Page 105 of Summer in Greece

‘A problem in the bell, please step away,’ Carlos said, his voice tense.

‘I’m a paramedic, if you need any help,’ Shelly said, stepping back. Harry moved in next to Carlos.

‘What’s going on?’ he asked.

‘One of the divers, Matt, he’s lost consciousness.’ He turned back to the screens and adjusted the mic on his headset. ‘Guys, go straight into the Unconscious Diver Drill. I’ll talk you through. First, get any unnecessary gear off him. Making sure his upper body is in the airspace, then secure him to the side of the bell with the ratchet strap. OK? Confirm his airway’s clear . . .’

A bone-chilling scream came from the back of the boat.

‘I’ll check it,’ Shelly said, swiftly leaving the control cockpit. The moment she stepped onto the deck, the sight of Elias covered in blood made her heart thud. ‘I need help! Now!’ she yelled over the sound of screeching machinery.

Harry was beside her before she had reached his son.

‘The back of his sweatshirt’s caught in the recovery platform’s line cogs. It’s pulling him in. Turn it off!’ she yelled, horrified that it was about to cut him in half.

Elias, weakened by loss of blood, gave up pulling away from the turning mechanism. Shelly grabbed the knotted sleeves at his waist and pulled with all her strength. In a matter of seconds, the winching gear stopped and both Elias and Shelly fell into a blood-spattered heap on the deck. Elias was unconscious, blood pumping from his side. Shelly tore off her shirt, rolled it, and thrust it at Harry. ‘Press this against the wound with all your strength.’ Two of the crew had appeared. ‘You!’ she said, pointing at one guy. ‘Get the first aid kit.’ She pulled her phone out and pressed rapid dial.

‘Hello, this is paramedic Shelly Summer. We need an emergency helicopter ambulance for a patient who’s bleeding out on a dive vessel.’ She turned to Harry. ‘Blood group and age?’

‘O positive, twenty-one.’

‘Blood group: O positive. Our coordinates are: 37°42′05″N by 24°17′02″E. Twenty-one-year-old male with open wound to the torso. I can accompany him up, I’m experienced on a ’copter lift, so if you have room for one more, just lower the cradle and a safety line. We have divers down and there’s a critical situation below, so we need our aerials down for as short a time as possible. I’ll have all loose items removed from the deck and prepare for your arrival, OK? Over and out.’

Shelly called to the other crew member. ‘You! Move everything that’s not fixed down, below decks. And I do mean everything! We don’t want anyone decapitated by flying debris from the downdraught. Quickly!’ To the other crew member, she said, ‘Go inside and tell them we need to lower all aerials for five minutes, while the ’copter hovers above us, OK?’

She pulled a sphygmomanometer out of the medical kit, and put the blood pressure cuff on Elias.

‘How is he?’ Harry asked quietly when she had taken his blood pressure.

‘Not good. He’s bleeding out. Keep the pressure on that wound or else he won’t make it.’ She took the pulse in his neck. ‘Very faint.’ She glanced at the horizon, it would be another ten minutes at least. Suddenly, Gran Gertie came to mind. She was right here with Corporal Perkins dying in her arms, and what did she do?

Shelly tipped out the first aid kit, snatched a catheter and two syringes. ‘Keep the pressure up!’ she ordered Harry. Within thirty seconds she had a transfusion going from her arm, into Elias.

‘The decks are clear, miss, what next?’

‘Bring me a chair to sit on, but shift it inside the moment you hear that ’copter, and when you do, lower all the aerials. Once we’re moving away, erect them again.’

Shelly felt slightly dizzy, but knew she had to stay strong for the helicopter lift. ‘We need to strap that pad to the wound to keep the pressure up while they lift him. A couple of wide belts will do the trick. Quick as you can, guys, ask the crew for any sturdy belts, we need to be ready for that ’copter!’

‘Leave the shirt in place and add the pad of gauze for extra pressure. It needs to be strapped very tightly in place.’ She felt the pulse in Elias’s neck again. ‘If I’m not mistaken, it’s no weaker. You can go, Harry. Find out what happened in the dive bell. You’re needed there, even though Carlos knows what he’s doing.’ She caught the distant thrum of the ’copter and nodded towards it. ‘Once I’m in there, I’m going to turn my phone off to save the battery. I’ll turn it on for ten minutes, on the hour, OK?’ Her head was spinning.

‘Shouldn’t you stop that now?’ He indicated the tube that had become a lifeline to his son.

‘Don’t worry, gravity is a very slow business. I only know about it because I looked it up, out of curiosity, after one of Gran Gertie’s tapes.’ She studied Harry’s son, who would almost certainly have been dead by now if it hadn’t been for that cassette tape and Shelly’s interest in all things medical. ‘Odd how things turn out, isn’t it?’

Harry gave a sigh and rubbed his eyes, then cupped her chin and kissed her gently on the lips. ‘Thank you.’ She could feel he was trembling, or perhaps it was her.

‘Don’t worry about things you can’t change,’ she said gently. ‘I swear to do all I can for him, and you can thank Gertie for making the tapes, she probably saved his life. Please, go inside and check what’s happening. I’d like to know before I leave.’

*

In the air ambulance, Shelly removed the catheter, placed a lump of cotton wool over the tiny wound, and bent her elbow.

‘O positive, you said,’ the medic queried before sticking the transfusion needle into Elias’s arm.

She nodded. ‘Same as me.’

‘What you did was very unorthodox, and certainly not recommended, but I’m quite sure you saved this young man’s life with your quick thinking.’