Surf, Skye and a dream (Bondi Rescue)

A dramatic day in paradise

The freedom of being surrounded by nothing but waves was the most relaxing feeling ever. I paddled out leisurely as I took in my surroundings. The rain was heavy and the beach was almost deserted. I glanced out to sea and saw nothing but a long stretch of grey dreary sky. What I also noticed was the incredible waves. Not too big but not so little that a 3 year old could ride them. I turned the board around as I saw the perfect wave rolling in towards me. Quickly, I paddled onto it and just as I reached its peak, I shifted my weight and jumped up to ride the wave in. It was an incredible feeling. When lay back down onto the board, I immediately turned round to paddle back out and catch another. The rain seemed to have got a little lighter but at this point, my hair was drenched so I didn't really notice.

After catching several more waves, I headed out for the last one of the day. On the way out to the back of the breakers, I heard an ear splitting scream. I whipped my head round and saw a tiny dot about hundred metres away. The dot was a teenage girl. She was screaming and waving frantically as her head bobbed in and out of the water. I had to go. I immediately switched into lifeguard mode and paddled as fast as I could towards her. The rip made it hard to paddle sideways but I fought hard against. The closer I got to the girl, the more panicked she became. When I was no more than 10m away, she took a desperate, gulping breath before being pulled completely under. I paddled harder than ever before. My arms were burning but I knew I had to keep going. I could see her lifeless body floating face down in the water and I had a deep feeling of dread.

After what seemed like years, I finally reached her. I hastily jumped off the board and grabbed her cold, lifeless body. I tipped the board and lay her arm across it before flipping it over to get her onto it. Her limbs were floppy and her skin a haunting pale grey colour. Quickly, I jumped back onto the board and felt searchingly for a pulse. It was there but it was weak. Quickly, I rolled her onto her side and opened her mouth, water draining out as I did so.

I turned my body and looked back towards the beach to search for someone, anyone that could help. I waved desperately before turning back and paddling as hard as I could back to shore. The girl was still unconscious and I had to regularly feel for a pulse. When we had nearly got back to the beach, I noticed a blue lifeguard buggy speeding down the beach towards us. I sighed with relief that I would at least have some help before grabbing the girl's cold body and dragging her out of the waves and onto the beach. I lay her down on the sand before checking her pulse once again. It was getting weaker. I looked up to see two lifeguards running towards me.
'What happened?' The blonde haired one asked me.
'I saw her struggling and going under whilst I was surfing. She lost consciousness as I reached her and her pulse is slowing, she needs oxygen.' I replied as checked her airway. He looked rather startled that I was telling him what to do with her so I simply said, 'don't worry, I'm a paramedic'. This explanation seemed to satisfy him as he reached for the medical bag in the buggy and began to unpack everything we'd need. I focused my attention back onto the girl and I was happy to see that her pulse was slowly getting back to a normal speed. I looked up at the other lifeguard and realised that it was the one with the cute butt from the other day. My stomach flipped as I caught eye contact with his icy blue eyes again.
'I'm Jesse by the way' he said as he started to bag her. I reached down to check her pulse again and simply replied with, 'I'm Skye, it's nice to meet you.' For a second I got lost in his gaze and could think of nothing but his pure perfection.

Suddenly, the girl started to regain consciousness and coughed violently. I felt terrible for abandoning her welfare for the attraction that I felt to the lifeguard.
'Hello? I'm Skye, I'm a paramedic and this is Jesse. Don't panic, you're in safe hands. Can you tell me your name?' I said slowly. There was every chance that she wouldn't speak English.
'Emily' she muttered weakly as her eyes started to close. I shook her gently as Jesse felt for her pulse once again.
'Don't go back to sleep Emily, you need to stay awake for me. Can you speak to me?' I prompted her, 'are you here with anyone?'
Heavily, she opened her eyes as she coughed once again.
'Just breathe slowly' I told her. She looked up at me and weakly whispered, 'my mum.' I stroked her back softly as the effort of speaking sent her into another fit of coughing. All of a sudden, the walkie talkie attached to jesse's belt stuttered into life and I could vaguely make out from the crackly talking that the ambulance was 2 minutes away. Jesse looked up at me as I again monitored her pulse and briefly described the radio call, although is already heard it. The blonde haired lifeguard got up and drove up the beach to be ready to collect the paramedics. Finally, we heard the screaming sirens tearing down the promenade and Jesse turned to me. 'I guess you know all of what's about to happen?' He said, as he gestured up the beach to where the ambulance had now parked.
'Yeah, I think I'm pretty ok with it!' I replied jokingly. I looked up to see the lifeguard buggy tearing down the beach with two paramedics in tow. As the buggy slowed to a stop beside us, I stood up to introduce myself. I once again reeled off what had happened and Emily's symptoms before helping the paramedics to get her stabilised and onto a stretcher. We had to take spinal precautions because we didn't know what had happened to her out in the sea.

It had been nearly 15 minutes since I had brought Emily back to shore and her mum was nowhere to be seen. Jesse was scanning to beach for someone, anyone, who seemed to be searching for a lost daughter but there was nobody. Suddenly, I heard a desperate shout from behind me. I looked up towards the promenade to see a woman running full pelt towards us. Her face showed her pure panic as she got closer and closer. I took a deep breath and walked calmly towards her. I knew that it was my job as a paramedic to keep this woman, who I assumed to be Emily's mum, calm and informed about what was happening now to her daughter.
'My..my..my daughter!' She said desperately, tears streaming down her face. I took her arm gently and sat her down onto the sand next the Emily.
'She's going to be ok, I found her out in the sea unconscious but she's awake now. She needs to go to hospital because she swallowed a lot of water. Can you tell me what she was doing out there?' I told her slowly and calmly.
'She went for a swim whilst I was walking along the promenade. She said she'd only be about 10 minutes and when she didn't come back I got panicked. Oh, will she be ok?' She replied through a mess of tears. I helped her up off of the sand and we followed the paramedics as they took Emily up the beach to the ambulance. On the way up, I explained everything that would happen and how important it was that she got checked out at the hospital.

The ambulance doors slammed shut and I watched it drive away into the distance. I took a deep breath, a wave of exhaustion washing over me. I hadn't realised that I was still very jet lagged. Just as I was about to turn to leave, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked round to see Jesse behind me.
'It was incredible what you did out there, it was an honour to see you work!' He said as he smiled kindly.
'Thanks, but it was nothing really, it's my job' I replied, a smile spread across my face.
'All the same, it was brilliant. I think I owe you a drink after that!' He laughed, 'I finish at 7, why not meet me back here again then. I'm sure some of the other lifeguards will want to say thank you as well.'
I gratefully accepted his offer of a drink before telling him that if see him outside the tower later. I waved goodbye and turned to grab my board and then walk home to sort myself out.

The walk was short but it gave me time to take in what had just happened. On the whole, I was pretty proud of myself! I went from innocent surfer to full on paramedic in an instant and that was brilliant seeing as I hadn't worked for about a month. I reached my apartment and put my new surfboard outside my front door. I was too tired to find a proper place for it to live so it could stay there for a while. Once inside, I took off my wetsuit and changed into my pyjamas. It was time for a power nap! Slowly, I climbed into bed, setting an alarm for 45 minutes time. My eyes drifted shut almost immediately, my head full of the thoughts of my very eventful day...