He was used to responsibility at work but doing it at home too? That was in another league entirely.
And now, here he was out on a job already. Nothing like hitting the ground running.
‘Welcome aboard, Noah,’ the pilot Vik’s voice came over the headset.
‘Good to be here.’ He was in good spirits, embracing the new adventure. At least that’s what he kept telling himself. The alternative was to focus on the things he’d given up, what he’d lost, rather than his life as it was now and moving forwards.
Already, Noah knew being here in Whistlestop River was going to be different to what he was used to. He’d turned up at the airbase in the countryside surrounded by green fields, the fresh air of Dorset, and a heck of a lot of space. It was miles away from his usual work environment, both literally and metaphorically, landing on a helipad on top of a hospital in the country’s capital. The views from the helicopter right now were spectacular, but of a different kind. Instead of seeing iconic, celebrated architecture and buildings of London – The Shard, The Gherkin, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace – thisevening in the spring sunshine the view spread out below was of green fields and small clusters of houses.
Noah had embarked on his career as a paramedic in London some time ago, single with no real ties at the time, and he’d been on the lookout for new challenges. It hadn’t been long before he yearned for more, before a desire to work with the crew of an air ambulance crept in. He’d wanted to learn something new, take himself to another level. Out on the road, he was growing increasingly frustrated at the limitations for paramedics. And so his passion had led him to get his master’s in critical care and not long after he qualified, he’d applied for a job with a London-based air ambulance. He’d been offered the position, and he loved it from the start, with every day different and capable of bringing enormous challenges.
He hoped it would be the same here in Dorset and so far, so good; he was out on a call, in the helicopter with the rest of the crew. They weren’t the crew he’d be with on a permanent basis but it was good to get a taster anyway and meet the other team as their paths would inevitably cross often enough, even if it was only at the changeover of shift.
Noah sat in the rear of the helicopter. The inside of the air ambulance was kitted out much like those he’d worked in before. It carried breathing apparatus, defibrillators, monitors, blood transfusion equipment and a comprehensive supply of medications. The floor was medical grade with rails to which they could fix equipment as needed; racks above allowed them to do the same.
As they made the journey, the crew talked over the headsets about the job. They didn’t always have much detail to go on, that much was similar no matter which air ambulance you were with or which locations you covered, so their discussions went through possible scenarios, likely treatments, which other first responders would be at the scene before them or on their way.
Their discussions built up a picture so they could be prepared as much as possible when they landed. A thirty-two-year-old female had tripped and hit her head on a table, was semi-conscious at least at the time of the emergency call, there was no obvious bleeding and a road ambulance had been dispatched. The crew already knew the residence they were going to was quite a distance from a trauma centre and if the head injury was severe, the air ambulance making the transfer in a fraction of the time might well be the only way to give the patient a chance of survival and full recovery. It wasn’t only about the time it took to get a patient to the hospital, though. Paramedics on the road ambulance attended many emergencies, saved countless lives. But critical care paramedics could administer higher-level medications, they had a higher portfolio of training and could do more procedures at the scene. Their attendance could result in a much better outcome for the patient. And part of what Noah loved about his job was that everyone who attended a job worked together as a big team, whether it was the air ambulance, the police, the fire brigade, the paramedics on a road ambulance, doctors or any other emergency crew.
Noah whistled at the sight of the sun beginning to set. Sunsets and sunrises looked great from ground level but from up here, they were utterly spectacular. He wasn’t a country boy, never saw the attraction, but right now, up here, there was something to be said for vast expanses of land.
With a further six minutes to their destination, Noah was ready with the iPad so he could help out with landing spots. Both him and Kate, the critical care paramedic in the front of the aircraft next to the pilot, would help out where they could but it sounded as though the place they were going to had grounds big enough to land there so hopefully touching down would be straightforward. It wasn’t guaranteed, of course – sometimes what seemed easy turned out to be more tricky when theyarrived; that had happened plenty of times in London. Landing as close as possible to the scene of an incident was vital for an air ambulance and London’s parks and green spaces were prime landing locations. Sometimes, however, particularly if it was a glorious summer’s day or the school holidays, those parks were packed and the general public, no matter whether sirens were on and lights flashing as the air ambulance came in to try to land, didn’t always have the common sense to clear the area.
The helicopter landed safely in the grounds of the house – the HEMS desk who’d called the job in with the team had been right; the gardens at this residence were big enough to allow for a helicopter landing. Or maybe a Boeing 747, Noah thought, because the grounds were massive, as was the house. It had him wondering who owned the place. Someone with a lot of money, he decided, as he climbed out of the aircraft and hefted a rucksack with medical equipment onto his back. The bag weighed in at twenty kilograms or thereabouts and the crew often had to carry these bags a long way as well as the blood bags and the drug bags. Sometimes their trek involved climbing over fences, through brambles, covering a decent distance to get to the scene in what felt like an assault course. Fitness in this job was paramount and despite the life changes Noah had had recently, as well as having turned forty-five, his exercise and strength training were something he’d refused to let go of.
A man who looked to be in his mid-sixties ran towards them on the lawn and led the way back to the house, past a tennis court on one side and a swimming pool on the other. The crew made their way up the sweeping outside steps to the patio of a mansion-like residence with its grand rear elevation featuring large doors and extensive glass. They were here for an emergency but Noah couldn’t help taking in the grandeur of this place and knew Kate was doing the same.
Inside the house, they were led to a huge room filled with people. There was a cocktail-inspired island bar with people crowded around it, and the sound of ice cubes being dropped into a glass alerted Noah not everyone here was willing to stop what they were doing simply because someone needed medical attention.
As soon as he saw the patient, Noah realised what they’d walked in on wasn’t a party but a wedding reception. And it was the bride who needed their help.
‘Stand back, please.’ Kate’s voice rose, commanded her instructions.
Noah knelt down beside the bride, who was on her back, groaning, with a hand clasped to her head. Another woman was kneeling beside the patient in a stunning silk mocha-coloured dress, her hair semi-pinned up but now tumbling over her shoulders in enormous waves and settling over her chest. Kate clearly knew this woman because she’d put an arm around her briefly.
Noah focused. The woman holding the patient’s hand was very much his type, the sort he might have met on a night out and would want to get to know. Except now he had other priorities when it came to the fairer sex in his life.
‘Please stand back,’ Noah repeated and while Kate talked to the patient, he stood, arms outstretched to push the onlookers back a few steps. Didn’t they realise they made this job so much harder?
When he crouched down again and opened up the medical bag to get what he needed, Kate told him the patient’s name was Julie.
‘Hi, Julie. We’ve got you, don’t worry.’ His gaze fluttered to the other woman who still hadn’t yet let go of Julie’s hand until someone at her shoulder came to investigate.
The woman in the mocha dress stood up then and took over crowd control. Impressive. People took notice of her. And it let him and Kate get on with what they needed to do.
Kate and Noah tried to piece together what injuries Julie might have by talking to her. It wasn’t always the injuries you could see or the pain the patient was focused on; there was always the chance of other issues and the crew needed to make sure they didn’t miss anything. Talking to Julie like this would also help them observe her level of consciousness, whether she was confused or not.
Julie was talking a lot, she was coherent. She kept saying this was all an overreaction, that she really was fine and it was her own stupid fault she’d hurt herself. She’d got carried away, climbed onto a low table to dance pretending it was a stage and then she’d lost her footing, fallen and hit her head on another table before crashing to the ground.
Noah wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her arm and then put the pulse oximeter on the tip of her finger to check oxygen levels. Kate continued her assessment of the patient’s torso. There were no signs of hip, leg or pelvic injuries.
Noah gently examined the egg-like lump that had appeared on Julie’s right temple.‘You have a sizeable bump there.’
‘I have ice.’ The voice came from behind him and the beautiful woman in the mocha dress handed over a tea towel containing ice cubes.
‘Thank you.’ He held it gently against Julie’s head. She winced but only briefly before he saw relief.
‘What’s your name?’ Julie asked him.
