Arolos Weyr

The Infirmary

The Infirmary is surprisingly large. Considering the size of some of it's patients should not be surprising. Funds that have been raised have resulted in it being extended greatly in the time Arolos has been inhabited and it is an extensive area.

As you enter the Infirmary there is a sizable area which has couches, seats and some cots . On the right is an entrance to the Infirmary Weyr Pool, which opens out to the massive Infirmary Weyr, where Dragons are treated initially before moving to one of the other Ward Weyrs. On the left is a door that actually leads to Weyrhealer K'rens Weyr (as he foolishly needed to be on call all hours of the day and night in the early years). There are shelves of some of the common medicines here, and emergency equipment. In Fall this area is often used as a triage station before riders are moved to the wards. At the back of this room there is a opening, and a small office on the left. This is K'rens office - or the Senior healer in charge's office and can be used for "private" chats. This large entrance, more than double door size leads into the working area of the Infirmary.

Here, again on the left is the Staff room which is relatively sizeable as it contains the shelves of patient records in neat alphabetical order. It also contains a stove, the rota chart with shift tags for the Infirmary staff to organise their shifts with. The left side of the infirmary contains the medical stores, and the Lab (for preparing medicines) and a series of private treatment rooms - the equivalent of intensive care. Through here is the principal corridor accessing the Weyr and a smaller corridor direct to the lower Caverns. Also the main stove, run by natural gases and crom coal is in the niche area, accessible for all. This is used for sterilising, boiling water, cooking up numbweed salve as necessary. The right side has a series of Cots, and bed area extends in an L-shape to the left - with window holes that open to the infirmary weyr so a dragon can see his or her rider. Across from here is a latrine area/ washing area which is designed so that the pits are flushed out by a sluice mechanism from the second Infirmary Weyr large bathing pool. There is an access to the Infirmary weyr from here.

The Infirmary weyr is large enough to take in approximately three dragons at a time, and contains, now, some special features such as a manual pump that can get make a shower for dragons. This has proved valuable on swift emergency treatment of Thread, where GETTING to the thread involves clambing over panicking dragon.

The Ward Weyrs, are on the upper level above the entire infirmary. A gentle ramp has been created and there is a walkway broad ledge that doubles as a sunning area for convalescing dragons. A rider can move to the temporary quarters attatched to each weyr if they wish until the dragon is recovered enough to be realeased. One main difference about these weyrs is the built in chutes for dragon waste, as injured dragons cannot go between to relieve themselves. This does sometimes required sluicing through - unfortunately with buckets of water rather than a water system as yet.

For more details about the Infirmary and the Healers, please click here to visit the Healerpack page

The Dragonriders of Pern® is registered U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, by Anne McCaffrey, used here with permission. Use or reproduction without a license is strictly prohibited.