than ever.’
Her head down, Holly held the plastic cannula in place, then pulled out the metal stylet and put it in the sharps container. She screwed in a cap and taped the whole thing down, then attached the end of the IV line Kyle dangled beside her without looking up at him.
‘How’d you get so good?’ Kyle asked.
‘She used to work in pathology,’ Roberto said. ‘All she did all day was stick needles into veins.’
‘Is that so?’ Kyle said.
‘Yep,’ Holly lied. ‘All day long.’
The young man still wasn’t moving. The monitor’s beep slowed further. She pressed nervous gloved fingers to his wrist. ‘You’d better get going.’ The lower his pulse went, the more likely it was she’d be asked to come along to help.
They rolled him onto the carry sheet, then lifted him onto the stretcher.
Kyle tapped the drip chamber. ‘It’s not flowing right. I think it’s tissued.’
‘It’s fine.’ Roberto felt the patient’s neck. ‘Pulse is still dropping. Get a BP.’
Just go . Holly edged towards the crowd.
Kyle deflated the cuff. ‘Seventy on sixty.’
‘Let’s move,’ Roberto said. ‘Holly, can you come with us? If he keeps on like this we could be doing CPR shortly.’
She wanted nothing more than to say no, but the train was still empty, and the beep of the monitor continued to fall, and the patient looked so young and vulnerable.
*
Roberto put in an ET tube before they loaded, then called a code three to alert RGH Concord that they were on their way. He drove on lights and sirens. Holly sat in the resus seat at the head of the stretcher and squeezed the bag. The young man’s heart rate had stabilised around fifty beats per minute; still on the slow side, but at least it hadn’t fallen further.
In the seat beside the stretcher Kyle wrote notes on the case sheet, then took another blood pressure. Holly wanted to ask if it’d come up, but kept her mouth shut and her face turned down towards the patient’s. Kyle had given no sign that he’d recognised her and she hoped and prayed it stayed that way.
She tugged the wrists of the gloves up.
‘Glove problem?’ Kyle said.
‘They’re too big, that’s all.’
Roberto braked hard and swerved and said over his shoulder, ‘Sorry.’
‘Stupid to go urgently for a druggie,’ Kyle said, apparently to the case sheet. ‘Save his life today and he’ll be back on the street tomorrow, trying to kill himself again.’
Holly touched her fingertips to the young man’s forehead and said nothing.
‘Used to be that they were mostly in the city or out Cabra way; now they’re fuckin everywhere.’ He leaned forward and ran a strip from the monitor. ‘Friend of mine used to work at Fairfield in the eighties and nineties, in the worst of it. Said they’d be dropping like flies all over the place. Half the time you got there and they were dead. Decent bit of natural selection going on.’ He grinned.
Holly turned to look out the windscreen, the blood pumping in her veins.
‘I mean, think how much all this is costing.’ Kyle gestured at the ambulance walls. ‘Paying us to go out there and scrape his sorry carcass up off the ground, pay for the drugs we used, the petrol, maintenance on the truck, pay for your overtime to help us, not to mention what’ll happen at the hospital. You know how much a ventilated bed in ICU costs per day?’
Holly’s hands were sweaty and her heart thumped hard and high in her chest. She couldn’t stay silent any longer. ‘I’m not claiming for this.’
‘You’re crazy not to,’ he said. ‘Work for nothing? You gave mouth-to-mouth to the prick too. I’d be getting all the blood tests quick smart.’
‘He’s just a kid.’
‘A kid with HIV probably.’
She focused on the patient’s face. Say nothing more. Let it slide. Be safe.
‘I hope he does have it,’ Kyle said. ‘Useless piece of shit.’
She couldn’t stop herself. ‘You don’t know what problems he’s got. You don’t know
Her head down, Holly held the plastic cannula in place, then pulled out the metal stylet and put it in the sharps container. She screwed in a cap and taped the whole thing down, then attached the end of the IV line Kyle dangled beside her without looking up at him.
‘How’d you get so good?’ Kyle asked.
‘She used to work in pathology,’ Roberto said. ‘All she did all day was stick needles into veins.’
‘Is that so?’ Kyle said.
‘Yep,’ Holly lied. ‘All day long.’
The young man still wasn’t moving. The monitor’s beep slowed further. She pressed nervous gloved fingers to his wrist. ‘You’d better get going.’ The lower his pulse went, the more likely it was she’d be asked to come along to help.
They rolled him onto the carry sheet, then lifted him onto the stretcher.
Kyle tapped the drip chamber. ‘It’s not flowing right. I think it’s tissued.’
‘It’s fine.’ Roberto felt the patient’s neck. ‘Pulse is still dropping. Get a BP.’
Just go . Holly edged towards the crowd.
Kyle deflated the cuff. ‘Seventy on sixty.’
‘Let’s move,’ Roberto said. ‘Holly, can you come with us? If he keeps on like this we could be doing CPR shortly.’
She wanted nothing more than to say no, but the train was still empty, and the beep of the monitor continued to fall, and the patient looked so young and vulnerable.
*
Roberto put in an ET tube before they loaded, then called a code three to alert RGH Concord that they were on their way. He drove on lights and sirens. Holly sat in the resus seat at the head of the stretcher and squeezed the bag. The young man’s heart rate had stabilised around fifty beats per minute; still on the slow side, but at least it hadn’t fallen further.
In the seat beside the stretcher Kyle wrote notes on the case sheet, then took another blood pressure. Holly wanted to ask if it’d come up, but kept her mouth shut and her face turned down towards the patient’s. Kyle had given no sign that he’d recognised her and she hoped and prayed it stayed that way.
She tugged the wrists of the gloves up.
‘Glove problem?’ Kyle said.
‘They’re too big, that’s all.’
Roberto braked hard and swerved and said over his shoulder, ‘Sorry.’
‘Stupid to go urgently for a druggie,’ Kyle said, apparently to the case sheet. ‘Save his life today and he’ll be back on the street tomorrow, trying to kill himself again.’
Holly touched her fingertips to the young man’s forehead and said nothing.
‘Used to be that they were mostly in the city or out Cabra way; now they’re fuckin everywhere.’ He leaned forward and ran a strip from the monitor. ‘Friend of mine used to work at Fairfield in the eighties and nineties, in the worst of it. Said they’d be dropping like flies all over the place. Half the time you got there and they were dead. Decent bit of natural selection going on.’ He grinned.
Holly turned to look out the windscreen, the blood pumping in her veins.
‘I mean, think how much all this is costing.’ Kyle gestured at the ambulance walls. ‘Paying us to go out there and scrape his sorry carcass up off the ground, pay for the drugs we used, the petrol, maintenance on the truck, pay for your overtime to help us, not to mention what’ll happen at the hospital. You know how much a ventilated bed in ICU costs per day?’
Holly’s hands were sweaty and her heart thumped hard and high in her chest. She couldn’t stay silent any longer. ‘I’m not claiming for this.’
‘You’re crazy not to,’ he said. ‘Work for nothing? You gave mouth-to-mouth to the prick too. I’d be getting all the blood tests quick smart.’
‘He’s just a kid.’
‘A kid with HIV probably.’
She focused on the patient’s face. Say nothing more. Let it slide. Be safe.
‘I hope he does have it,’ Kyle said. ‘Useless piece of shit.’
She couldn’t stop herself. ‘You don’t know what problems he’s got. You don’t know
Similar Books
