropical diseases: I get one of these cases every so often. Right now I have a leprosy patient (on rifampicin, dapsone and clofazimine) and a malaria patient (on amodiaquine.)