The elderly woman groaned. Her voice was high and quavery. ‘Get me out. Please…’
‘That’s what we’re here for. My name’s Summer and I’ve got Zac with me. Are you having any trouble breathing, Frances?’
‘I…I don’t think so.’
‘Does anything hurt?’
‘I…I don’t know…I’m scared…’
Summer was trying to assess their patient visually. Pale skin and a bump on the head that was bleeding. She could see the woman’s chest rising and falling rapidly. The more distressed she was, the harder it would be to assess and try to move her.
The window on the driver’s side was broken too and suddenly there was movement as the prickly branches of scrub got pushed aside. The face that appeared was wearing a helmet. How on earth had Zac managed to get down that side of the vehicle?
Not only that, he was reaching in to touch the woman. To put a calming hand on her forehead, probably to stop her turning her head to look at him in case she had injured her neck.
‘It’s okay, sweetheart,’ he said. ‘We’re going to take good care of you.’
Sweetheart? Was that an appropriate way to address an eighty-three-year-old woman?
‘Oh…’ Frances didn’t seem offended. ‘Oh… Who are you?’
‘I’m Zac. I’m a doctor.’
‘Do I know you?’
‘You do now.’ He leaned in further, a lopsided smile appearing as he make a clicking sound like someone encouraging a pony to move. The sound was accompanied by a wink.
‘Oh…’ The outward breath sounded like a sigh of relief. There was even a shaky smile in response. ‘Thank you, dear. I’ve been so scared…’
‘I know.’ His voice was understanding. Reassuring. Was he holding a hand or taking a pulse in there? ‘Summer—are you able to open the door on your side? It’s jammed over here.’
With the assistance of a fireman and a crowbar, the answer was affirmative.
With the new space, Summer was able to ease herself cautiously into the car. The creaking and slight forward movement of the vehicle made her catch her breath but it terrified Frances.
‘No…help…’
This time it was Summer as well as their patient who took comfort from Zac’s confident tone. ‘The ropes just needed to take up the extra weight. You’re safe. There’s a great big fire engine up on the road that’s not going anywhere and the car is very firmly attached to it. Relax, sweetheart…’
There it was again. That cheeky endearment. Summer wouldn’t want to admit that skip of her heart when it seemed like the car was beginning to roll further down the cliff. She most definitely wouldn’t want to admit that warm feeling the use of the endearment created. How powerful could a single word be? It could make you think that someone genuinely cared about you.
That you were, indeed, safe.
Suddenly, it was easy to focus completely on the job she needed to do. Summer unhooked the stethoscope from around her neck and fitted it into her ears.
‘Take a deep breath for me, Frances.’
There was equal air entry in both lungs and a pulse that was a little too fast and uneven enough to suggest an underlying cardiac condition, although Frances denied having any. The worst bleeding from lacerations in papery skin needed pressure dressings for control because blood pressure was already low and Summer eased a cervical collar in place as Zac held the head steady.
‘Sorry, Frances. I know this is uncomfortable but it’s to protect your neck while we get you out. We can’t examine you properly until we get you up to the ambulance.’
‘That’s all right, dear.’ But it was Zac that Frances was looking at for reassurance. His hand she was holding through the window as Summer worked quickly beside her in the car.
‘Are you sure nothing’s hurting, Frances?’
‘My chest is a bit sore. And my arm…’
‘We can give you something for the pain.’
But Frances shook her head. ‘I can bear it, dear. It’s not that bad…’
Summer glanced up at Zac, who was still supporting the elderly woman’s head and neck. ‘We can reassess after we move her but I think we can probably wait till we get up to the top before worrying about IV access.’
‘Absolutely.’ Zac nodded. ‘The tubing and trying to carry a bag of fluids will only create a complication we don’t need. Bit of oxygen might be a good idea, though, do you think?’
‘Sure.’
They explained how they were going to get her out of the car, using a backboard to slide her towards the passenger side and then turning her to lie flat as they lifted her out onto a stretcher.
‘You’ll be quite safe,’ Summer said. ‘We’ve got lots of strong young firemen to carry you up the hill.’
‘Oh…I’ve caused everybody so much trouble, haven’t I?’
‘It’s what we do,’ Zac told her. ‘If people didn’t have accidents or get sick, we’d be out of a job.’ He was smiling again. ‘And we love our job, don’t we, Summer?’
This time, she really couldn’t help smiling back so she tilted her head towards her patient. ‘Indeed we do. Okay, Frances. You ready to get out of here?’
Getting her out of the car had to be done as gently as possible because there could be fractured bones or internal injuries that hadn’t been recognised due to position and limited access but if there had been any increase in pain during the procedure, Frances wasn’t complaining. Cocooned in a blanket and strapped securely into the Stokes basket stretcher, she looked almost relaxed as the rescue team began the slow process of inching the stretcher up to the road.
In the relative safety of the ambulance, it was Zac who led a more complete examination while an ambulance officer filled in some paperwork.
‘Next of kin?’
‘I haven’t got any. Not now.’
‘Is there anyone you’d like us to call?’
‘Maybe my neighbour. She’ll take care of the cats if I don’t get home tonight. Oh…that’s why I was driving today. There’s a special on in the supermarket at Whitianga. For cat food.’
Zac got an IV line through fragile skin with a skill that was unlikely to leave so much as a bruise and Summer hooked up the IV fluids, aware of how meticulous and gentle the rest of his survey was, despite being rapid enough to get them on their way as soon as possible. ECG electrodes, blood pressure and oxygen saturation monitors were in place and Zac was keeping an eye on all the readings. A raised
