Matt manhandled him into the far helicopter seat and pulled his arms out of the harness.
Now, Matt returned back down the wire to retrieve their second patient. He swung away from the chopper while Brigid wrapped her patient in a silver space blanket.
She gave him a headset so they could communicate. He was pale, shivering and in shock, with bruises and contusions over his face, hands and bare feet. His voice when he spoke was shaky and hoarse.
“Kevin Bradford,” he replied slowly in answer to a question about his name.
“Okay Kevin, your family are going to be very glad to see you,” Brigid said. “Do you have any injuries you want to tell me about?”
“Got too close to the side of the boat when it was cracking up. That scratched me up some,” Kevin said.
Brigid quickly ran her eye over Kevin’s body. Cold and shock could sometimes hide injuries but this man seemed to be relatively unscathed.
Before she could ask any further questions, she had to assist Matt with getting the second patient into the chopper. The second man looked to be slightly the worse for wear, as he entered the chopper with a grimace of pain writ across his face.
“Okay Dave, we’re a go.” With her words, the helicopter turned towards Cairns.
“This is Sam. I think his shoulder is dislocated. Can you take a look?” Matt asked.
Brigid went over to the middle-aged man and crouched in front of him. “Hi Sam. My name is Brigid and I’m a doctor. Can you tell me what happened to your arm?”
As Brigid gently probed Sam’s shoulder, he recounted what had happened to them.
“Bloody boat sunk on us. We stayed on it too long and almost went down with it. Wrenched my shoulder and we both got a bit cut up.”
“Was there anyone on the boat with you?” Matt’s question cut over the intercom.
There had been no mention of a third person on the initial radio call, but only lazy rescuers made assumptions.
“No-one but me and Kevin. Thank god there wasn’t anyone else; we only had two lifejackets on-board.”
“I think you have a dislocated shoulder there. We’ll wait until you get to hospital to put it back in, but the good news is you can have some pain relief now.”
Brigid administered the green whistle and watched as it almost immediately removed the pain lines from Sam’s face.
“Matt, how’s Kevin doing over there?”
While Brigid had been treating Sam, Matt had been quietly and confidently assessing Kevin.
“He’s dehydrated with mild hypothermia but all his injuries look superficial,” said Matt.
“Keep the blanket on him and keep giving him water. We can leave the drip and everything else to the hospital.”
With the hospital just fifteen minutes away, the men’s treatment could wait. There they would be looked after in circumstances that were far more comfortable.
She got on the intercom to the pilot, “You can call the ambulance to meet us at the base. These guys are looking remarkably intact.”
Two days later, Brigid woke up to see the dawn light softly illuminating the golden cane palm outside her bedroom window. This Sunday was the beginning of her weekend, but she could rarely manage to sleep in. Two solid days of transferring critically ill patients from hospital to hospital, left her feeling wired and wrung out.
Knowing that any chance of shut-eye was over, Brigid stumbled out of bed. If she wasn’t going to relax, she might as well work out. As soon as she opened her bedroom door, Moby rushed her legs. She wasn’t the only one seeing in the early morning.
“Hey baby, I’ll take you out but then I’m going to do some training,” she crooned to the large dog. “Don’t give me a sad look, you know I’ll take you for a long run when I get back.”
Brigid yanked on a pair of tights as she let out the dog. She then grabbed her water bottle and scooped up her car keys. It was only a short drive through the empty Cairns streets to the climbing centre.
Walking through the cavernous space,
Now, Matt returned back down the wire to retrieve their second patient. He swung away from the chopper while Brigid wrapped her patient in a silver space blanket.
She gave him a headset so they could communicate. He was pale, shivering and in shock, with bruises and contusions over his face, hands and bare feet. His voice when he spoke was shaky and hoarse.
“Kevin Bradford,” he replied slowly in answer to a question about his name.
“Okay Kevin, your family are going to be very glad to see you,” Brigid said. “Do you have any injuries you want to tell me about?”
“Got too close to the side of the boat when it was cracking up. That scratched me up some,” Kevin said.
Brigid quickly ran her eye over Kevin’s body. Cold and shock could sometimes hide injuries but this man seemed to be relatively unscathed.
Before she could ask any further questions, she had to assist Matt with getting the second patient into the chopper. The second man looked to be slightly the worse for wear, as he entered the chopper with a grimace of pain writ across his face.
“Okay Dave, we’re a go.” With her words, the helicopter turned towards Cairns.
“This is Sam. I think his shoulder is dislocated. Can you take a look?” Matt asked.
Brigid went over to the middle-aged man and crouched in front of him. “Hi Sam. My name is Brigid and I’m a doctor. Can you tell me what happened to your arm?”
As Brigid gently probed Sam’s shoulder, he recounted what had happened to them.
“Bloody boat sunk on us. We stayed on it too long and almost went down with it. Wrenched my shoulder and we both got a bit cut up.”
“Was there anyone on the boat with you?” Matt’s question cut over the intercom.
There had been no mention of a third person on the initial radio call, but only lazy rescuers made assumptions.
“No-one but me and Kevin. Thank god there wasn’t anyone else; we only had two lifejackets on-board.”
“I think you have a dislocated shoulder there. We’ll wait until you get to hospital to put it back in, but the good news is you can have some pain relief now.”
Brigid administered the green whistle and watched as it almost immediately removed the pain lines from Sam’s face.
“Matt, how’s Kevin doing over there?”
While Brigid had been treating Sam, Matt had been quietly and confidently assessing Kevin.
“He’s dehydrated with mild hypothermia but all his injuries look superficial,” said Matt.
“Keep the blanket on him and keep giving him water. We can leave the drip and everything else to the hospital.”
With the hospital just fifteen minutes away, the men’s treatment could wait. There they would be looked after in circumstances that were far more comfortable.
She got on the intercom to the pilot, “You can call the ambulance to meet us at the base. These guys are looking remarkably intact.”
Two days later, Brigid woke up to see the dawn light softly illuminating the golden cane palm outside her bedroom window. This Sunday was the beginning of her weekend, but she could rarely manage to sleep in. Two solid days of transferring critically ill patients from hospital to hospital, left her feeling wired and wrung out.
Knowing that any chance of shut-eye was over, Brigid stumbled out of bed. If she wasn’t going to relax, she might as well work out. As soon as she opened her bedroom door, Moby rushed her legs. She wasn’t the only one seeing in the early morning.
“Hey baby, I’ll take you out but then I’m going to do some training,” she crooned to the large dog. “Don’t give me a sad look, you know I’ll take you for a long run when I get back.”
Brigid yanked on a pair of tights as she let out the dog. She then grabbed her water bottle and scooped up her car keys. It was only a short drive through the empty Cairns streets to the climbing centre.
Walking through the cavernous space,
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