When Brad came out of the room and met her in the corridor, she mustered as much enthusiasm as she could manage by announcing, ‘There’s birthday cake, remember. Nobody got to eat much last night.’
He looked weary.
‘Tough job?’
‘I’ll say. I need some cake first, a cup of coffee, then I’ll be ready to go through my notes with you; is that okay?’
‘Fine with me,’ she said, leading the way to the kitchen. She didn’t ask for more details, not right now; he looked like he needed some time to de-stress.
Hudson joined them and, without her having to ask, gave her the update from the hospital. ‘Lena is still thriving, drinking formula like there’s no tomorrow. A foster carer with the appropriate approval level has been appointed and they’ll be going to the hospital with the social worker midday tomorrow.’
‘That’s good. She’ll be somewhere safe.’
‘I’ll make a call to the police, check whether they’ve heard anything.’
‘Thanks, Hudson.’
‘My pleasure. But right now, I’d better make sure I get a slice of my cake, preferably a very big one. I can’t believe I’ve held off until now.’
Nadia distributed slices of cake, Hudson made the mugs of coffee and when Kate, the other paramedic on the blue team, appeared, she said she’d grab hers later. It was time to clean Hilda. The whole crew were responsible for cleaning the helicopter, nobody escaped the job, and Hilda was due her maintenance check tomorrow so would be taken away and another model left in her place.
Nadia took her cake to go and told Brad, ‘I’ll be in my office whenever you’re ready.’
She wondered whether she would ever get a turn to decompress from everything that had happened recently, the pain it had brought up. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine, almost feel, Lena in her arms. Holding the baby had gone some way to comforting her from her own previous losses but at the same time, it had opened up wounds that had never really healed.
Nadia finished her piece of cake and confirmed the final head count for the crews and the staff for the main fundraising event of the year scheduled for next month. It was the annual dinner dance and would be held at a magnificent venue on the coast. The fundraising team, who worked remotely and didn’t come into the airbase all that often, had done a stellar job of pulling this together. There would be a three-course meal, followed by a silent auction, and then dancing late into the night. Nadia had been shopping last week and treated herself to a brand-new dress – black, almost floor-length, sequins – and couldn’t wait to get all dolled up for a night with her colleagues. With any luck,they’d raise a great deal of money for the town’s air ambulance. Maya’s dad Nigel had a lot of business contacts and these days was one of The Skylarks’ biggest sponsors. He’d arranged the beautiful venue at a heavily discounted rate and already Nadia could feel it was going to be an event never to forget.
Brad came in soon after she’d called through the final head count.
‘I’m sorry it was such a tough shift,’ she said.
‘One of the hardest. The cake helped a little, thanks.’
Armed with a pad of paper and his notes as well as a good memory, he recounted the events of the emergency they’d attended. He was thorough; he had to be. Nadia’s job was to listen, to go through all the information and then she’d be able to pass the case to either Hudson or Paige for follow-up. It was easier to have her go through incidents first so that she could manage the workloads of their two patient and family liaison officers and allocate work accordingly.
Nadia got all the details down. Paige’s workload was ample for the hours she worked so this one would go to Hudson. Hudson would be the point of contact for the family, who would likely have questions about the care their loved one had had pre-hospital and what the next steps were. He’d handle it well because Hudson always seemed to bring light and hope with him. It was one of his many qualities she admired.
She looked out into reception to see whether she could grab Hudson to listen in but he was on the phone and so she and Brad continued. He detailed every step of the job from The Skylarks’ arrival to everything they did for pre-hospital care. The job had been a call to a road traffic collision and a young adult male had gone through the windscreen and was found lying on the bonnet. He’d had extensive injuries, a blood transfusion was done at the scene, but it hadn’t been enough. He’d died before they got him to the hospital.
‘You look like you could use a drink more than I could,’ Brad said once they’d finished and Nadia had put all the details onto the computer. ‘Harrowing, that’s one word to describe today.’
‘Oh, Brad, some shifts are like that, I know, I get it.’
‘Let’s hope tomorrow is better.’
They emerged from the office and she went over to Hudson at the reception desk. ‘It sounds like a terrible shift for the crew today.’
‘Yeah, not the best from what I hear.’
‘I have all the notes ready for you. I was going to grab you but you were on the phone.’
‘I called the police – nothing yet,’ he confirmed. ‘Come on, let’s talk through the notes now and I’ll grab Brad if I think I need more clarification.’
Back in the office, they went through the details. All the facts were there and the team were good at talking with one another if they needed anything else.
He stood up to go and Nadia picked up her bag.
‘I’m off home,’ she said. ‘Early night for me, I’m shattered.’
