was already low and Summer eased a cervical collar in place as Zac held the head steady.
‘Sorry, Frances. I know this is uncomfortable but it’s to protect your neck while we get you out. We can’t examine you properly until we get you up to the ambulance.’
‘That’s all right, dear.’ But it was Zac that Frances was looking at for reassurance. His hand she was holding through the window as Summer worked quickly beside her in the car.
‘Are you sure nothing’s hurting, Frances?’
‘My chest is a bit sore. And my arm…’
‘We can give you something for the pain.’
But Frances shook her head. ‘I can bear it, dear. It’s not that bad…’
Summer glanced up at Zac, who was still supporting the elderly woman’s head and neck. ‘We can reassess after we move her but I think we can probably wait till we get up to the top before worrying about IV access.’
‘Absolutely.’ Zac nodded. ‘The tubing and trying to carry a bag of fluids will only create a complication we don’t need. Bit of oxygen might be a good idea, though, do you think?’
‘Sure.’
They explained how they were going to get her out of the car, using a backboard to slide her towards the passenger side and then turning her to lie flat as they lifted her out onto a stretcher.
‘You’ll be quite safe,’ Summer said. ‘We’ve got lots of strong young firemen to carry you up the hill.’
‘Oh…I’ve caused everybody so much trouble, haven’t I?’
‘It’s what we do,’ Zac told her. ‘If people didn’t have accidents or get sick, we’d be out of a job.’ He was smiling again. ‘And we love our job, don’t we, Summer?’
This time, she really couldn’t help smiling back so she tilted her head towards her patient. ‘Indeed we do. Okay, Frances. You ready to get out of here?’
Getting her out of the car had to be done as gently as possible because there could be fractured bones or internal injuries that hadn’t been recognised due to position and limited access but if there had been any increase in pain during the procedure, Frances wasn’t complaining. Cocooned in a blanket and strapped securely into the Stokes basket stretcher, she looked almost relaxed as the rescue team began the slow process of inching the stretcher up to the road.
In the relative safety of the ambulance, it was Zac who led a more complete examination while an ambulance officer filled in some paperwork.
‘Next of kin?’
‘I haven’t got any. Not now.’
‘Is there anyone you’d like us to call?’
‘Maybe my neighbour. She’ll take care of the cats if I don’t get home tonight. Oh…that’s why I was driving today. There’s a special on in the supermarket at Whitianga. For cat food.’
Zac got an IV line through fragile skin with a skill that was unlikely to leave so much as a bruise and Summer hooked up the IV fluids, aware of how meticulous and gentle the rest of his survey was, despite being rapid enough to get them on their way as soon as possible. ECG electrodes, blood pressure and oxygen saturation monitors were in place and Zac was keeping an eye on all the readings. A raised eyebrow at Summer had her nodding. The heart rhythm wasn’t dangerous but was definitely abnormal and would need treatment.
‘You don’t get dizzy spells, do you, Frances?’ Zac asked. ‘You weren’t feeling sick before the accident?’
‘I don’t think so. I really can’t remember…’
‘What medications are you on?’
‘I don’t take anything, dear. Apart from my calcium tablets. I’m as healthy as a horse. Haven’t needed to see a doctor for years.’
‘Might be a good thing that you’re going to get a proper check-up in hospital then. Bit of a warrant of fitness.’
‘I don’t like bothering a doctor when I don’t need to.’
‘I know. My gran Ivy is exactly the same.’
‘How old is she?’
‘Ninety-two.’
Summer found herself sliding a quizzical glance in his direction as she gathered dressings and bandages to dress some of the superficial wounds more thoroughly. It wouldn’t occur to her to think about, let alone tell others, anything about her own family. What was it with him and his grandmother? Nobody could miss the pride in his voice and it just didn’t fit with the whole cheeky, bad boy vibe. And it certainly didn’t fit with his reputation.
‘She still swims every day,’ Zac added. ‘Has done her whole life. Reckons she’s half-mermaid. Does it hurt if I press here?’
‘Ooh…yes…’
‘Can you wiggle your fingers?’
‘That hurts, too…Have I broken something?’
‘It’s possible. We’ll put a splint on it and keep it nice and still till you get an X-ray. We might give you something for the pain, too. You don’t have to be brave and put up with it, you know. Sometimes, it’s nice to just let someone else take care of you.’
Frances got a bit weepy at that point but the transfer to the helicopter and their take-off a short time later was enough of a distraction.
It didn’t quite distract Summer. Was Frances stoic and uncomplaining because there was no point in being anything else? Was there really nobody who needed to know she’d had a bad accident other than her neighbour?
The thought was sad.
Maybe more so because it resonated. As the chopper lifted and swung inland to head back to Auckland, Summer watched the people on the ground get smaller and a cluster of houses in the small township of Coromandel where Frances lived become visible. They vanished just as quickly and Summer turned, wondering if the elderly woman was aware and distressed by how far from her home they were taking her.
‘Morphine’s doing its job.’ Zac’s voice sounded loud in her helmet. ‘She’s having a wee nap.’ His eyes were on the cardiac monitor. ‘She’s stable. Enjoy the view.’
But Summer still felt oddly flat. What if she’d been the one to have an accident in such an isolated location? Who would she call if she was about to be flown to an emergency department a long way from her home?
It was moments like this that she noticed the absence of a partner in her life with a sharpness that felt increasingly like failure since she’d entered her thirties and everyone her age seemed to be getting married and starting families. There was nobody to call her ‘sweetheart’ and really mean it. No one to make her feel cherished and safe. It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried to find someone—relationships just never seemed to work out.
If she was really honest, though, she hadn’t tried that hard. She’d told herself that there was plenty of time and her career had to take priority but it went deeper than that, didn’t it? Moments like this always made the loss of her mother seem like yesterday instead of more than fifteen years ago and what she’d been taught about not trusting men was as much a part of those memories as anything else.
Would she put her father down as next of kin? Not likely. She hadn’t seen him since her mother’s funeral and there was still anger there that he’d had the nerve to turn up for it.
She’d probably do what Frances had done and opt to put a call in to a neighbour to make sure her pet was cared for.
No. Her life wasn’t that sad. She had a lot of good friends. The guys she worked with, for starters. And her oldest friend, Kate, would do anything to help. It was just a shame she lived in Hamilton—a good hour’s drive away. Not that that was any excuse for the fact they hadn’t