A Winter's Tale

WHO NEEDS TRADITION P1

"Are you still okay for tonight?" Iain questioned Dixie, hoping for a positive answer. He hopped out of the ambulance from the passengers side.

"Yes, are you sure you want to cook, I will happily cook if you like?" Dixie answered as she came around from the drivers side to where Iain now stood.

Iain screwed his face up. He had had too many encounters with Dixie's horrific cooking.

"No, no I will cook. You put your feet up for once boss!"

"Let's hope we get off nice and early. You know what control is like, one minute before the end of our shift and they will send us out on a job." Dixie handed Iain a mop and bucket whilst she held a cleaning cloth.

"Their a daft lot at that control room!" Iain despised the idea of finishing work late!

Their conversation was cut short when Rita approached Iain from behind. She grabbed his sides, twisting him round before speaking.

"Iain shall I tell you why I love you?" He smiled.

"Because only you would wear a Santa's hat on New Years Eve!" They kissed, before Iain pulled away to speak.

"Why not? Gotta make this Christmas season last as long as possible. It's the only time Dixie prances around like a sugar plum fairy, excited about any job we get called to!" He waved his arms to the side like wings, mimicing a fairy.

Dixie frowned half jokingly before turning and chucking her cleaning cloth at Iain.

"Hey!" They seemed to say in unison.

"All the patients are gonna think you're bonkers. Won't want you treating them!" Dixie teased.

The cloth was thrown back at Dixie. Soap bubbles seemed to fly through the air. They both smiled then laughed.

"Right I think I will leave you to it. Charlie's gonna wonder what I have been doing if I walk back inside with my hair half covered in soap bubbles!"

Rita slowly walked away but Iain shouted for her.

"Wait Rita I've got something for you." He wiped his wet hands on his uniform and leant the mop against the side of the ambulance, as Rita turned back.

Iain hurried to the front of the ambulance to the glove compartment where he took out a small box. He opened it.

"Iain it's beautiful!"

A silver necklace with a blue gem sat in a small matte black box.

"I know your not one usually for jewellery but I saw this and had to get it you."

"You are one sweet fella, you know that? Thank you!" She smiled.

"I better be getting back to work. You two have a wonderful evening tonight if I don't see you before hand."

Iain again shouted for Rita.

"Rita..."

There was a brief pause.

"I love you!"

She turned around and smiled before miming 'I love you'. Pointing to herself, forming a heart with her hands and then pointing towards Iain. It seemed like a school childish romance, but by being like that it worked.

"Aw look at you two love birds! you know what Iain, I am worried about you!"

Iain frowned.

"You're growing up! Very mature nowadays!"

Iain shook his head, silently laughing as he mopped the back of the ambulance.

"Control to 3006." Dixie got hold of her radio.

"3006 to control go ahead."

"Can you make your way to Croft House. Male unconscious, hardly making any respiratory effort. Unknown cause."

"3006 in respondence over."

"Right, as you are so mature Mr. Iain Dean, do you want to drive?"

"Go on then."

Iain hopped into the drivers seat, Dixie the passengers. The lights and sirens were switched on and off they went.

They arrived at an old building. Three floors in height. The paint of the building was weathered and peeling off in spots, gutters were broken and worn and the front garden was overgrown. It seemed unimaginable that someone was living in this house, that looked as if it had been abandoned for many years.

Iain approached the door with his medic bag on his back and knocked.

"Hello, ambulance service!"

A couple of moments later someone answered the door.

"Hi, come in it's my father. I came to visit him and he's unconscious. I'm terribly worried about him."

They followed the woman to the living room where they found an elderly man slumped in his chair. Iain approached the man and felt for a pulse as he asked the regular questions.

"What's his name?"

"Edward."

"How old is he?"

"79."

"Hello, Edward can you open your eyes for me?" Iain rubbed his sternum hoping for a response but he lay there motionless. Iain then lifted the old man's frale eye lids, shining his small torch into his eyes.

"Right Dix, I've got a pulse, quite shallow but let's get him on the oxygen, do an ECG, then hospital."

Dixie acted on Que.

An oxygen mask was put over the old fella's frail wrinkled face. Then he was hooked up to an ECG where tachycardia was found.

Iain turned to the worried daughter.

"Right, we will get your dad onto our trolley, and nip him up to hospital. Dixie will stabilise him on the way."

They then moved Edward who now lay stock-still on the trolley. Iain held the back of the trolley, Dixie help the front as they quickly wheeled the bed onto the ambulance. Iain hopped into the front of the ambulance whilst Dixie stayed in the back with the patient.

Iain flicked a switch which started the lights, another switch started the sirens. The engine started and Iain then commenced the pronto drive to the ED. Whilst Iain drove, Dixie alerted the emergency department of their three minute arrival at the hospital with a male in his late 70's, unconscious, tachycardiac.

Three minutes passed in a matter of seconds it seemed as they pulled up outside the hospital. Dylan and Lofty were already awaiting their arrival.

Dixie led the hand over as Iain moved around from the front of the ambulance to the back. He held the front of the trolley as the bed was swiftly moved from the ambulance to resus.

"This is Edward Lansdale, 79. Was found by his daughter in a collapsed state, he is tachycadiac. Been on 100% O2 for the past 20 minutes, saline drip has also been given but no improvement. Blood pressure is 60/40."

They swifly moved him over to the bed is resus 1, Iain and Dixie took off their machines whilst Edward was hooked up to the hospital machines instead.

In unison Lofty and Dylan thanked Iain and Dixie as they wheeled the trolley out of resus and into the corridor.