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Knowing Kelly’s mother, Ally could well imagine it. Thank goodness she knew exactly where they lived.
Less than five minutes later she braked outside a row of cottages and jerked her head towards the one on the end.
‘That’s the house.’
Sean was out of the car in a flash, muttering something under his breath as he saw Kelly’s mother hovering anxiously by the front door.
‘Thank goodness you’ve come!’ Mrs Watson’s face was streaked with tears and she hurried through to the sitting room. ‘She’s in here, but she can hardly breathe…’
Sean strode through the door and Ally gave Mrs Watson’s arm a squeeze. ‘Try and clam down if you can or you’ll panic Kelly.’
Mrs Watson gave a huge gulp. ‘Don’t let her die, Dr McGuire—please, don’t let her die—’
‘She won’t die,’ Ally said firmly, and gave her a gentle push in the direction of the kitchen. ‘How about putting the kettle on?’
Not that she wanted any tea, but she knew that they’d need to assess the situation without an agitated mother peering over their shoulders.
Kelly was lying on the sofa, struggling for breath, a bluish tinge colouring her lips.
Sean’s hands were already in his bag, drawing up salbutamol. ‘She needs high-flow oxygen.’
Ally was ahead of him, handing him the mask and tubing even as he finished saying the words.
‘I’m going to use aminophylline.’
Ally delved into his case and pulled out the ampoule. ‘How much does Kelly weigh, Mrs Watson?’
There was a brief silence. ‘About four stone.’
Sean pulled a face. ‘What the hell’s that in kilograms?’
Ally did a quick mental calculation even as he was drawing up the drug. ‘Say 25 kilos.’
Sean cast an eye over the little girl. ‘Sounds about right. OK, so I’ll give her 5 milligrams per kilo.’
‘One twenty-five milligrams,’ Ally agreed, taking the little girl’s hand and giving it a squeeze. ‘You’re doing fine, Kelly. You’ll soon be breathing easier, sweetheart.’
Kelly just looked at her, her eyes dull and exhausted, too short of breath to even attempt to speak.
‘Let’s give her some hydrocortisone as well,’ Ally murmured, and Sean nodded.
‘She’s got severe bronchospasm. We might need to bag and mask her.’
Ally met his eyes briefly and then delved into the case for the equipment they might need. Kelly’s breathing was more and more laboured, and Ally glanced up and caught Mrs Watson standing in the doorway, her face white and pinched.
‘She’s breathing more easily—her respirations are down slightly,’ Sean murmured suddenly, settling the mask more comfortably on the little girl’s face.
‘Thank goodness for that.’ Ally stood up, wincing as her cramped muscles protested violently.
Mrs Watson glanced out through the window. ‘The ambulance is here.’
Sean nodded briefly and adjusted the mask. ‘Right. Well, she still needs to go to hospital. She’s better, no doubt about that, but her colour and her breathing could still improve a l
ot so let’s get her loaded into that ambulance.’
Ally smiled at the paramedic who strode into the room. ‘Hi, Daniel. Things are looking a little better here but we still need your help.’
‘Will do.’ He stared down at the little girl and gave her a wink. ‘Can’t stay away from me, can you, pet? I was here last week, wasn’t I?’
