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‘He’s thrashing about. I think he’s having some kind of seizure, what do I do?’
He could hear the panic in her voice. He signalled with his head to Des, who immediately pulled the prepared stretcher alongside Kai, knowing they would have to get out of there quickly.
‘Do you know the recovery position?’ he radioed to Kristie.
‘W-hat?’
‘His side. Turn him on his left-hand side. Get Gerry or some of the older kids to help you if need be. Once he’s on his side pull up his right leg slightly and bring his right arm over so his hand is on the ground in front of him.’
And then there was nothing. No reply. No chatter. Just silence as his stomach churned. Either Ross’s head injury had caused agitation and Kristie was mistaken, or he was having a full-blown seizure—neither of which were good signs. Kai would already need to be sent to the mainland for surgery. Now it looked like Ross would need to be airlifted. The nearest head injury unit was in Glasgow—it would take too long to get there by ambulance and ferry.
‘Ready, Doc?’
Des had moved to Kai’s head and shoulders, ready to slide the lad onto the stretcher. Rhuaridh bent down straight away. ‘Sure. Kai, your painkiller should have started working by now. We’re going to slide you over onto the stretcher. It should only be a bit uncomfortable, and once you’re on the stretcher the metal hoop will mean that nothing will touch your leg.’
He was trying hard to stay very calm, all while his brain wondered how Kristie was doing. He’d left her out there. He knew she wasn’t medically qualified at all, but he’d felt duty bound to come and assess his other patient. Would he have left her out there if he’d known the ambulance would be so long?
His mouth was dry. He couldn’t help but remember that momentary glance in her eyes when she’d told him hospitals freaked her out. He’d wanted to ask more, but there hadn’t been time. He was drawn to this woman. He liked her. He couldn’t ignore the flicker of attraction that seemed to permeate the air around them. But the truth was he barely knew her.
He was moving on autopilot. ‘Ready?’ he asked Kai.
The teenage boy screwed up his face and Des held him by the shoulders and Rhuaridh gently took the weight off his legs. The movement was swift, with only a minor yelp from Kai. Des helped move the plastic casing quickly over the stretcher, zipping it closed, protecting the rest of Kai’s body and only leaving his face exposed.
‘Who is going first?’ Des asked as he eyed the cascading waterfall. Each of them was going to have to step through it carrying the stretcher.
‘I’ll do it,’ said Rhuaridh quickly. He tried the radio again. ‘Kristie, how are you? How is Ross? Have you got him in the recovery position?’
There was an agonising pause.
‘I think so. But he’s still...twitching.’
‘I’ll be right there.’ He could hear the tension in her voice. He wanted to jump straight through the waterfall and be by her side. But he was a doctor. He was so used to taking the emotion out of things and doing the duty he was bound to—like now, when he had to try and take care of two injured patients. Where was that darned ambulance?
Before he had chance to let his brain churn any more he signalled to Kai and Des. ‘Are we ready?’
They nodded. Rhuaridh looked at Kai. ‘When I give you the signal, take a deep breath. I’ll have the front end of the stretcher and we’ll literally just need to walk through the waterfall. You know the pond isn’t particularly deep. This isn’t dangerous. Just a few moments of pounding water around your ears.’
Kai nodded. ‘I’ve been through it once when Des pulled me back in here. I’ll be okay. Let’s get this over with.’
Rhuaridh put the rest of the equipment back in the rucksack and put it on his back. He jumped down into the pool with the waterfall directly at his back. The noise was deafening, so he used signals to grab the stretcher above his shoulders and gesture to Kai. Des was ready and they moved swiftly through the waterfall and back out into the pool. Water cascaded over them, but it only took a few seconds to be free of the noise and clear their noses and mouths.
