Life starts now - A Bondi Rescue story

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A/N: Hey guys! Oh my goodness, I was completely blown away by your amazing responses to the last chapter! Thank you so much!

Please note that I'm not a medical professional and that I have no idea how hospitals work in Australia. I am basing this off my own experiences and the hospitals I went to were all in continental Europe...

Melanie's recollection of the events following her accident was muddled and fractured. There were snippets that stayed in her mind. Being wheeled down a bright corridor. A nurse talking to her, asking her something. Having x-rays taken.

Then, there were the hazy parts that she knew had happened but couldn't really remember. Pain as the doctor examined her torso. The gash on her head getting cleaned, stitched and bandaged. Getting settled on a bed.

And then, there were many, many gaps. Some were just little blips, tiny black-outs of maybe a few seconds. Others, just as uncomfortable and disconcerting, were longer, where she missed up to ten minutes.

The first clear memory the teen had was of her sisters being shown in by a nurse. "Dr Penn will be right with you", she said with a smile before leaving them.

The twins pulled up chairs. "How are you feeling?", Alice asked, resting a hand on Melanie's forearm.

"Woozy", she replied, grimacing at how hoarse her voice was. That's what happens when you inhale salt water.

Hailey smiled despite the worried frown marring her features. "Any pain?"

Melanie shook her head.

***

The curtain moved aside to let through a tall woman with a lovely smile.

"G'day Melanie, I'm Dr Penn", she greeted. "And you must be her sisters."

The twins nodded and introduced themselves.

"Now, there are no signs of spinal injuries", Dr Penn said, cutting right to the chase. "What you do have is a cracked sternum and a head injury. Two of your ribs, as you'll notice when the pain meds wear off, are broken, likely from the CPR you were given."

Hailey reached out to take Melanie's hand, mostly for her own benefit of reassuring herself.

"The paramedics said that you were in a collision while surfing, is that right?"

The youngest Finnigan sister nodded. "Yeah", she rasped. "A bloke tried to steal my wave. We crashed and I guess the surfboard must've hit me."

Dr Penn made a note on her clipboard before looking back up at the three girls.

"According to the report, you brought up a lot of water upon resuscitation", she said. "Our concern is obviously the risk of secondary drowning, hence the oxygen mask." – she gestured the mask fitted over Melanie's nose and mouth – "We're waiting on the results of a few blood tests, but the x-ray showed no fluid in your lungs, so you'll likely be released after we get the results."

All three sisters breathed a sigh of relief.

The doctor gave them an understanding smile and continued: "Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do about your broken bones. You'll be given medication to manage the pain – very important with these injuries because shallow breathing can bring about all sorts of trouble – but other than that, you have to be patient and let your body heal. Bed rest for the first few days and afterwards, you need to take it slow. No strenuous activity at all."