Molly would leave at 10:00 with Bear, Shadow, and a mule.
Silas would pack and prep the mule.
Silas would contact Evelyn and Betsy to pack food. Molly would need food for herself, the dogs, and the mule.
Silas would arrange for Betsy to watch the pups.
Molly would pack her own clothes and supplies and contact Vivian at the Vet clinic for a medical kit. Silas would send Becky to the Vet clinic at 9:30 to pick up whatever Vivian could put together.
The longest discussion was whether Molly would walk alone, take a mule, or take a horse. She wanted to walk with a backpack. But by the time they’d completed the discussion about supplies, they both agreed on a mule. Mules could go places horses couldn’t. They were sure footed and trained for hauling supplies. Bart used a mule. A mule made the most sense.
The final factor in favor of the mule was when Silas speculated that Bart could have had a bad fall. He could be over a cliff, in a crevasse, alive but with a broken back and neck. Molly could picture Bear barking in a panic, completely helpless, Bart unable to move. Molly would need ropes and heavy gear for that kind of rescue. That tipped the scales in favor of a mule. They’d also talked about a bear or cougar attack without mentioning the worst case scenario. But those contingencies would require an extensive medical kit if he was still alive.
Betsy, Evelyn, and Molly were packing Buddy, the mule Silas had selected for the mission, when Becky drove up with the medical kit from Vivian. Just as they were going through the medical kit, a 911 emergency response van drove up. Molly looked up confused, then remembered: Betsy’s husband, Reed, was a professional EMT. She looked at Betsy, shaking her head in appreciation, then at Reed as he opened the door and walked over with a bag of his own supplies.
“Reed, I can’t believe this.” Molly, Reed, and Betsy had gone to school together. Molly had known Reed long before he’d married Betsy.
“Don’t worry, Molly. This right here is not happening. Silas just reported a heart attack.” He walked over, put a stethoscope on Silas’ chest for one second. “Good news, Silas, it looks like you’re going to survive.”
Molly chuckled. EMT games. Reed had to justify his trip to Summer’s End.
“This is not going into our work report today. None of us have any idea where you’re getting these supplies. Who knows what you might need, but this is what a professional search and rescue team would carry.”
Reed carried his bag over to a table, and Molly put Vivian’s kit next to it. Reed opened both kits and spread the gear out. Starting at one end, he walked Molly through each item. There was a surgery kit complete with scalpel, needle and thread; a wide variety of antibiotics; bandages and tape; splints for broken bones; and an IV kit packed on dry ice.
“Have you ever hooked anyone up on IV?”
“On animals. Never a person.”
Reed handed her a needle and laid his hand on the table, drawing a black line on the vein to be used. “Stick the needle in right here.”
“You want me to stick an IV in your hand right now?”
“Just the needle. It’s the hard part, and it may be the most important thing you have to do. If he’s been incapacitated for any time at all, he’s likely dehydrated, and dehydration is a killer. The body can’t function without fluids. If he can’t drink, you’ll need to get fluids in his body first thing. So stick the needle in right here.”
Molly took the needle and carefully slipped it into the vein on Reed’s hand.
“Perfect. After it’s in, hook up the IV, and inject an antibiotic into the bag. It’s the quickest way to get antibiotic in the body.”
“That was scary.”
“Yeah, but you did it. No problem.”
Reed walked her through the rest of the kit while the team packed Buddy.
Reed said, “Can I have your cell phone?”
“Cell phone isn’t going to do me much good up there.”
“Yes, it will. I’m going to download an emergency medical manual on your phone. You won’t need the internet. It will be on your hard drive. Do you have a battery charger?”
“Yeah, my phone is charged and I have two chargers. Bart has a solar powered system but I’m not sure I’ll be able to find it.”
“After we download this, you should turn your phone off to conserve power.” Reed downloaded the manual on her phone and showed her how to use it to diagnose problems. He explained it was the manual every EMT used in emergency situations.
Once the gear was laid out and explained, Reed combined his gear with Vivian’s and packed it in the medical bag, handing it to Betsy to load on Buddy.
At this point, Molly’s head was swirling. She could feel the adrenaline pumping. She was completely overwhelmed. Surgery in the wild? No way.
