Dr of Dundee - 2. D of D Ch 2

Having removed my shoes, shirt and everything out of my pockets, I dived into the water to assist, while Dean and Lance pulled down the mainsail, and Caro started up the engine, so she could move the yacht closer.

“Dean get onto the sat phone to Broome Hospital, tell them that we have a ten year old boy with serious head injuries, and get them to organise a rescue helicopter or the RFDS to the nearest airstrip, Lance, grab my medical bag from the wardrobe in my cabin,” I shouted from the water, where I was now holding Toby’s head still as we tried to swim back to the yacht.

After some very careful manoeuvring, Toby was back on the yacht, and lying on the aft sun bed, and I was doing a series of checks on Toby to find out what injuries he has. “Caro, head down the coast, we need to get as close to the nearest airstrip in Beagle Bay as possible, and as smooth and fast as possible,” I called out to Caro, who was still on the fly bridge, and we were soon heading down the coast at full speed of 14 knots.

“Here boss, they want to talk to you,” Dean said as I was handed the Satellite phone, “This is Doctor James Shaw, I have a ten year old lad, with head injuries, left pupil has delayed reaction, possible internal bleeding, pulse is rapid, respiration is slightly high, how fast can you get to the airfield close to the coast at Beagle Bay?” I said into the phone.

By now all of the crew were gathered around on the main aft deck, except for Caro, worried about Toby, as he laid there, not moving at all, apart from the movement of the yacht. “We are just off the coast, west of Whale Song Beach, now heading south, our eta at the airstrip is one hour,” I said into the phone.

“… Good, we will meet them there. The coordinates for the airstrip are…” I said as I looked up towards Caro, “16 degrees, 56.51.7 south, 122 degrees, 29.53.0 east,” Caro called out and I relayed the information over the phone, before ending the call.

The next hour seemed to drag on forever, as we headed down the coast and into Beagle Bay and we stopped near a group of buildings just inside the bay, where a group of people were waiting for us.

“Dr Shaw? I am RFDS Doctor Chris Atkins, I am not sure if you remember me, I was an intern in Darwin, when you were there,” the man said to me. “Yes, I so remember, now do you have the information that I passed onto the hospital?” I replied, as a stretcher was carried onboard to carry Toby to the vehicle.

“Yes, has there been any change?” the RFDS Doctor asked, “No change, and the boy Toby is my nephew, and I am his legal guardian,” I replied. “Ok, you are welcome to come along, we will be going directly to Darwin, as they have the surgeons best suited for this injury, you are welcome to come with us if you wish,” the RFDS doctor said.

“Yes, I will be coming, so will Toby’s older brother Reid. Give me a second to give some information to the yacht crew and I will be right there,” I said as I dashed into the yacht, where Dean and Lance handed him two small bags, and I gave Caro some instructions, before waving them goodbye.

Once we were all on the back of the vehicle, we slowly made the 5 kilometre trip to the airfield where the RFDS plane was waiting for us, and once Toby was loaded on, and we took our seats, we were soon in the air and heading for Darwin.

“What is in the bags Uncle?” Reid asked, once the plane levelled off a little. “Clothes for the three of us, Dean and Lance were kind enough to think ahead,” I replied. The 1 ½ hour flight to Darwin seemed to be long, and just before landing Uncle James turned to me.

Tim is meeting us at the airport, he will take you back home to Dundee, while I stay in Darwin to monitor Toby, I will keep you up to date on his progress every night and morning, so please don’t worry too much,” I said to Reid, and he nodded his head, and stared out the window.

We watched as Toby was loaded into an ambulance and Reid and I headed to the RFDS terminal, where Uncle James wrote out a sizable donation for their services, before we headed out to the car park, where the familiar Land Rover was parked.

“Thanks for doing this for me Tim, I really appreciate it,” I said as I handed over one of the bags, “Not a problem mate, we will take good care of him, don’t you worry,” Tim replied, and I hugged Reid goodbye, before they climbed into the Land Rover and headed home to Dundee.

“How was the trip up the Victoria River?” I asked Tim later that evening over the phone, “It was good. We were able to easily get to the Big Horse Creek boat ramp, and no further, as there is a low bridge, just up from there, so that is as far as the trimaran can go, but it is only 10 kilometres west of the small town of Timber Creek, and 175 kilometres east of the WA border,” Tim replied.

“How is Reid?” I asked, “Restless and keen to know how Toby is,” Tim replied. “What did he say when he learnt he would still be going to school there?” I asked, “not too happy about it, but he will go the day after tomorrow,” Tim replied.

“Any news, from the catamaran?” I asked. “No, not yet, I am presuming they will probably contact you instead of me,” Tim replied.

For the ten weeks of term two, I called each evening to give an update on Toby’s progress. Toby did have internal bleeding on the brain, and after a lengthy operation, and two weeks in ICU, he was moved to the general ward, to continue his recovery, which was long and slow because he had temporary paralysis on one side and he had to learn to walk and talk properly again.

Once Toby was out of ICU, I was able Toby to talk to his brother on some evenings, now with some spare time; I was doing part time locum work at a medical practice in Palmerston, which kept me busy four days a week, from 10 am till 4 pm.

I was also kept up to date with how things are going with the yacht cruises along the west coast, where the crew had settled into a routine with one less adult crew member, and less the two boys, although Sam was missing having us around, especially when Alex was always busy doing deck work when not doing school studies.

When Reid arrived home on the last day of school term, to check on the birds, he was surprised to see that the Land Rover was parked under the house, instead of being in Darwin with me, as I had caught the ferry to Dundee one day to pick it up, about six weeks ago.

“Uncle James, are you here?” Reid called out from downstairs, and I soon appeared on the balcony. “Quiet now, your brother is resting,” I said in a loud whisper, “He is here, Toby is home?” Reid asked surprised, and made a dash up the stairs.

“Yes, we are both back home now, so go and check on the birds, and let Toby rest. Tim will be here soon to drop off your luggage,” I said. “I’m awake now Uncle,” Toby said from inside, as he walked into the lounge and made himself comfortable on the double lounge suite.

Reid raced inside, and stopped just short of where his brother was lying, “Hey, I am glad you are finally home, I have missed you little brother,” Reid said softly, “I have missed you too bro,” Toby replied, and Reid knelt down on the floor and leaned forward to give my brother a gently hug.

“Walk the plank” came from the very familiar voice from the balcony, and the boys laughed. “What is he doing here?” Toby asked, “Well less than a week after we flew to Darwin to get you to hospital, Declan called to say that Blue Beard had disappeared overnight, and two days later, he appeared here at home, sitting with his mates around the pond near the gazebo,” Reid replied.

“So he missed you too did he?” Toby asked, “Yes I think so, he waits for me at the front gate, when I come home after school, and lands on my shoulder, and I ride my bike down the boardwalk now, as it is quicker to get to the gazebo,” Reid replied.

“Now that you are both back, are we going to be rejoining the yacht?” Reid asked me. “No, I am going to reopen my practice here, as there is more demand for a doctor now, and you boys will spend the next two weeks of school holidays at home,” I replied.

“Have Mr & Mrs O’Donnell returned to their home in town?” Toby asked, “Yes, last night, after they finished work, so it is just us for now, although I may look for a part time housekeeper, while Caro is away,” I replied.

When the house phone rang, Reid went to answer it, “Hello Launceston Manor,” he said when he answered the call, which made me smile, while he concentrated on the call, which was an emergency, and he indicated to me to come. “Is she breathing… good put her on her side, with her head tilted back a little, Uncle James will be there shortly,” Reid replied before hanging up.

I dashed to his study and grabbed my medical bag, “What is it?” I called out from the study, “Near drowning, 11 year old girl, has been resuc… what ever that word is and is breathing, she is down at the beach,” Reid replied.

“Good work nephew, you gave the correct instructions, and the word is resuscitated, see you in a bit,” I said as I dashed downstairs, and raced off in the Land Rover.

Tim arrived a few minutes later, and walked straight upstairs, “Hey Reid, what is James doing back and why is he in a hurry… why hello Toby, welcome home,” Tim asked as he entered the lounge. “Emergency down at the beach, a near drowning,” Reid responded.

“Oh, ok, well just as well James is home then isn’t it,” Tim replied, “Yes, apparently the twins were the ones to rescue the girl, but I didn’t get the chance to tell Uncle James that bit,” Reid said.

“Uncle James and I arrived back this morning at about 11 am,” Toby said, “Well, it is nice to see that you are finally home,” Tim responded smiling, as he placed the luggage on the ground near the end of the lounge.

“Are you staying till Uncle James gets back?” Toby asked, “No, I have a few things I need to do at my place, I will see you boys in a day or two, bye,” Tim responded before he headed downstairs and into his vehicle.

When the boys heard a plane flying low, they presumed it to be a care flight aircraft, and about half an hour later I arrived home. “Hey boys, where is Tim?” I asked as I walked into the living area, “he just dropped off the luggage and headed for home, as he had things to do,” Reid responded.

“Now the community know that I am back, I will be opening the clinic six mornings a week, and the Nurse who has been running the clinic in my absence has agreed to stay on, as my staff member, and there is a lady who works part time as a receptionist,” I announced.

“So we will have to keep ourselves busy during the Dry Season holidays?” Toby asked, “That is right, but you are still to take it easy, as you have just come out of hospital, so no hard play, just gentle walks maybe twice a day, to build up your energy levels,” I instructed Toby.

With Alex and Sam away on the yacht, it would be just the at home, and Reid decided to keep a very close eye on his brother during the next three weeks. With Tim now working for the council again, this allowed for his Trimaran to have two cabins available for guests, and his cruises have become quite popular in the Northern Territory.

Toby and Reid learnt at dinner one night, when Tim had come over to discuss some business with me, about us going into partnership on a special project for the community. After being granted permission to purchase 345 acres of land at the end of a mangrove surrounded peninsular, located near the mouth of the two creeks, just 4 kilometres down stream from the new boat ramp.

Tim and I have had built a gravel road to the property, plus built a 20 vehicle car park, and a large three level clubhouse, for what will soon be the new Dundee Yacht Club.

The project would involve very little disturbance of mangroves, with a raised boardwalk providing access to two lots of jetties with yacht pens. On the west side, towards the boat ramp, there will be a total of 8 single temporary pens for visiting yachts, and on the east side, a total of 12 single and 4 double permanent yacht pens for locals, with the connecting jetties, being on the outside edge of the mangroves.

The top level of the yacht club, which is the location of the executive offices, will be well above the top of the mangroves to give a clear view of the yacht pens, with security cameras to be installed on that level, as well as on poles on each of the jetties.

Apart from the road, car park and the building, the rest of the land will remain as it is uncleared, and additional planting, as well as reticulation, to keep it all green, and less of a risk of fires that do happen during the dry season.

For the first week of the holidays, when I came home from work, we have a late lunch together, and about an hour later, I would take the boys to the recreation centre to swim in the pool, so as to continue Toby’s recovery, with regular swimming helping him greatly.