Emergency Echo Read online

  ‘Hmm.’ Grandad looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘I’m going to poke you in the tummy. Tell me if it hurts.’

  Alice braced herself, determined to remain in control. Grandad gently put a hand onto her side and moved it around as if searching for a particular spot, then pressed.

  ‘Ow!’ yelped Alice, unable to hold back.

  ‘Hmm.’ Grandad frowned. ‘I think we should get you checked out by a doctor.’

  ‘Why?’ asked Alice, a little panicky. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Not sure,’ said Grandad. ‘I’m not a doctor. That’s why I think you should see one.’ He got up onto his feet. ‘How about I take you to the outreach medical centre right now?’

  He’s worried about something, thought Alice.

  She pushed herself carefully up from the couch. She groaned as she stood and held a hand to her stomach. Alice took a deep breath and let it out slowly, waiting for the pain to subside. It didn’t. It was like someone had stuck a knife in her and left it there.

  ‘You’re not gonna make her walk to the centre, are you?’ said Ben, appalled. ‘It’s four blocks away. And she doesn’t look too good.’

  ‘I can walk,’ said Alice through gritted teeth, trying not to let the pain show.

  ‘Hmm,’ said Grandad. ‘I’ll ring your mum and get her to come home with the car.’

  ‘No,’ Alice protested. ‘It’s almost lunchtime. She can’t leave the milk bar. I can walk.’

  Intent on proving her point, she took a couple of steps. But the pain ripped through her. She gasped, stumbled and fell hard onto the floor – the impact sending another jolt of pain shooting through her body.

  Alice groaned again, squeezing her eyes shut to hold back the tears. She curled into a ball, wrapping her arms around herself.

  Grandad and Ben were crouching next to her within seconds. Grandad rubbed a comforting hand up and down her back, quietly murmuring ‘There, there.’ Ben squatted awkwardly, looking from Alice to Grandad and back, not knowing what to say.

  It took a few minutes, but finally the pain eased. Alice stopped groaning and opened her eyes.

  ‘You are definitely not walking, young lady,’ said Grandad in his take-charge voice. ‘I am going to ring your mother.’

  Alice looked up pleadingly at Ben, hoping he would be on her side now that she needed him.

  ‘Wait,’ said Ben, jumping to his feet. ‘I’ve got a better idea.’ And without further explanation, he dashed out the front door.

  Grandad lowered himself on the floor, his knees creaking in protest. ‘Hmm,’ he mused.

  ‘What is it, Grandad?’ asked Alice.

  ‘Well, that was quite a display you just gave us,’ he said. ‘I want to get you to a doctor to make sure you’re okay. I don’t like it when you’re sick.’

  Alice thought that he was holding back. She was pretty sure he knew what the matter was but didn’t want to say. That just made her even more worried.

  ‘If you know what’s wrong,’ said Alice, ‘tell me.’

  At that moment Ben burst in, pushing an old wheelchair ahead of him. It was in worse condition than the cricket stumps they’d been using earlier that day. It was rusty, the paint was peeling and the stuffing was falling out from the torn seat. And one of the wheels was a bit wonky. Ben was grinning.

  ‘Where did you get that?’ Alice blurted out.

  ‘It was in the back shed,’ he said, as if that explained everything. ‘I thought we could get you to the doctor in it.’

  ‘Brilliant!’ said Grandad, getting to his feet before giving Ben instructions. ‘Move the coffee table out of the way. Get the chair in nice and close.’

  Alice gritted her teeth in readiness. She knew this was going to hurt. As Grandad lifted her and Ben held the wheelchair in place, she worked hard at not crying out. And then she was in – a little pale, a bit shaky, still in pain, but happy to be seated rather than sprawled across the floor.

  Grandad nodded in satisfaction. ‘Okay, Ben. You’re going to have to drive. I don’t think my knees will cope.’

  Ben pushed the chair, struggling to keep it straight and get it out the door.

  To distract herself from the pain, Alice gazed up at the sky. Clouds had rolled in. The sun was now a hazy spot of heat, trying to burn through a layer of grey. It was still brutally hot, but there was definitely a change coming.

  ‘You know the way?’ asked Grandad, once they were all outside.

  Ben nodded and set off. It was a squeaky, wobbly journey. The wonky wheel kept pulling the chair off to the right, and Ben had to fight to keep it on the footpath. Every time he pushed it over a bump or caught the edge of the nature strip, Alice would feel a stab of pain. She gritted her teeth and gripped harder onto the armrests.

  Finally they arrived at the Outreach Service and entered the air-conditioned building. Alice hadn’t realised just how warm it was until she was out of the heat. She wondered how long before the change would come. It always seemed hottest right before a storm.

  The receptionist gasped when she saw Alice being wheeled into the centre and went to fetch a doctor. Within minutes, Alice was lying on an examination table with a doctor prodding her stomach. She yelled out when he poked a little too hard in a tender spot.

  ‘I’d say it’s a case of acute appendicitis,’ he concluded. ‘That appendix needs to come out. We’re going to have to fly you to the children’s hospital in Perth.’

  Alice bit her lip and looked anxiously from the doctor to Grandad.

  The room was abuzz with voices.

  Alice was lying on a portable cot, set up in the corner. She was still in pain, but was managing not to show it. She had a clear patch stuck to the back of her left hand. The doctor had put numbing gel there and covered it, so that when she had an IV drip attached later, the needle wouldn’t hurt.

  Grandad was sitting in the plastic chair at the head of the cot. Mum was perched on the edge of the cot fussing over her. Ben was pacing, glancing nervously at Alice every now and then. And Lewis was running from one end of the room to the other.

  Mum was dressed in a pastel blue skirt and loose fitting yellow top. Her long brown hair, tied back into a ponytail, flicked from side to side as she moved her head. She was talking round in circles, with quick, nervous sentences.

  ‘Now, don’t you worry. Everything is going to be okay. They’ve called the Royal Flying Doctor Service. They’re going to fly you to Perth. There’s a kids’ hospital there. They’ll take good care of you. But you’re going to have to wait here for a bit. They said forty minutes for a plane to get here from the RFDS base in Meekatharra. But that’s okay. You don’t have to worry. It’ll be okay.’

  Her eyes darted about as she talked. Alice knew that Mum had to keep talking. It’s what stopped her from panicking whenever there was any sort of crisis.

  Crisis! Is this a crisis? wondered Alice. I guess it must be, if they’re getting the Flying Doctors.

  Alice knew all about the RFDS. You couldn’t live in a small outback town and not know about them. She’d watched their planes fly overhead. She’d seen the rural clinics they held on a semi-regular basis in town. She’d even met one of the doctors during a special visit to her school, when they’d learned about healthy eating and living.

  Mum started talking again, wringing her hands. ‘Yes, yes, they’ll look after you. Those Flying Doctors are wonderful. They’ll …’ Her voice petered out.

  ‘Don’t you worry, love,’ said Grandad, putting a hand on his daughter-in-law’s shoulder. ‘Appendicitis is a very common thing. Alice will be fine. You’ve had your appendix out. So have I.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Mum, her eyes getting wider. ‘Because your appendix operation is such a reassuring story.’

  ‘What happened?’ asked Alice, looking expectantly at Grandad.

  ‘I think that’s a tale for another time,’ said Mum hurriedly, making sure Grandad didn’t have a chance to answer.

  Grandad shrugged.

  ‘Stop that
!’ snapped Mum, as she noticed Lewis ripping pages out of a magazine on the side table.

  Lewis stopped and held up the magazine, displaying a photo of some chocolate mousse with a recipe. ‘Poo!’ he declared excitedly before eagerly tearing out more pages.

  With an exasperated sigh, Mum jumped up and snatched the magazine out of his hands. He started crying, so she picked him up. Alice was relieved that Mum’s attention had gone elsewhere.

  ‘I’ll tell you later,’ Grandad whispered conspiratorially.

  The door opened and a nurse rushed in. She looked around, wondering who to talk to, and finally settled on Grandad as he seemed the calmest.

  ‘Now, there’s nothing to worry about,’ the nurse began, which of course resulted in a panicked look entering Mum’s eyes.

  ‘What?’ demanded Mum. ‘What’s wrong? What happened?’

  ‘Calm down,’ said Grandad, raising a hand. ‘Let the lady finish.’

  ‘There’s a cool change approaching,’ the nurse continued. ‘And it’s quite a big storm. So we thought it would be best to get you going ASAP. The plane is already on its way from Meekatharra and we want to get you to the airport now so that you’re there when it lands. You’ll get put on the plane and head off straightaway.’

  ‘How far is the storm?’ demanded Mum. ‘How long before it hits?’

  ‘I’m afraid I’m not sure, Mrs Gleeson,’ answered the nurse. She turned to look at Alice. ‘They’re getting the ambulance ready now. I’ll come and get you in a few minutes.’ She patted Alice’s arm. ‘And don’t worry. It’ll all be fine. They’ll get you to Perth.’

  ‘Why Perth?’ asked Alice. ‘Isn’t there a hospital in Meekatharra?’

  ‘Well, there is,’ the nurse replied, ‘but it’s not very big. There isn’t a surgeon stationed there, and the hospital doesn’t really have the facilities to perform an appendectomy. It’s standard procedure to fly you to Jandakot Airport in Perth and then transfer you to the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children.’

  ‘Oh.’ Alice nodded uncertainly.

  The nurse smiled. ‘There really is nothing to worry about.’ She bust led out of the room.

  Alice was getting a little sick of everyone telling her not to worry. All this talk of everything being fine and not worrying was just reminding her that she was worried. Very worried! She knew that appendicitis was common. But she also knew that things sometimes went wrong. And what if they went wrong for her?

  Ben had stopped pacing. Mum had put Lewis down, and he’d gone back to ripping up the magazine. Grandad had just sat silently.

  As the door closed, they all started talking at once. Alice couldn’t work out who was saying what. She was about to tell them all to shut up, when she was caught off-guard by a stabbing pain in her side. She cried out …

  And everyone was suddenly quiet, staring at her with concern.

  ‘I’m okay,’ she said, clutching her stomach.

  ‘Don’t you worry about a thing, dear,’ said Mum. ‘I’ll come with you. I’ll make sure everything is okay. I’ll –’

  She was cut off by Lewis gleefully throwing the magazine across the room with a loud squeal of excitement.

  ‘Lewis!’ she shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at him.

  Lewis burst into fresh tears.

  Alice wasn’t sure she could cope with her anxious Mum and destructive younger brother coming with her. She looked at Grandad pleadingly.

  He nodded and stood up. ‘Now, my dear,’ he said to Mum. ‘I think it might be better if I went.’

  Mum opened her mouth to protest, but he continued talking.

  ‘I don’t think it would be a good idea to take Lewis on the plane. And you can’t leave him here if you go. He’s too much of a handful for me to be looking after for an extended period of time. Added to which, what will happen to the milk bar while you’re gone?’

  Mum tried to protest again, but Grandad didn’t give her a chance to interrupt.

  ‘It’s bad enough you closed up early today to come here. You can’t afford to do that. And, really, whoever goes with Alice will just end up sitting around waiting most of the time. And that’s something I do rather well.’ He looked a little sad as he said that last sentence.

  ‘Yes,’ chimed in Alice. ‘I think that’s a great idea.’

  Well, maybe she didn’t think having Grandad with her was a great idea … but it was certainly better than a panicky Mum.

  Before Mum could object, the nurse came hurrying back in. An orderly with a wheeled stretcher followed her in. The small room was now way too crowded.

  ‘We’re almost ready for you,’ she announced. ‘I’m just going to check you over and put in a drip. The drip will keep you hydrated and it will have all the medications you need. Then we’ll get you into the ambulance.’ She turned to Mum. ‘Is she allergic to any medication?’

  ‘No.’ Mum shook her head vigorously.

  ‘Okay,’ continued the nurse. ‘Alice can only have one person come with her in the ambulance and the plane. The plane is quite small, and with a doctor and nurse accompanying her, there’s only one spare seat. Who’s it going to be?’

  ‘Grandad,’ answered Alice quickly.

  Grandad nodded when the nurse looked to him. ‘Yes, I’ll go with my granddaughter.’

  ‘And I need to stay with my son,’ Mum explained when the nurse looked back to her for confirmation.

  ‘Fine,’ said the nurse. ‘Now, I think it’s time for everyone else to leave.’

  Mum gave Alice a teary hug, then headed out the door with Lewis in her arms. Lewis poked his tongue out at her over Mum’s shoulder. It made Alice smile. He is such a cheeky little ankle-biter, she mused.

  Ben sidled up to the cot. ‘Cricket when you get back?’ he asked.

  ‘You bet,’ answered Alice.

  Ben hesitated, then awkwardly leaned forward. Alice almost jerked out of the way. What was he doing?

  He attempted to kiss her on the forehead, mimicking the way his mum would kiss him goodbye. But Alice moved her head in surprise and he ended up getting the edge of her hair.

  ‘Oh … um … sorry,’ he stammered, before rushing out of the room with a mumbled ‘See ya.’

  Alice blushed. That was very unlike Ben. She thought it was sweet, even if it hadn’t quite worked out. Then she noticed Grandad gazing at her with a raised eyebrow.

  ‘What?’ she demanded.

  Grandad shrugged.

  The orderly wheeled the stretcher to the cot, then pulled a lever to lower it so that it was the same height. He and the nurse shifted Alice across to the stretcher using the blanket she was lying on to slide her over. She yelped as the movement shot pain through her side.

  The nurse fussed over Alice – checking her blood pressure and temperature, listening to various parts of her body with a stethoscope and then finally setting up the drip.

  She removed the patch from Alice’s hand and wiped away the numbing gel. Alice had to close her eyes when the nurse inserted the needle into the vein.

  ‘All done,’ said the nurse, and Alice opened her eyes. ‘How’s the pain?’

  ‘There’s a kind of all-over ache,’ she said, indicating her stomach. ‘But then I get these stabbing pains in the side here.’ She pointed to the spot. ‘Especially when I move.’

  ‘Is the ache staying at a consistent level?’

  ‘Well, it’s a bit worse than it was when I first came in,’ she said.

  The nurse nodded. ‘On a scale of one to ten, where ten is the worst pain you imagine, where are you at now?’

  At first Alice wanted to say six. But she took a moment to think about it. Although her stomach was hurting, she could imagine a lot more pain than she was in. ‘Um … four,’ she said, uncertainly. ‘Maybe five?’

  ‘What about the stabbing pains?’

  ‘Um, they’re kind of everywhere. Some are strong, some are not. So … five to eight, I guess.’

  ‘Any nausea?’

  ‘A bit.’
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  ‘Okay,’ the nurse adjusted the controls attached to the drip. ‘I’m going to start you off on some painkillers, as well as antibiotics and some anti-nausea meds.’

  Alice was then wheeled out to the waiting ambulance, Grandad following. Lying on the stretcher, Alice could see that the clouds had darkened. And it wasn’t so hot anymore. The change was close.

  The nurse came in the back with her, but Grandad had to ride up front with the driver.

  By the time they were on their way, Alice realised that the pain was easing and a warm, fuzzy feeling was spreading through her.

  The drive to the airport was short. It seemed to Alice that it couldn’t have been more than ten minutes. This was a good thing, as each time the vehicle went over a bump, pain throbbed in her stomach. She spent most of the journey staring up at the roof. But she did make some effort to look around as well – after all, she had never been in an ambulance before. It felt both cluttered and sterile at the same time. There were shelves and drawers and containers, instruments and tubes hanging on the walls, and it was all very confined. There was an overpowering antiseptic smell.

  It suddenly struck Alice that she was in for a whole bunch of firsts – which was scary. She took a couple of deep breaths to calm her anxiety.

  Her first operation. Her first flight in an aeroplane. Her first visit to the Mount Magnet Airport. She was glad that Grandad was here with her.

  She gritted her teeth with anticipation as she was taken out of the ambulance, but the pain wasn’t as bad this time. Alice sighed with relief and then shivered. She looked up to see that the sky was dark and threatening. A chilly wind blew through the car park. I hope we get going before the storm actually hits, she thought. There was a sound thrumming in the air … getting louder.

  Alice turned her head to see the plane descending. Perfect timing. She stared at it until it flew down out of her line of sight.

  Alice was wheeled towards a gate in a low chain link fence that connected the car park to the airport. The RFDS plane was now taxiing to a stop. She gazed in wonder. It wasn’t much of an airport – just an old building, a shed and a couple of intersecting runways – but it was exciting, nonetheless. The little gate that led out onto the tarmac was, for her, the gateway to distant places. Not that she was going anywhere too distant today. Perth was only an hour’s flight from Mount Magnet. She’d been there a couple of times before, although it had been by bus.