Ethan shouted for his father, then transferred Sam into George’s arms, telling him quickly to make sure all the blood was cleaned off him. As Ethan ran back towards her, she called to Mike, asking him to send someone from the police stand over with a first-aid kit, and then followed Ethan.
He dropped to his knees next to the man, all his attention now focussed on him. ‘He’s alive. I have a pulse.’ Ethan’s voice was quiet, concentrated, as he examined the man for injuries.
Kate looked up, trying to see what might have happened, in case that could help. ‘He must have fallen from the roof. The gutter’s broken and the fence has been smashed.’
Ethan nodded, his face grave. ‘Call an ambulance. Tell them that a doctor’s in attendance and we need them as soon as possible.’
‘I’ll get my phone.’ She’d left it in her jacket pocket, back on the stand.
‘Take mine.’ Ethan handed her his phone and continued his examination, moving the man as little as possible so as not to further injure him.
‘He’s unconscious, probably fallen from a height of thirty feet. One of the fence palings has gone almost all the way through his leg below the knee. His airways are clear, pulse is very weak. His chest seems uninjured but...stomach’s hard and distended.’
Kate knew that wasn’t good. She relayed the details on to the ambulance controller. ‘Anything else?’
‘Can you pass me the phone, please?’
Ethan was very calm, very cool. That was more worrying than anything, because Kate knew full well that this was his reaction to the seriousness of the situation. He spoke quickly into the phone and she stared at the man’s face. He was young, maybe not even twenty. Kate hoped that Ethan was receiving the assurances that he needed and that help would come soon.
She bent, laying her fingers gently on the man’s brow, murmuring into his ear. ‘Hold on. We’re here for you.’
‘That’s right.’ Ethan’s voice beside her. ‘Keep talking to him.’
The realisation that this was all she could do hit Kate and she blinked back her tears. If the man seemed unresponsive then maybe something she said might register. If that was the case, then she had to choose her words carefully.
She spoke as clearly as she could, telling the man that he was loved. That a doctor was here, and he had to hold on. Then again, there was no way of knowing when and if he might drift back into consciousness.
‘Give me your hand.’ She stretched her hand out, and Ethan guided it to a spot on the man’s leg just above the knee. ‘Press hard...harder. Good. That’s right. Keep that up, you’re doing just fine.’
She was so frightened of making a mistake that could cost a life. But Ethan would tell her what to do. The police dog-handler arrived back with the first-aid kit, kneeling down next to them and opening it, following Ethan’s calm, quiet instructions.
Scissors, to cut the leg of the man’s jeans. Dressings. The policeman handed over what Ethan needed and he started to pack around the wound, taping it tightly to stop the bleeding.
‘Okay, I think we have it. Kate, release the pressure...good. Clean your hands and put a pair of gloves on.’
There was no blood on her hands but she cleaned them anyway. She heard Ethan ask if there was a cervical collar in the first-aid kit, and the policeman looked helplessly through its contents.
‘There.’ She picked up the collar, tearing the wrappings, and gave it to Ethan.
‘Thanks. Can you find his pulse?’
‘Yes.’ She felt the man’s wrist, feeling the faint rhythm of his heart under her fingers. ‘Got it.’
‘Okay, tell me if it weakens.’
She couldn’t. She didn’t know enough. But Ethan had no one else here to help him, and she had to. She knew how to do this, even if she’d only done it with animals before.
Ethan was working quickly and carefully, his attention now centred on the man’s stomach and chest. ‘Go round to the front and make sure the ambulance knows where we are. There’s another doctor on his way too.’
Kate looked up, wondering if he was sending her away, but he was talking to the policeman, who got to his feet, leaving quickly. They were on their own now, and Ethan was trusting her to help him.
It was quiet here. She watched as Ethan carefully probed the man’s stomach, causing a weak moan to escape his lips.
‘It’s all right. Just hold on, the doctor’s here...’ She started to talk again, taking care to keep her fingers over the man’s pulse. She saw Ethan nod, but the man seemed not to have heard her and was unresponsive again. All the same, she kept talking.
Then, sudden activity. One of the policemen was ushering a man in a high-visibility jacket towards them.
‘Ethan.’ The man set his bag down on the ground. He obviously knew Ethan, and Ethan’s tight smile told Kate that this was the help that they so needed.