Alyssa Ogawa Nurse Alyssa Ogawa was a Starfleet officer aboard the , and later , the . She was one of the head nurses in the ship ' s sickbay , assigned there in 2367 as an ensign . ( ) Upon recommendation of Dr . Beverly Crusher , she was promoted to lieutenant junior grade in 2370 . ( ) Ogawa became a senior sickbay staff member , and would make reports to the senior staff in Crusher ' s absence . ( ) Duties and responsibilities . Nurse Ogawa helped Dr . Crusher develop a way to stop the metamorphosis of the Tarchannen III alien s in 2367 . ( ) She was also present during several surgeries involving the Trill ambassador Odan , which were the first Federation observations of the Trill symbiont . ( ) Alyssa was one of the many crewmembers to fall victim to the psychotrophically addictive effects of the Ktarian game when it was introduced to the " Enterprise " . ( ) She was the nurse on hand for the first use of the genetronic replicator , during the risky surgery on Lieutenant Worf ' s spinal column . ( ) Ogawa brought several pieces of medical equipment to the " Enterprise " bridge in order to monitor Captain Jean - Luc Picard ' s condition while he was knocked unconscious by a Kataan probe in late 2368 . ( ) In 2369 , Ogawa assisted Dr . Crusher in performing an autopsy on Joshua Kelly , an engineer from the . ( ) Shortly following this incident , she helped treat Deanna Troi after she became a receptacle for Ambassador Ves Alkar ' s psychic " waste . " ( ) Ogawa took part in the relief effort to Tagra IV in 2369 . She helped Amanda Rogers pack a shipment of tricorder s for transport to the planet . ( ) Ogawa helped investigate the mysterious deaths of Doctors Jo ' Bril and Reyga in 2369 . ( ) Ogawa was one of the few junior officers who knew of the Cardassian defector Joret Dal ' s presence aboard the " Enterprise " , as she helped Dr . Crusher treat his serious injuries . She was ordered not to discuss what she knew of Joret with anyone . ( ) In 2370 , Ogawa treated Commander William T . Riker ' s back after he had rolled onto Cypirion cactus during a date with Rebecca Smith . ( ) She also helped evacuate sickbay and care for injured crewmembers following the crash of the " Enterprise " - D saucer section on Veridian III in 2371 . ( ) Ogawa was promoted to full lieutenant by 2373 and was posted to the new USS " Enterprise " - E . During the ship ' s trip to 2063 , she helped evacuate sickbay after the Borg began to overrun the ship . ( ) Personal relationships . Friendships . Alyssa was friends with several other junior officers and civilians on the ship , including Sam Lavelle , Taurik , the late Sito Jaxa , and Ten Forward waiter . The group often played poker together . Sito departed the " Enterprise " on a covert mission with Joret Dal in 2370 . Lavelle asked Ogawa if she knew any details about the mission , but Ogawa refused to reveal any information . Ogawa was saddened and upset when Sito was lost while returning from the mission . Lavelle felt guilty for accepting a promotion that he competed for with Ensign Sito , but Ogawa assured him that Sito would have been proud and happy for him . ( ) Beverly Crusher also considered Ogawa a friend . Beverly took interest in Alyssa ' s love life ( ) and was concerned when she noticed Ogawa ' s future husband , Andrew Powell , with another woman in Ten Forward shortly before they announced their engagement . ( ) Ogawa risked her own career when Dr . Crusher was relieved of duty for performing an autopsy on Dr . Reyga , violating the Ferengi death ritual and the Prime Directive . Crusher wanted to continue investigating , and was unable to access the needed autopsy files . Ogawa used her authorization to provide Crusher with the information , realizing that the vindication of Reyga and his work on the metaphasic shield ing was very important to Crusher . ( ) Alyssa also seemed to know Beverly ' s son , Wesley Crusher . ( ) Romance . Ogawa briefly dated a fellow " Enterprise " - D crewmember in 2368 . They took a holodeck trip to the Champs Elysees , and he invited her to Risa . Ogawa wasn ' t sure if she was ready for the uninhibited atmosphere of that planet , and Dr . Crusher suggested Tavela Minor as an alternate destination . ( ) Ogawa dated Ensign Markson in early 2370 , a relationship which became the subject of gossip between Dr . Crusher and Captain Picard . ( ) Ogawa began seeing Lieutenant Andrew Powell later that year . Around the time of midyear crew evaluation s , Alyssa worried that she and Andrew were growing apart . He began putting in many overtime hours and the couple did not spend much time together . However , Andrew proposed to her , much to her surprise and delight . They announced the engagement after the evaluations . ( ) The couple conceived a child shortly thereafter . The baby saved the life of the entire " Enterprise " - D crew when the ship was ravaged by Barclay ' s Protomorphosis Syndrome . Commander Data was able to extract natural immune barriers in the amniotic fluid from the pregnancy , which was used to cure the condition . During the crisis , Ogawa de - evolved to a lifeform resembling a primate . ( ) She gave birth to the child in 2371 . ( ) Alternate timelines and realities . In 2367 , Ogawa was part of the holoprogram set in 2383 created by the alien Barash to fool Commander Riker . She was still Dr . Crusher ' s assistant in sickbay aboard the " Enterprise " - D . ( ) Ogawa was a doctor and chief medical officer of the " Enterprise " - D in one alternate quantum reality visited by Worf in 2370 . She held the rank of commander . Dr . Ogawa informed Worf and Data that Geordi La Forge had perished as a result of a Cardassian attack . ( ) " In an alternate 2370 , Ogawa ' s baby was lost when she was exposed to the energies of an anti - time eruption . When the eruption was sealed into subspace , the events of this timeline were erased . " ( ) Appendices . Background information . Ogawa was first seen in as part of Riker ' s illusory future . Although actress Patti Yasutake believed she would not be called back after this episode , the character appeared again , this time with a first name , in ( although credited simply as " Nurse " ) and was given a last name in . Yasutake wasn ' t originally scheduled to appear in the fifth season episode as the original call sheet features Wil Wheaton and two background performers during this turbolift scene , filmed on Friday on Paramount Stage 9 . It was Ron Wilkerson and Jean Louise Matthias who opted to use Ogawa in the seventh season outing , as they particularly liked the character . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 25 / 26 , No . 6 / 1 , p . 78 ) Ogawa was nearly omitted from the story , though , in order to make more room for the episode ' s other characters . ( " " , 3rd ed . , p . 282 ) Explaining why Ogawa was used in the episode , René Echevarria – who wrote the script for " Lower Decks " – said , " " We were always very fond of the actress and felt she never had enough to do . " " ( " Lower Decks " audio commentary , TNG Season 7 Blu - ray special features ) Her first name was spelled " Alissa " in the scripts of , and but " Alyssa " in , , , and " Lower Decks " . Ogawa was named by budget estimator Suzi Shimizu at the request of script coordinator Eric A . Stillwell . He had been asked to come up with a Japanese name for the character . She decided on the first name of Alyssa , after her daughter , and Ogawa , after Shimizu ' s maiden name . ( ) Although her origins were not mentioned on - screen , Alyssa may be Japan ese descent as her name and Yasutake ' s own heritage suggests . In 1993 , Hallmark aired a television commercial in North America featuring Patti Yasutake in the role of Nurse Alyssa Ogawa , who is seen questioning the shipboard computer about the features of the USS Enterprise - D " Keepsake " ornament . Apocrypha . " " reveals her parents ' names as Luci and Kenada Ogawa . It also gives her a birthplace of Vancouver , British Columbia . Nurse Ogawa featured as a supporting character in the Marvel Comics one - shot crossover special " " . She is also a main character in the " " series of novels . Her child is also featured , revealed to be a boy named Noah . In " The Genesis Wave , Book Three " , the child is a girl named Suzi . In the " Titan " books it is mentioned that Ogawa ' s husband , Andrew Powell , died at the Battle of Rigel during the Dominion War in 2375 .