In an instant, Anouk was across the room and in the Resus bay, vaguely aware that Sol had fallen in quickly beside her.
‘This is Isobel, she’s seven years old and normally fit and well. No allergies or medications, and up to date with her jabs. Around one hour ago she was climbing on a rope basket climbing frame and was approximately nine feet up when she had an altercation with another child and fell, landing on her face or head with a loss of consciousness of perhaps one minute. She has a laceration above her left eyebrow and she has also lost two of her teeth.’
‘Okay.’ Anouk nodded, stepping forward. ‘Thanks.’
‘This is Isobel’s sister, Katie.’ The doctor turned to where another young girl was standing, and Anouk didn’t know when Sol had moved but he was next to her. ‘Katie was with her sister when she fell, and has accompanied her whilst Mum is on her way.’
Strangely, Katie lifted her head to Sol and offered a tiny, almost imperceptible shake of her head, but Anouk didn’t have time to dwell on that; she needed to help her patient.
‘Hi, Isobel, I’m Anouk, the doctor who is going to be looking after you. Do you remember what happened, sweetheart?’ She turned to her team, who had already stepped into action. ‘Two drips in, guys?’
Isobel muttered something incoherent.
‘Can you open your eyes for me, Isobel?’ Anouk asked, checking her young patient’s pupils. ‘Good, that’s a good girl. Now, can you take a really big, deep breath and hold it for me?’
She palpitated the girl’s chest and stomach.
‘You’re doing really well, sweetheart. Can you talk to me? Have you got any pain in your tummy?’
‘No,’ Isobel managed tearfully. ‘Katie?’
‘Your sister is right here, my love. We just need to check you over to see if you hurt yourself when you fell, and then she’ll be able to come and talk to you.’
‘Yep, got blood,’ one of her team confirmed.
‘Great. Okay, and let’s give her two point five milligrams of morphine.’ She looked back at the child. ‘That will help with the pain, all right, sweetheart? Good girl.’
Quickly and efficiently Anouk and her team continued to deal with their patient, settling the girl, doing their observations, and making her as comfortable as they could. Finally, Anouk had a chance to update the girl’s mum, but it was still only the sister, who couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven herself, who was waiting outside the bay. Anouk remembered how Isobel had asked for Katie, and not her mum.
‘Katie, isn’t it?’ Anouk asked softly, going over to the worried little girl and sitting on
the plastic seat next to her.
The girl nodded.
‘Mum isn’t here yet?’
‘No.’ Katie shook her head before fixing Anouk with a direct gaze, her voice holding a level of maturity that set warning bells off in Anouk’s head. ‘But you can talk to me. I’m eleven and I can answer any questions you need me to about my sister. I’m responsible for her.’
An image of Sol and Katie exchanging a concerned look crossed her mind.
Was the girls’ mum at work? Uninterested? She knew those feelings all too well. Still, she had her own protocol to follow now.
‘I understand that, and you seem like a very good sister,’ Anouk confirmed, standing back up. ‘But I think it’s better if I talk to your mum when she gets here.’
‘No, wait.’ Katie stood up quickly, glancing at her and then across to the team.
It took a moment for Anouk to realise that she wasn’t looking at her sister so much as looking at Sol.
‘You know each other?’
‘I need to speak to him.’ Katie nodded.
‘He’s just looking after your sister right now.’
‘I know, he’s a neurosurgeon.’ The young girl clucked her tongue impatiently as though she thought Anouk was treating her like a baby. ‘And you’re probably going to be taking Izzy to scan her head and see if there is any damage from her fall.’
Anouk tried not to show her surprise.