It was all that Danni needed to know. Right away she knew that they were going to need an expedient flight, once the baby was born. Spouting off orders as she handed the flashlight to the person next to her, they hustled the group to the waiting rig. Danni and the rescue workers loaded the patient into the ambulance as Garrett prepared for the birth.
"Danni, change places with Ed. I need you down here with me." The surgeon was pulling on her gloves as she kneeled at the foot of the stretcher.
"Turn the heat up to high and get us some blankets to warm up."
The nurse knelt down on the side of the stretcher. Grabbing gloves, she quickly pulled them on as the surgeon gently positioned the woman’s legs for the impending birth. It was then that Danni noticed the small bottom protruding from the woman’s perineal area. ‘I guess nothing is going to be easy.’
Garrett slid her gloved fingers gently along the small body as she tried to gain access through the birth canal and up into the dilated cervix itself. She had to find out whether or not the cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck. Her long sinewy fingers finally felt the cord. The surgeon worked to loosen it with little effort. Now with her hand still in place, she could feel the beginnings of the next round of contractions starting.
"Okay, when the contraction comes, I want you to push and push hard." Garrett looked over to Danni. "You ready?"
The nurse nodded her head.
"Here it comes!"
"GRRRRRaugh!!!!" The scream was frightening to the boy clenched in the death grip of the delivering mother. His face turned white and his knees buckled underneath him. He plopped down onto the bench seat.
"Ed…Ed! Lean forward and put your head between you knees. You’ll feel better in a minute or two." Danni shot glances in his direction as she waited to receive the baby from Garrett.
"Okay, just one more push and you’re done." Garrett was encouraging her. "Just let the contraction wave roll around once more and it’s all over."
The tears were streaming down her face as the injured woman could feel the wave rushing like a wild ocean tide from the sea. Within seconds it was here and she could feel her body releasing the form that it had nourished for the last nine months. "AAAAAAUUUUUURRRRGGGGGGGGHHHH!"
Garrett had emerged with the baby in her hands. Hastily, Danni worked to wipe the face with gauze, trying to clean out its airway in preparation of that first gasp for air. A small soft rubber bulb was used to suction out any additional fluids that may have blocked the airway.
The piercing screech of a baby’s first cry broke through the air. Garrett and Danni both saw the small newborn as it sucked in its first taste of fresh air. Anything that they could do to withstand the finality of death in another human being, they knew it had been worth it at that moment.
Working quickly, they clamped off the cord and cut it. The baby was wrapped in a towel and then bundled into a warm blanket. The nurse held on to the baby as she moved up closer to the head of the stretcher.
"He’s beautiful. You have a baby boy." The nurse’s eyes shone lovingly as she positioned the infant so that the mother could see.
Tears of joy began streaming from the woman’s eyes. "Thank you," she mouthed as she reached out to touch the soft skin of her son with her left hand.
Danni moved in closer. "Careful of the I.V.," she cautioned. The nurse watched the tender scene as mother met son for the first time, their touch bonding them in a way that only mothers know.
Within a few minutes, they were ready to go. Danni cradled the baby in her arms as Garrett oversaw the movement of the woman up to the waiting helicopter. They were headed for home, the trauma hospital that would give both mother and child the best chance that they could have.
The quick response of the helicopter was welcomed and the skilled hand of the seasoned pilot was evident. The ride had been smooth and uneventful from that standpoint. The swiftness with which they had transversed the countryside was recorded in the shorter than estimated arrival time. Garrett chose to save as much time as possible by utilizing the dangerous hot unload procedure where the blades are still spinning at full revolution. The team carried out the maneuver as if it had been done thousands of times before.
Within minutes they were wheeling their patient down the short hallway and into the room where the combined team of trauma and obstetrics personnel waited. The exchange was made and Danni and Garrett left the crowded room knowing that they had made the right decision.
"Feels a little funny, huh?" The petite nurse slumped up against a wall where her tall friend was standing.
Garrett’s eyes never left the action in the Trauma Room. "Yeah, it does."
"Think that we’ll ever get used to this…I mean…not being the ones in there?"
"Hmm…I’m sure that we’ll have our moments, again."
"I hope so." Danni thought about what had almost transpired between the two of them when the call for assistance had come in. She had felt cheated at that instant, but not, after she watched the woman straining to bring a new life to the world.
Dr. Ian McCormick was the attending on duty this night and much to Garrett’s surprise he walked over to the pair with a huge smile on his face. She nudged her team member to get Danni’s attention. The surgeon kept her voice to a low whisper. "Wonder what words he’ll use to describe us now."
Danni smiled back at him. "Dr. McCormick, nice to see you again."
"Danni, Garrett, how’s my…" he caught himself before it could slip out. "How’s the team doing? Look’s like it got off with a quick start. What was that…two, three minutes into the New Year?"
Garrett smiled. She was glad that her threat was taken seriously. "Yes, that’s about what it was…two or three minutes."
"Good work you two. Now, go on home and get some rest. We’ll take it from here." He chuckled to himself. "You know, you’re both on call until the end of June." He turned and walked away, feeling as though he had won some kind of quest.
With a raised eyebrow, Garrett followed his form down the hall until he was no longer in view. "What was that all about?"
Danni shrugged her shoulders, "I’m not sure."
The surgeon smiled as she heard the sound of the baby’s cry. It was somewhat infectious as Danni also broke into a wide glowing smile as she looked up to her friend. Garrett Trivoli may not have been the Trauma Surgeon on duty, but she had met her goal of keeping another person from her own fate of being a lone survivor. For this they were both happy.
Chapter 6
The petite blonde stood silently off to the side of the room watching the interaction between the people that had attended the meeting of The Lone Survivors. They seemed to be from all walks of life, some well educated, some very much the blue collar workers of society and even a few that were trying to pull themselves up by their boot straps.
Gender didn’t seem to matter when it came to trauma. It chose at random from all age groups, well, that was after the age of twenty-five. Before, it was predominately males that were the victims. It was a fact of our society. The young males had a much greater chance to be cut down in the prime of their lives by some traumatic occurrence.