Sworn to Defend by Charlee James

Author:Charlee James
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance
Publisher: The Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2024-05-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Hannah’s gloved hands were soaked in blood. Right now, she was the only thing standing between a young mother and imminent death. She tightened her grip, pinching the lacerated artery at the woman’s thigh while her infant screamed in a firefighter’s arms. Thank goodness the hospital nurse accompanying her on the flight today was nimble and confident. He deftly cranked the tourniquet tighter to halt the blood flow. Still, she wasn’t comfortable releasing her hold just yet.

There was a devastating pileup of ten cars on the major highway. The guardrail was a tangled mass of steel, shards of glass crunched beneath the feet of first responders, and the smell of smoke, chemicals, and worse hung in the air. There were screams and cries. Some begged for help, while others looked forward with sightless eyes, deep in shock. Several had already been pronounced dead. Those with lesser injuries were being transported by ambulance to the nearest hospital. The woman would be life-flighted, and then they’d return for another.

“That’ll do it,” said the flight nurse. She nodded and slowly released her hold, pulling her hand away from the wound and replacing it with gauze. Once the bleeding stopped, they wrapped the wound tightly and prepared her for transport. Hannah positioned the woman’s arms in an X over her chest. Then, with one hand on her shoulder and outer thigh, she rolled her to the side so Rick could position and secure the long spine board beneath her. The woman groaned as they quickly strapped her in.

“Hang in there, momma,” she said as she repositioned herself near the top of the board by the patient’s head. She squatted down, back straight. “Rick, are you ready to lift?”

“Yes. On three. One. Two. Three.” They lifted the board together, using their leg muscles to stand. Because of her height, others were sometimes skeptical about her abilities to lift an adult. She was petite, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t strong. She had to work at it, but she could competently perform every aspect of her job, including the physical part. They moved the patient to the stretcher, fastening a second set of straps.

“Ready to lift on three.” Once again, they lifted the patient, extending and locking the legs of the stretcher so they could wheel her to the helicopter. Once the patient was secure inside the small space, they fastened themselves into their seats. The one she sat in was by the patient’s head, while Rick sat by the patient’s legs. As she was prepping a unit of whole blood, the woman began to speak. “Please. My baby.”

“Your baby is beautiful and safe. We’re going to take good care of you so you can get back to caring for that baby.” Her heart clenched. The woman was in rough shape, but she’d seen worse survive.

“V-fib,” Rick called out. Dammit. The patient’s heart had gone into an irregular rhythm. The blood pressure monitor started chiming, registering a sudden drop. Without intervention, the woman would be dead in minutes.

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