Ocean Research - 2. IOR Chapter 2

“Hello son, it is good to have you home again at last,” Mum said to me, as she wrapped me in a tight hug, “Steady on Mum I need to breath ya know,” I gasped out, and Mum laughed as she let go of me and took a step back to take a look at me, before grabbing my arm and dragging me towards the house, but I stopped and Mum lost her grip as she too stopped to see why I had stopped.

“I have to unload my vehicle Mum, I have a car fridge with some snacks and drinks that needs to come in, along with my luggage,” I explained, “Never mind the luggage, just bring the car fridge in, your brother can grab your luggage, when he gets in soon for lunch. Your father is over at Pyramid today, so he will have his over there,” Mum replied, as she continued on to the house.

Mum had a cup of tea waiting for me when I arrived inside with my fridge in my hands, and I placed it on the floor near the fridge, before sitting down, as Mum would expect me to do, as she preferred to unpack things when they arrive, “Thanks, Mum. How are things going on both stations, has it been a good season so far?” I asked, before taking a sip of tea then a bite of a biscuit that Mum had left out for me.

“Not too bad, although we could do with a bit more rain,” Mum replied, as she finished placing the contents of the car fridge into the kitchen fridge, before wiping the inside with a clean washcloth. “When you are done there, put this out on the verandah to air dry, before you put it away in your vehicle,” Mum instructed and I nodded my head in understanding as I drank my tea.

Suddenly we heard a motorbike coming at full speed towards the homestead, and it skidded to a stop out the front, which put us both on full alert, as that does not happen unless something is wrong, and we both headed for the front door, just as it swung open and Flynn came rushing in.

“Hey bro, good to see you again, Mum I have been trying to call you, Frank has broken his leg, and the RFDS is on its way to this airfield, Dad is bringing him over in the back of his ute,” my Brother said. “Oh shit,” I swore softly, “Language Kip,” Mum and Flynn said together, and I apologised for swearing.

“Ok, so how long before Dad gets here?” Mum asked my brother, “About ten minutes, Mrs Harvey is in the back with her husband, to stop him from moving too much, apparently they have splinted the leg as best as possible, so we just have to wait for their arrival and the plane,” my brother replied.

“What’s the ETA of the RFDS plane?” I asked, “The plane has to come from the Broome base as the Port Hedland planes are both in use elsewhere, so it will be about 40 minutes from now,” Flynn replied, “Ok, there is not much we can do, till they get here, can you boys go and check the airfield, make sure it is clear of any obstacles, and that it has no washouts on it,” Mum asked us, and jumping into the station ute, with Flynn driving, we headed off towards the nearby airfield.

As we started the run along the runway, we saw right away that we had problems, with cattle having used it as a camping spot, leaving holes and plenty of cow shit scattered everywhere.

“Mobile to Warambie base over” I called on the radio, “Warambie receiving, go ahead,” we heard Mum reply, “Can you call the RFDS and let them know to land on the airfield that runs alongside the main highway, at the corner of Wittenoom Road, as there are too much cow dung and potholes on our airfield, over” I announced.

“Messaged received, I will do that now, over,” Mum answered, waiting a few seconds, before I made my second call, “Warambie mobile two to mobile one, do you copy me, Dad, over?” I said into the mic. “Receiving you. Is that you Kip? Yes, I heard your message to Mum, over,” Dad responded.

“Yes, this is Kip speaking, just checking to see if you heard the message, go onto the highway airfield, we will bring you all some refreshments, over,” I said, “Understood, over,” Dad replied, and Flynn turned the ute and we headed back towards the homestead.

When we arrived, Mum was busy in the kitchen, and I noticed that my car fridge was plugged into the power and running, “Thought we could put it to good use, so I got it started to get it cold again,” Mum said when she saw me looking at my car fridge, before loading some food and drinks into it.

Once the fridge was loaded, Mum unplugged it from the powerpoint, and Flynn picked it up and they followed me out the door towards my vehicle. Once everyone was in, I set off towards the highway, where there is a 520-metre long airfield, that is used for emergencies, and is kept in good condition by the local shire council.

Dad’s station vehicle was already there, and it was doing a slow drive down the middle of the runway, to check that it is all ok for the plane to land on, before coming to a stop beside my vehicle, 100 metres from the road junction, and just twenty metres from the end of the runway.

I grabbed my advanced first aid kit from the back of my vehicle and dashed to the back of Dad’s vehicle, which has a canvas canopy over it and climbed in. “Hello Frank and Juliette, I am a qualified paramedic now, let me check on your condition Frank until the RFDS plane arrives,” I said as I climbed in.

Included in my kit are a BP cuff and a stethoscope, which were the first items that I pulled out of my kit, and got to work to monitor Frank’s condition. “Juliette, you will find a pad and pencil in my kit, can you get them out and write down what I call out please?” I said to my patient’s wife, and she did as I asked and I relayed the information to her.

After doing the Pulse, Respiration & BP, I took a look at the notes, before grabbing my penlight, and testing his eye reactions, and asking Frank a few questions, and I took note of the answers, before reassuring him that everything was fine. “Mum, there is a hand towel in my luggage, can you get it out and pour some cold water onto it, and hand it over to Juliette, so she can keep Frank cool,” I instructed, as I climbed out of the back and grabbing Dad’s arm, to indicate for him to follow me, we walked towards the front of my vehicle.

“Any problems son?” Dad asked me once we were out of hearing range, “Yes, I am worried, his Blood pressure is way too low and his pupils were a little sluggish with reacting to the light, do you know if he is injured anywhere else, and how did he break his leg?” I replied.

“Came off his motorbike, and landed very badly, and it was just dirt where he landed, no rocks on vegetation at all,” Dad replied, “Ok, well I think he has internal bleeding somewhere, as his pulse is really high, and he is looking quite pale too, so he needs medical help as soon as possible,” I stated, before heading back to Dad’s vehicle and climbing in the back again, and starting a new round of monitoring.

What seemed like hours, was only about ten minutes, until we heard the sound of an approaching aircraft, and after circling once, the plane landed from the North-West end and stopped just ten metres from the end of the runway, so Dad carefully drove his vehicle towards the aircraft.

“Thank you for coming, I am so grateful, as I doubt that he can handle a road journey, my oldest son is a paramedic, and he is in the back with Frank now,” I heard my father say before two faces appeared at the back. “Hello, Frank Harvey is a 56-year-old male with a right break of the femur…” I said as I began relaying all the information that I had gathered while waiting for the RFDS plane.

While I was doing this, the pilot and nurse were bringing over the stretcher, and by the time I had finished relaying all of the information, Frank was carefully placed on the stretcher, and we helped to have it loaded onto the plane.

“Very good job of the medical handover, Mr Ashburton, a job well done, I am impressed,” the Flying Doctor said to me, as he shook my hand, before boarding the plane. Dad drove his vehicle away from the plane, so it can turn around and prepare to take off, while the rest of us walked back towards my vehicle.

“What does he mean by medical handover?” Flynn asked me, as we watched the plane start up and rush down the short runway and take off, before heading for Port Hedland or Broome. “A medical handover is relaying all the information about the patient, when transferring the responsibility of the patient from one person or group to the other, in this case from me to the RFDS staff,” I explained. “And we are very proud of you for what you have done to help Frank,” Mum said to me, “It was nothing Mum, just part of the job of a paramedic,” I replied.

One and a half weeks later, having spent all that time over at Pyramid Station, taking over from Frank, while he recovers from his injury, I entered the homestead after a long dusty morning of doing a water check of all the main water points closest to the homestead, the radio came to life and it sounded like my father’s voice.

“Warambie to Pyramid, are you receiving me, son, over?” I heard him say, and I quickly made my way to the two-way radio, sitting on top of the fridge. “Receiving you Dad, over,” I replied. “Where have you been, we have been trying to contact you for about twenty minutes? Over,” Dad replied, “Sorry about that, I have just returned from a water run, and I was just doing a few things in the shed, so I was out of radio hearing range, over,” I responded.

“Ok, as long as you are ok, I have had a call from Juliette, she said that Frank has been discharged from hospital, and that they are flying to Perth to spend Christmas with their family, so you will need to stay on to manage Pyramid, and we will come over to assist when needed.

Mum insists that you make sure that you are over here for Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow night, and to stay over so we are together as a family as usual, over,” Dad said to me, “Righto Dad, I will be there before dark tomorrow, anything else, as I need to get some lunch before heading out for another water run?” I asked, “No, that is all, oh except that a package has arrived for you this morning, all the way from the city, I will have your brother deliver it to you later today. Warambie over and out,” Dad said.

I wondered what the package was, but I decided that it can’t be too important, so I headed to the kitchen and put the kettle on, before going to the fridge to see what I could have for lunch. “Hmm, need to get more food supplies over Christmas,” I said to myself, as I grabbed a loaf of bread, the butter, a tomato, lettuce, cucumber, beetroot and carrot, to make up a salad sandwich.

“When I arrived back at the homestead, feeling tired and dusty from a long day, my attention was drawn to the lights that were on inside the homestead, as I parked the ute in the shed and walked over to the house, with the sound of white cockatoos screeching in the nearby tall trees, signalling the end of the day.

As I opened the back door, to the homestead, I came to a stop, when I smelt cooking of a roast coming from the kitchen, as I took off my boots in the back room, walked inside, to find the back of a strange man with an apron around his waist, busily preparing dinner.

“Ok, who are you and what are you doing in this homestead?” I asked, as the man turned and he looked very familiar, but I couldn’t quite remember where I knew him from. “Hi Kip, your Mum said it was fine for me to make myself at home, and when your brother delivered me here this afternoon, I had nothing to do but wait, so I got to work with some housework and cooking,” the man responded.

“I know you from somewhere, but… now I remember, University days, um, Joshua isn’t it? Sorry, I can’t remember your last name,” I said as I remembered this shy young man when we were in our first year of Science at University.

“It is Alliston… Joshua Alliston, I am glad that you remember me, I worried that maybe you would not remember me,” Joshua replied, as I stepped forward and shook his hand.

“So, what are you doing way out here at this neck of the woods, surely not to just see me?” I commented, as I went to the fridge and found that it was now full of food and drinks, so I grabbed a 1.25 bottle of Lemon Lime Bitters and took a long drink directly from it.

“Ahh, that is better, I am as dry as a lizard on a hot tin roof,” I said as I felt the cool liquid go down, and Joshua smiled. “I have done just that, I don’t know if I ever told you about my family and where we are from, but I come from three generations on my father’s side, of working in the marine research and conservation industry.

I have had a bit of a fallout with my father and his husband, so I chose to do some travelling during the summer break,” Joshua explained. “Well you have certainly come out to the Western outback, it gets damn hot here during the summer months, so are you spending Christmas with us?” I responded.

“Yes, your parents kindly invited me to stay over the Christmas and New Year Break, and I am looking forward to hearing about all of your plans for your future, I heard that you did very well with your studies and that you have a paramedical degree as well?” Joshua said to me.

“Yes, I do and I am a certified Open Water Scuba diver, and a Masters Ticket for Vessels up to 24 metres long,” I replied as I sat down at the table, which was set for two. “Have you been looking at what jobs are available?” Joshua asked, “Well I was offered a job managing a brand-new research facility here in the Pilbara, owned by the local Aboriginal Corporation, and I need to give them a reply before New Year’s, and my family are not aware of this yet,” I replied.

“I see, well before you do respond to their offer, I would like you to listen to what I have to offer, but let’s eat first,” Joshua said, which caught me by surprise. “Err, ok, I will go and have a shower before dinner, I presume that you have settled into a spare room?” I responded, “No, I was not sure where to do, as I am aware that a manager couple usually live here, so I wanted to check with you first,” Joshua said.

“Ok, you can have the bedroom at the front on the right, opposite the master bedroom, I am in the back bedroom, closest to the kitchen so I can hear the radio if someone calls,” I said before leaving the kitchen to go and shower. When I returned to the kitchen, Joshua was just serving dinner, so I sat down at my usual seat, and waited till Joshua was seated, “Thanks for this treat, I don’t cook fancy meals when I am on my own, as the station hand that usually works here is on holidays, while the manager and his wife are away,” I explained.