Snow Storm part 6

As soon as they were clear, everyone but Cathy and Jane got onto the snow mobiles to make the trek to the garage and from there to the hospital. As they waved goodbye, Cathy asked Jane if she would like some soothing cream, as the wind and snow had made their faces red and raw. Jane replied, "Yes, please," and the two women went back inside the clinic.

Their respite was short lived, though, as a mother and son arrived by snowmobile. She was supporting him on the seat in front of her as she drove up, having tied him to her with her scarf. The two women were horrified to see that he had something large and sharp protruding from his neck, supported by his own scarf, which was wrapped around his neck and head. Jane and Cathy ran to grab the boy as soon as the mother cut the snowmobile's engine. The mother was trembling from cold and fear, and the boy was very cold and barely conscious, with some bleeding around the wound. She told Cathy that the youngster had jumped off the roof of their family's porch, knocking off and then somehow landing on an icicle, which had pierced his neck; "I didn't dare pull it out – but I think he's dying!" They brought them into the room recently vacated by Marie, and then Jane ran to the shortwave radio. Cathy began yelling information at Jane who feverishly wrote down details on the pad beside the radio, and tried to make contact with Barton Hospital again.

When she got through, she let them know what they had. "Hello, Barton? We have a 7 year old boy who has fallen off a roof onto an icicle, which is still embedded in his neck. The icicle is located just to the right of the larynx, underneath the jaw. The fall happened about 15 minutes ago. Mother is here." Jane listened, wrote some notes, and began relaying questions to Cathy, "Can you feel a carotid pulse?"

"Yes."

"Breathing?"

"Raspy, but clear. Shallow and I think rapid."

"Is he conscious?"

"Semi."

"Can you ask him to move his hands and feet?"

There was a very long pause, and then Cathy responded, "He moved his fingers briefly, and his feet twitched."

Jane listened intently to the headset for more instructions. "Is there any swelling around the injury or signs of bruising?"

"I don't think so," Cathy called, "but the icicle has made most of the tissue very cold."

"They say not to touch the icicle, as there may be clotting that could be dislodged."

The boy's mother sat on the chair beside the examining table and sobbed quietly in fear and shock as she tried to gather herself together enough to help Cathy.

"Can you look in his mouth very carefully?" called Jane.

"What am I looking for?" replied Cathy.

"Any signs of blood or bleeding."

Cathy used the smallest of movements and had his mother hold a flashlight so she could check. "Not that I can see."

"Any drooling? Coughing?"

"No, but he's so cold..."

Jane passed along the information and they waited patiently. Cathy asked her to ask Barton what she should do about the icicle melting – would it be dangerous to the boy? Should they try to keep it cold or warm it up?

Jane listened for the answer. "Ice is good, because it slows the blood flow and acts as a natural anaesthetic. Monitor his breathing and pulse rate, and as long as they don't change, the lower body temperature may actually help him."

Cathy called back. "That's what I thought. So we keep it from melting as much as we can, right?"

"They're sending another air ambulance." Jane paused and listened to the other person on the air. "Looks like as soon as Johnny lands, he will turn around and come back here, with a nurse on board, to pick up the boy and get him to Barton asap." She waited again for information, and then turned to the child's mother. "Can you drive your snowmobile to the township's garage? They'll arrange transportation to the hospital for you from there. If not, someone will come and pick you up here, but it might be up to half an hour from now."

His mother looked at her pale injured son, and at Cathy. "As soon as he's on his way, I'll go. Oh, if only my husband were here!" she cried.

Jane put down the headset and walked over to the doorway to comfort the woman. "If you leave his coordinates with us, we'll make sure he can meet you at the hospital soon." The woman nodded, trying not to break down.

Within less than ten minutes, they heard the chopper return, and slid the boy out on their stretcher sled combination, wading through the knee high snow that had yet to be cleared. Johnny was lowered down from the chopper, as well as another Stokes, and the women helped him to secure the child into the basket. Once again, within minutes, the helicopter was flying away with the victim.

Inside the clinic Jane gave the mother a cup of hot coffee with lots of sugar in it, and told her to drink it all before she left, so she would have some warmth and energy for her trip. Cathy knew that Jane was really giving it to her to help combat the natural shock reactions that had started to show.

Soon, the two women were alone again, and this time they were able to clean up from all their visitors that afternoon. They had just settled down after finishing their chores to have hot drinks themselves when they heard a new noise outside.

What a welcome sight met them, as they saw a very large plow struggling to clear the center of the roadway. Behind it, there were two other somewhat smaller plows pushing the remaining snow onto either side of the road. And to Cathy's delight, she recognized the local doctor sitting in the front seat of the second plow. She clapped her hands, and Jane laughed at her enthusiasm. One of the plows turned into the parking lot and began to clear a space, while the largest plow blew its air horn and passed on up the road, with the smaller plow following behind.

Dr Grenady jumped out of the cab, and climbed through the snow to shake Cathy's hand and be introduced to Jane. He was about the same age as Cathy, and it was evident that they knew each other well. He came inside the clinic and spoke with Barton on the short-wave radio, and then congratulated the women on all that they had accomplished that day.

They heard a horn outside, and the driver of the smaller plow, who had finished clearing a part of the parking lot, said, "I'm to take you back to the garage, Mrs. Gage. I'm heading there now. Doc, you good?" Dr Grenady nodded and waved, and helped Jane climb into the cab of the plow. Cathy blew her a kiss and called "We'll keep in touch!" as they pulled away.

The cab was noisy inside, but there was no snow spray in her face, which she really appreciated. Suddenly Jane was very, very tired. Still, she was startled when the driver had to gently shake her awake after he parked in the garage lot. "Can I help you down, Miss?" he asked. She smiled at him gratefully, and accepted his arm to get her down from the cab. There, talking to the Chief, was her husband, and as she watched, the two men shook hands, and walked over to where she was standing.

"Hey, Jane!" Johnny grinned at his wife. "We've been offered a limo ride back to the cabin."

"A limo?"

"Yeah," he answered, and pointed to the snow plow.

The Chief smiled at Jane. "It's the least we can do to thank you and your husband for the help you've given us today." One of the younger firefighters was called over by the chief. "Grab a shovel, Andrew. You're going to help dig out this fine couple's car." They all climbed into the cab of the plow, with Jane sandwiched between Johnny and Andrew, their bags of makeshift emergency supplies at their feet.

As they drove back to the road where the cabin was located, their driver said in a puzzled voice, "I wonder why Dave is stopped like that, right in the middle of the lane." Ahead of them, on a side road, a plow like the one they were in, was stopped in front of a house on a slight hill.

Andrew peered out the windshield and added, "And why is he out of his cab with a shovel? Hey, aren't those the Harrisons?"

Johnny commented quietly, "I think we'd better stop, guys. I got a feeling 'bout this..." Sure enough, when the group on the road noticed the arriving plow, they started waving frantically and calling out. Jane felt a cold shiver slide down her back that had nothing to do with the air temperature. They stopped, and climbed out of the cab, just as Mr Harrison arrived breathless from running.

"My son..." he gasped, "he was making a fort in the bank...didn't...didn't realize... plow was coming..." Jane covered her hand with her mouth in horror and instinctively turned toward Johnny for direction. So did everyone else. Even though they didn't know him, it seemed that all the men there naturally expected the young paramedic to take charge and tell them what to do.

Johnny started gathering the bags of supplies from beneath Jane's feet. As he walked quickly toward the group near the snow bank, he asked, "How long?"

"Five, or maybe 6 minutes."

"Does he know how to make himself an air pocket?"

Mr Harrison's eyes filled with tears. "He's only four. I never thought..." Only 4 years old. Jane said a silent prayer that he would somehow, miraculously, be all right.

Johnny checked the bank for any tell tale signs that the plow had actually made contact with the child. He couldn't see anything obvious, but that didn't mean there wasn't a grisly discovery awaiting them in the snow bank. He looked at his wife. "Jane, I want to get these other people away from here so we can work better. Bring them up to the house, and get some hot water going, just in case." He was grateful that he easily found a legitimate reason to get her away from this.

He looked at Andrew, who was enough of a greenie to look visibly scared. 'Course, it didn't help that he actually knew the family. Still, this was what being a fireman was all about, and he wasn't going to let the kid off the hook like he had for his wife. "Andrew. You have your shovel." He nodded to the shovel in Andrew's hand. "Start cutting into the bank from the top very gently, every foot or so. Go about two feet deep, but go very slow. When you come out, take out a shovelful so we can see where you've been. You feel anything – anything at all – you yell."

He spoke to Mr Harrison. "You got any extra shovels up there?" he nodded towards the house. All the while he was sorting through the stuff at his feet, looking for things that might aid in the rescue. Ropes, flashlights, all went into a pile beside him. Mr Harrison nodded, and motioned for one of the other men to run up to the house and grab all the shovels.

Johnny looked at the driver of the first snow plow. "You call anyone yet?"

The poor man shook his head, and answered in a shaky voice, "It all happened so quick. I didn't even know, 'til I seen Mr H tearin' out the house..." He looked at Johnny with pleading eyes, begging for reassurance. "I didn't feel nothin' – I couldn't have..." Johnny didn't need to tell him he wouldn't have felt anything, even in the worst case scenario. He just looked at him compassionately and said, "Call it in. Now. Get an ambulance or whatever's available." The other man nodded, and climbed into his cab to use the radio.

Johnny set the other four men digging in rows, starting from the tops of the banks and working downwards. When they finished a row, he would have them move over right beside their previous try and start again. He went over each hole that was dug and felt with his arms and called out the boy's name. "Robbie! Robbie, if you can hear me, make a sound, any sound!"

Twenty minutes had gone by since they first started digging, and an ambulance had arrived at the house thanks to the newly plowed roads. There had been no sign of the child. Mr Harrison was becoming desperate and dug with increasing despair. "Please, please, please, please" he kept repeating over and over in an under-voice. Johnny didn't know what was worse, listening to the father's constant pleading, or the silence when he stopped.

Then - Andrew called to Johnny, "I think I felt something!" Everyone started to drop their shovels, but John encouraged them to continue. Andrew moved out of the way, and Johnny stuck his arm into the snow, feeling around. His third try he came into contact with something...that felt like a jacket. He immediately called over, "Need some help here! Dig just with your arms, no shovels!"

It was the plow driver who uncovered the child's white and blue face. Several of the men were unabashedly crying. There were no apparent injuries, and Johnny moved quickly to see if he could get a pulse. He wasn't sure at first, but then he felt it – a very faint flutter under his fingers. The boy was unconscious, but miraculously alive. Five men carried him over to the ambulance, and Mr Harrison ran up to the house calling hysterically for his wife to come.

Jane came down with Robbie's mother and saw Johnny tenderly checking the boy in the back of the ambulance, and for a moment she thought again of their son – a sharp pain stabbed her heart, so quick and intense that it took her breath away.

Within minutes the ambulance doors closed, the mother sitting in the front of the ambulance and Johnny in the back, setting up to warm the child. Jane stood in the lane with the other actors in the little drama, watching her husband leave yet again, another tragedy averted.

Robbie's dad was comforting the plow driver who had inadvertently buried his son. They arranged to drive back to the garage together and get Mr Harrison into a truck or jeep that would bring him to the hospital to rejoin his wife and child.

Jane's plow driver asked her what she wanted to do, go back with them to the township's garage, or continue to the cabin. She stood for a moment, uncertain, but then decided to go back with the men and see if there was any more help she could give while she waited for Johnny to return.

As they drove back the way they had come, she closed her eyes and sent out a prayer for those who had been injured: Marie, Robbie, the 'smoke man', the little boy with the icicle...for those she didn't know whom Johnny had helped...for the families and friends of the victims, for those who were tirelessly working to save lives and heal wounds, and for the volunteers cleaning up after the snowstorm. Good people doing incredible things with limited resources in trying situations to benefit others. This is what her man did every day he went to work. How honoured she felt to know him and his colleagues. How blessed she was that he was in her life.

A couple of hours later, back at the cabin, with the Land Rover finally dug out and the road cleared, Johnny and Jane stood at the door and discussed what to do now. The sun was setting. "Have you had enough vacation, Honey?" he asked her.

"Maybe," she replied.

"C'mon, let's get this stuff put away and eat that great foil dinner you made."

"Was that just yesterday? It feels like I did that last year!"

"As long as it doesn't taste like you did..." Jane scrunched up her nose again and stuck out her tongue at him. They entered the cabin, and saw the tent with the mattress, and the coffee can in the sink. They saw the stack of magazines, and the playing cards on the table, and then both sighed at the same time.

Johnny started rebuilding the fire, and Jane got some water ready to boil. While they were waiting for the fire to have enough coals for the foil dinners to cook, they climbed into their tent. Johnny reached over to pull Jane into his arms...and she was already asleep. He chuckled to himself, threw a blanket over them both, and snuggled up beside her, closing his eyes.

A couple of days later, with the LA sun struggling through the yellow haze, Johnny arrived at the station for his shift. As he got out of the Rover, he patted his chest with both his hands and took a deep breath of the smoggy air. "Ahhh." he exclaimed, stretching out his arms.

Roy was arriving at the same time, and looked bemusedly at his partner. "Any particular reason, Johnny?" he asked as he walked leisurely over to his friend.

"Just appreciating the city, Roy. You should try it."

Roy chuckled and shook his head. "Does this new appreciation have anything to do with your days off?"

"Could be. Y'know Roy, I would never've believed it, but a man can get too much of mountains and trees and fresh air..."

"I can't wait to hear this story," Roy commented as he followed John into the locker room.

End