Rescue Heat (5 page)

They came over the house and immediately spotted the agreed upon landing site. Dave hovered for a few moments while Chris guided him in. They all had their eyes peeled for any dangers or overhead wires.

As soon as the wheels touched down, Matt and Brigid were off. Brigid quickly had a face full of dust, which the rotors had stirred into a serious cloud. Dust in the ears, was one thing she always found hard to get used to, no matter that it occurred in every land rescue away from the coast. The medical bag weighed heavily on her shoulder but she completely focused on the adult male waiting anxiously nearby.

Over the pulsing noise of the helicopter, all the man could do was shout, “Harry’s this way,” as he pointed.

Tom Leeds was obviously desperate to get them to his sick child.

As they entered the small farmhouse, Brigid was relieved to see that the parents had followed Jo’s phone instructions.

Harry was lying in his mother’s lap, with both legs bandaged. Two other young children, a few metres away, were watching with wide worried eyes.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Brigid and this is Matt and you must be Harry. How are you doing?” Brigid asked, keeping her voice soft and gentle. She smiled at his stressed mother, including her in the question.

His mother answered, words tumbling out of her mouth. “He got up earlier than we did this morning and headed out to the garage to check on the new kittens. We heard him scream and arrived just in time to see the snake disappear, into the grass. Tom would have gone after it, but Harry was in so much pain we just wanted to get him inside.”

Brigid unpacked her medical bag as she listened. She looked reassuringly at Harry and ran her hand over his arm to comfort. A severely distressed child was hell to monitor, but this sturdy little boy didn’t look to be going in that direction. He had the solemn expression of a child who was, quite frankly, cried out.

“How good a look did you get at the snake?” Brigid asked Molly, the mother. Brigid kept her voice casual, not wanting Molly to know how important her answer was.

The answer was confident, the identification clear. “A red belly black snake. You don’t live out here for eleven years without knowing one of those when you see it.”

Her face crumbled, but she held her ground. Brigid had to respect the woman’s tight grip on her emotions, as she did not want her worry to infect the child.

“We taught the children all about the dangers of snakes, but it was dark and he didn’t see it lying on the ground.”

Brigid was relieved at the mother’s certainty about the snake. She had been taught not to trust witness identification of venomous reptiles. However, with these parents, she was now sure they were not dealing with the more poisonous brown snake’s bite.

Matt had moved to Harry’s other side. He waited for a nod from Brigid before putting on the blood pressure cuff. Brigid was amazed by how gentle his large hands were on the child’s little limb.

“Mate,” he drawled at Harry. “Your leg is the closest I’ve gotten to any Australian wildlife.”

Matt’s comical expression and exaggerated accent entertained not only Harry, but also his siblings, who had gathered slightly closer.

As they methodically went about their observations, Brigid found the numbers coming back were reassuring. While the child had an elevated temperature and slightly increased blood pressure, she couldn’t see any major signs for severe concern.

What they had to do now, was get the child into the helicopter and back to Cairns, so the pressure bandages could come off and they could make a decision to administer anti-venom.

She told Tom and Molly, “Harry is going to be taking a trip in a helicopter. Have you decided who‘s coming with him?”

From the automatic tightening of Molly’s hand around her son’s, Brigid could see they had a candidate.

Matt was helping move Harry onto the stretcher. “Harry, are you sure you have a snake bite, or did you just want to get a ride in the biggest helicopter in Cairns?” He turned to the other kids, “Do you know how much tourists pay for a flight like this?”

Matt waited a few seconds for maximum effect, “Two thousand dollars.”

As the children exclaimed over the vast amount, Brigid leaned over the stretcher and whispered, “Careful. If you make it sound too exciting, we might be getting another call back here soon.”

Despite her teasing, she could see that having a man so relaxed around children certainly made today’s job easier. Getting a reluctant patient into transport could try the patience of a saint, so she was glad to have a man who was doing a good impersonation of the Pied Piper.

Chris moved from the background and took one end of the stretcher while Matt grasped the other end.

Brigid saw the blond boy’s father, Tom, was looking distressed and at loose ends. She said quietly to him, “Molly will be able to call you from the hospital when we know more, but his vital signs are looking good.” She smiled, “You’re going to be glad to see them back here; you’re in charge of the little ones for at least the next twenty-four hours.”

Tom jerked back to full awareness and as if realizing the full weight of his responsibilities gathered his other children to his side, keeping them out of range of the chopper’s blades.

Brigid raised her hand in farewell to Harry’s father and siblings, as she climbed into the helicopter doors. Speed was important, but so was getting Harry comfortable enough to fly. With a child on board Brigid knew Dave would not take off until she gave the nod. She took two extra whole minutes to familiarize Harry and his mother to the helicopter headphones.

Even though Harry held tightly to his mother’s hand, as the helicopter smoothly rose, he looked to Matt’s face for reassurance.

Even as Brigid pondered the appeal of an alpha male’s strength to a scared little boy, Harry started gasping for breath.

“What’s happening?” asked Molly, her panic obvious as the words tripped out.

Harry’s small mouth gulped as he desperately tried to suck enough oxygen.

Matt had forgotten the definite downside of working with children; there was a primal feeling of horror that was a universal response to seeing a child in distress but at least his medical skills gave him a sense of some power. Neither he nor Brigid needed to exchange so much as a glance before taking action.

Brigid’s voice sounded clear and confident as she addressed Harry’s obviously worried parent.

“It’s ok, Molly. It’s an allergic reaction to the snake venom. We’ll give him some adrenaline and he’ll be feeling better shortly.”

While she was speaking, her hands were quickly and efficiently reaching for the needle and vial of adrenaline that Matt had waiting.

As she administered the drug, she continued to talk calmly. “Maybe Mum, you would like to give his head a stroke. He’ll be back with us shortly and I’m pretty sure your face is the one he’d like to see.”

As the adrenaline worked, Harry’s little face relaxed out of its previous pained contortions. Watching carefully, Matt could feel his own jaw slacken with relief. In the helicopter cabin there was not a lot of room to manoeuvre so, if the child had stopped breathing, they would have had to put the helicopter down before beginning resuscitation.

Looking over at Brigid’s face for clues, he could see a similar relief register in the depths of her blue eyes. That confirmed his judgement that Harry’s condition had stabilised.

Moments later, Harry’s eyelids fluttered open and his confusion was apparent.

Brigid added her soothing touch to his mother’s: “Hey little man, the snake that bit you made you sick. But we gave you medicine which will make you feel much better.”

As Brigid eased back into her seat, the estimated time of arrival for Cairns Base Hospital came through the headphones.

“Twenty minutes,” said Dave.

Matt caught Harry’s still worried gaze. “You’ll have to come up with a plan for next time you go out to check the chooks. A big stick maybe?”

A shy smile from Harry was his reward.

The chopper touched down at the hospital landing pad. This time, Matt was doing the hospital handover with Brigid. He handed Molly out of the door, before helping move Harry’s stretcher onto the hospital trolley.

Once out of the helicopter, they were on the move. As Brigid gave a rapid-fire account of Harry’s condition, Matt kept an eye on Molly. He was glad to see that even though her features were tight with concern, she was keeping up with the fast pace as they barrelled through the hospital grounds and into the ER.

Mothers, as part of the package, were an unfamiliar element in rescue for Matt. He imagined their presence was unbearably painful when recovery looked unlikely.

Luckily, today they had a conscious boy and an in-control parent.

Matt listened, as Brigid handed over, “You’ll want to type that venom immediately. He’s had an allergic reaction so you’ll want to push through that anti-venom fast.”

The emergency room was a decent size and well equipped. Matt welcomed the space. Too many years of working in temporary MASHs had left him feeling permanently cramped.

As Matt stepped back from the trolley, he became aware of curious looks from the other staff. He got the curiosity. He was the new boy. A young blond nurse, who looked barely out of her twenties, made her way over.

“Hi, I’m Sarah,” she said. “You must be the new Todd.”

Matt gave over his hand. “Matt Roberts. Yeah I’m the new rescue crew member.”

Her open friendly manner slightly discomposed him. In combat zones, women had been the exception rather than the rule, so Matt was still adjusting to a world where women were plentiful and not bound by the no-open-fraternization rules.

He looked up to see Brigid waiting, with a bland look upon her face.

“Sorry to interrupt Sarah,” she said. “But I’ve just made a call, so the ambo boys will be here in the next five.”

Matt was glad to walk away from the young nurse. From the too interested look in her eyes, it wouldn’t have been long before his ability to gracefully turn down an open invitation was tested.

After saying their goodbyes to a grateful Molly, they walked out to the empty ambulance bay. The dense tropical air was warm enough to make them both slump against the wall, in an effort to conserve energy.

“Don’t you sometimes want to be the doctor who continues treatment on a case like that one?” Matt asked, suddenly curious.

“I’d hate it if I thought my patients were getting sub-standard care. But they’re a good team here and handing over patients is part of my job.”

“Anyway,” Brigid smiled, “we’re a small city so we usually get to follow up one way or another. Jo at the base will have an update on Harry, for the whole crew, by the end of the day.”

Watching her lean against the brick wall, he was amazed at how much strength she had in her slim, well-made body. Yesterday’s testing had been a revelation. That bone and lean muscle must be made of steel. However, when he had got up close and personal with her during their underwater wrestle, he could testify that the steel was, to the touch, distractingly soft.

“Did you pull up okay after yesterday’s fun?” he asked.

Seeing her eyes widen almost imperceptibly at the mention of yesterday confirmed that he hadn’t imagined her odd behaviour. After abruptly changing seats, she had also almost run point blank from the parking lot, barely wishing anyone goodbye.

However, today she kept her nerve, just saying, “My legs are telling me, very clearly, why you don’t want to swim in long pants and boots.”

“Blisters?” Matt turned the one word into a question.

“Unfortunately,” said Brigid. “I had to bandage my own feet before work today.”

“Doctor heal thyself.”

“A few blisters this time is nothing. The first time I did it, I didn’t know about dive socks, so I could barely walk the next day.”

“I have my own horrific memories of feet like that. During basic training, I think I would have agreed to amputate my own feet, if it would do something about those painful blisters,” Matt said.

Brigid’s answering smile, gave them a moment of shared camaraderie.

With a beep, and at slightly ostentatious speed, the ambulance pulled up. Two middle aged male ambos in the front waved and, without leaving their seats, popped open the door.

Brigid laughed, “Are you sure you’re ready for the glamour that being in a Far North Queensland rescue team offers?”

“We ride in the back,” Matt asked with mock horror.

“We ride in the back,” Brigid confirmed.

“After you,” she offered, as they made their way to the back door, denying him even a moment of gallantry.

When the end of shift came, Matt was quite glad they hadn’t had another call out. One of his major worries in going back to civilian life was that he would be unhappy without the adrenaline rush that came with the dangers of living and working in the front line of a war zone. The dark secret of so many soldiers was that peacetime actually became unsatisfying. Knowing this was one of the reasons Matt had left the army. He had known he had to go before the prospect of the looming threat of death became an addiction.

Seeing Harry in distress had convinced him that he truly did not crave chaos in ordinary life. To celebrate this realization, Matt decided to make a quick hospital visit to his first child patient. Earlier in the day, as promised, they had received an update that Harry was doing well.

As Matt left the office, he went into the dispatch room and folded a twenty into the fundraising tin, before picking up an elaborate model helicopter. The toy, painted to look like a rescue chopper would make a fun present for the boy.

Walking down the hospital corridor, he saw a now familiar figure walking towards him. Brigid was in her civvies and looked to be on the same mission of mercy.

“Snap,” he said, pointing to a piece of rescue merchandise under her arm.

“Luckily I only went for the ten dollar rescue bear,” she replied, ruefully. “Well I suppose that Harry deserves the gold standard of rescue, so we can do a dual visit.”

Matt followed Brigid into the small hospital room. Molly and Harry’s faces brightened as they recognised the duo. The seven-year-old was propped up on a too large bed and his arm and chest were connected to the constantly beeping monitoring machines.