Chapter
Lindsey, Sonia and Alex sat in a plane looking shell shocked. An air hostess handed the phone to Alex.
"Are Sara and Kate okay? Did they find Tegan?" Lindsey said jumping up.
Alex looked pale as he listened to the person on the other end of the line. He hung up, his hands shaking.
"Sara and Kate are both in surgery. Too soon to tell if… um... they'll be okay or not. They found Tegan…"
"Is she hurt? Is she okay?" Lindsey interrupted him.
"That's all I know… they found her…. she's hurt. They'll be in touch when there's more news."
Lindsey put her head in her hands. "Please, please let her be okay" she whispered.
Sonia suddenly burst into tears. Lindsey turned and held her tight.
"We need to keep believing Sonia… they'll be okay… they'll be okay" Lindsey whispered.
-0-
Three more members of the rescue team abseiled into the ravine. They were lowering more medical supplies and light.
"Am I glad to see you Craig" said Cam to a guy wearing a jacket with "Doctor" on the back.
"What have we got Cameron?" said the trauma doc.
Somebody quickly set up the light while the trauma doc did a quick assessment of Tegan as he listened to Cam's report.
"Mid-thirties female. Severely hypothermic, temp's about 83. BP is 50 over 35. She's bradycardic, pulse is 40. Depressed breath sounds equal bilaterally but she's struggling. I'm hearing rails. Sats are terrible, 78% on 100% O2. She's unresponsive, GCS is 5, possible concussion or brain bleed simply because of the distance she fell but her pupils are equal and reactive but sluggish. Possible spinal injury. There's definite fractures to the left radius and ulna, possible fracture to the left humerus. Dislocated left shoulder. Large hematoma from what I could make out on her right side moving to the front of her chest and abdomen. Right knee and foot are swollen. I felt a petal pulse but it's weak. I've started her on a litre of warmed saline wide open. Gave her salbuterol IV, that opened her lungs up a bit" Cam rattled off and took a deep breath.
"Thank you Cam. Thorough! Let's get that c-collar on, splint the arm, immobilise the shoulder and get her on a back board. We need to get her out of here now or she won't make it" he said.
"Are we carrying her back to base or are we doing an areal extraction?" Cam asked.
"We don't have time to get her to base, we're about a mile away. She needs aggressive heating asap. Chris get the chopper ready. We'll radio them when we're ready" said Craig as her felt around Tegan's hips.
"Pelvis seems intact, let's do this" said Craig.
Somebody put a cervical collar around Tegan's neck. Cam checked her pupils again. "Pupils still equal and reactive, slow"
"Get the backboard, we'll get her on when we turn her so we don't have to move her again" said Craig the trauma doc. A hypothermic patient needed to be treated very gently and carefully. Sudden movements needed to be avoided since they could cause cardiac arrhythmias or arrest.
They turned Tegan slowly and carefully onto her back after splinting her arm and immobilising her shoulder and neck. Since her clothes were cut off she was now in her underwear only. Her skin was a light shade of blue. There was a large bruise on her chest and on part of her belly.
"Get those blankets over her" Craig barked listening to Tegan's chest.
"Her rhythm is all over the place and her resps are struggling" I need her up on top now so we can intubate and get her on a monitor.
"Starting an IO line for dopamine" said Cam and started drilling into Tegan's good leg.
Craig looked at pulse ox on Tegan's finger and listened to her chest again.
"Scratch that, her sats are falling fast, she's in respiratory failure. We need to get her intubated right now. Get her on a portable monitor" said Craig. He positioned himself at Tegan's head and tried to open her jaw.
"Cam, can you start a central line, circulation is up to crap. Jesus her jaw is tight from the cold. She's so clamped down I can't open her up" he said before ordering a drug to relax Tegan's muscles. Chris quickly attached electrodes to Tegan's chest and flipped the small cardiac monitor on.
Cam injected the drug. It took longer than normal to kick in considering that Tegan's circulation was severely compromised.
"Come on sweetheart, open for me" Craig said softly.
"We need to get in there, sats are now in the 60s" Cam said sounding very concerned.
"Give it a sec" said Craig massaging Tegan's jaw. Cam gave Tegan a few breaths with an ambubag to get her oxygen levels up before Craig tried to intubate her.
"Alright, she's opening up… not very wide but it'll have to do" Craig said and put a laryngoscope blade down Tegan's throat.
"I can't get in, trachea's closing up. Get me a bougie" he said before inserting the thin wire into Tegan's throat and sending down the tube around it.
"And… I'm in. Check" Craig said calmly after a long struggle to get the tube in.
"Bagging with 100% O2" said a medic.
Cam listened to Tegan's chest with her stethoscope. "You're in, breath sounds equal bilaterally but she's still not moving much air"
Craig ordered another pulmonary drug to be pushed into Tegan's ET tube to open her lungs up.
"Secure that tube, we need to get out of here. Hart, you feel like taking a ride with the patient?" Craig said.
"You got it" said Cam without hesitation.
Head blocks were put on the sides of Tegan's head and she was taped very securely to the back board. Craig pulled the stretcher straps tight over Tegan's chest and legs.
"Tell them to send down the wide basket, Hart's gotta ride with to ventilate her. I'll come up the other side right after you" said Craig as the noise of the helicopter came closer.
The clouds have miraculously moved over about twenty minutes ago and the helicopter had no issues getting to them. The basket was slowly lowered down into the ravine.
"Dammit, her temp is still falling, we're down to 81" said Cam loudly over the noise of the rotors.
"Let's get her into an ER then. We need to insulate her head please. We need plenty of thermal blankets" Craig yelled.
The team hastily put more blankets over Tegan and secured them. They carried the back board away from the cliff wall.
"Stay with me now Tegan. You and I are going to take a nice ride up to the heli" said Cam while pushing air into Tegan's lungs. The team covered Tegan's head with a blanket, only the ET tube stuck out.
The back board with Tegan on it was carefully placed inside the basket and Tegan was secured with more straps. Cam was secured to a harness.
"Get on board Hart" said Craig.