Desert Vets - 6. DV Ch 6 - Jex is Hit

“Ok soldiers, lets give them a nudge and show them we mean business shall we,” the Major said over the comms, and teamed up with two other soldiers, we approached the tent that the one woman was using to sleep in, and I carefully opened up the fly zipper, only to hear the click of a gun, and I froze.

“One more move Mr and you will wear this,” the women growled, and I saw the Corporal nearest to me give the count down signal from three. On one, I quickly rolled away and two rapid shots were fired, as I did so. At the same time two very sharp knives, carved open the tent, and two Army rifles were directed at the woman’s head.

“You do that again lady, if I can call you one of those, and you will be dead meat, no questions asked,” the Corporal snarled at the woman. “He is hit, Jex is hit. Medic to the tent,” a voice called out, and on feeling the pain in my arm, I groaned in pain, as I lay on the ground stunned.

I was quickly surrounded by three other soldiers, one of them was the unit medic, who sat me up and pulled the shirt over my head to reveal where I had been hit in the upper arm. “Sir, medic here, Jex has a flesh wound, but it is very minor, he will be fine after a few days of rest and a bit of healing, over,” the medic said over the comms. “Copy that, I am on the phone with the RFDS now, I am sending Rhodes to come and collect you and your patient, and transport him to the runway, over,” the Major replied, as I received a sharp needle into my arm, and it wasn’t long before the pain had subsided.

A short while later, I saw the worried looks of my husband Marcus and my brother Rhodes, and I tried to smile as I was placed on an army camp stretcher from the campsite storage. “I am fine really, the medic says it is a minor flesh wound, I will be fine,” I said to try and reassure them both.

“You had better be, or I will have something to say about this,” Marcus replied, “Is that so Mr Sanderson, well in that case I better get you in contact with his commander in chief, the Prime Minister,” Major Eccleston said from nearby, and the shock of what he said made Marcus go very pale and I laughed, then groaned in pain.

“I think there will be no need for that sir,” I responded, “Very well then, get better soon soldier, and there will be some changes made, so expect some more Army activity around here from now on,” the Major said to me, and I nodded my head in understanding.

“Sir?” the Sergeant said to the Major, and that is when I heard the comms in my ear, “Sir, the other two offenders have just turned off Corunna Downs Road, heading your way,” the voice said. “Copy that Lieutenant, follow behind and let’s put this matter to a close, close up the net soldiers,” the Major responded.

“Ok Reservists, now is the time to put your training into action, follow me,” the Sergeant bellowed, and they double timed up the road to the junction to set the trap for the final two offenders. Ten minutes later, there was a very short gun battle before silence returned.

“Sergeant here sir, we have the two men in custody, one with a leg wound that is not life threatening, no one else is injured. What do we do with all of the food supplies in the vehicle, over,” the Sergeant said into the Comms, just as we heard a plane flying over the top of us, heading for the runway.

“Confiscate it, we will use it while we are here, instead of rations, over,” the Major replied, and there was a lot of happy faces on hearing that. “Sir, we have all of the prisoners secured, in two groups, and the two minors are still where we left them,” one of the soldiers said when he approached the Major.

“Very good, keep the two leaders separate from the rest of them, we don’t want them to be talking to each other, and make sure they have plenty of water and shade, as it gets damn hot out here, oh, and how are the caretakers?” the Major instructed.

“They are fair sir, dehydrated and hadn’t eaten in a while, but they are been looked after by the reservist medic,” one of the SAS soldiers responded. “Good, now let’s take a look at what damage has been done to the Army base shall we,” the Major responded, as I was lifted onto the back of another Hawkei that had arrived, and with Marcus and Rhodes travelling with me, we made our way towards the runway.

“Marcus dear, you need to stay and bring the Beechcraft back to town, I will be fine, and Rhodes can stay with me while I am been looked after. I am sure I will be back home in a day or two,” I said to my husband. “No, I want to come with you,” Marcus responded, as he started to get upset.

“I will be fine, and we do need the plane back at base, as you will need to do some of my work while I am out of action,” I said to Marcus, who sighed when he realised that I was right, and he nodded his head yes. “Ok, but I want you home as soon as possible,” Marcus replied.

“Hello Jexon, I didn’t know that you were the patient? All I was told was that it was an Army soldier,” the RFDS Flight nurse that I knew from the other day, said to me when I arrived at the RFDS plane. “Yes, a flesh wound to the upper arm, according to our medic, and I am a corporal in the Army, have been for some time now. There is an additional patient, who is also a dangerous prisoner, but we would prefer that you treat him and that we transport him to hospital by road,” I replied.

“We will let the Doc decide that matter, let’s get you loaded up inside shall we,” the nurse replied, as I was transferred to an aircraft stretcher, “Are you sure I can’t sit in the second seat up front?” I asked as I was lifted in, and the stretcher jolted, which sent a sharp pain up my body.

“Ouch, damn that hurts, even with the pain meds already in me,” I complained, “Where does it hurt Jexon?” the Flight Doctor asked me, as he took a seat next to my stretcher. “Lower back… no in my legs now, oh shit, what is happening to me…” I asked before I blacked out.

When I woke up, we were in the air, and it took me a bit to work out why I was not in the cockpit, “Rhodes are you onboard?” I called out, “Yes bro, I am up front enjoying the view,” my brother replied, and I smiled. “Welcome back Jexon, we are taking you to Royal Perth Hospital, as you have a second injury, with no exit wound, so we need a specialist surgeon, and Perth is the closest one to here,” the flight doctor said to me.

I dozed for most of the trip to Perth and the road trip by ambulance to Royal Perth Trauma Unit, and an hour later, I was wheeled into surgery to remove the bullet, that was lodge in my back. When I came too, I was laying in a comfortable bed in a single room, and I saw my brother sitting in a chair nearby reading a magazine.

“Hey bro, Water please,” I croaked, “Let me get the nurse first mate,” Rhodes responded as he dashed out of the room, and returned with a handsome young man. “Hello Handsome, I hear you are already taken, a pity that…” the male nurse said to me as he began taking some readings and recorded them down on the chart.

“You are doing good, Mr Kendrik, but your temperature is still a little high, I will let the Doctor know and he may come and visit you soon, but in the meantime, you can have ice chips in small amounts, you were in surgery for quite some time, so you will be feeling quite sore for awhile,” the nurse informed me.

“I can’t feel my legs?” I said in shock, when I tried to adjust my position a little, “That is to be expected, as the bullet that they removed was very close to some nerves, but I am sure that you will get full mobility in good time, just think positive thoughts,” the nurse said to me before leaving the room.

I just dozed on and off until the doctor arrived about twenty minutes later, and he asked me a few questions, and did a few tests, before making some notes on my charts. “Nurse Davis mentioned that you can’t feel your legs, that is to be expected, so don’t worry about it at all, you will get feeling back gradually, so in the mean time just rest and recover, and we will have you on your feet in no time,” the Doctor said to me.

“Will I be able to fly again, I am a Pilot and a Veterinarian,” I asked, just as the Doctor turned to leave, “We will just have to wait and see how your recovery goes, but I suggest that you not think about that just yet, let’s get you healed first, and deal with other matters later, shall we,” the Doctor said as a few tears welled in my eyes and fell down my cheeks, as I watched the Doctor leave.

“Hey, none of that bro, we will get you back in the air, just leave it to me to get you fit and ready for flying again,” Rhodes said to me, as I nodded my head and wiped away the tears. I must have fallen asleep, as the next time I woke up, I was in a lot of pain and sweating badly, and it was dark outside, plus I was a little surprised to see Mum sitting in the chair instead of Rhodes.

“Hello dear, how are you feeling?” Mum asked when she saw me awake, “Tired and very sore, I’m really in pain,” I replied, and Mum reached for the call button and pressed it. When no one came after two minutes, she pressed the button once more and we waited for another two minutes, and by now I was crying because of the pain.

Mum stormed out of the room and I overheard her calling out, “My son is in real pain, and he needs urgent help, we have been calling for assistance for five minutes,” she said and suddenly two nurses appeared and began checking me over, including the location of the surgery, and the expression on their face was not a good one, as one of the nurses dashed out of the room.

Fifteen minutes later, I was back in surgery, to deal with a bad infection, but they had to open me up to see what was causing it, and when I woke up next time, I was feeling a little better, and I had tingling feelings in my legs, which I was very pleased with.

“Oh, thank god, you are finally awake. We have been so worried about you,” Mum exclaimed as she smiled and cried at the same time. “How long have I been asleep for?” I croaked as I had a very dry mouth, “Three weeks dear, you have been in a coma since coming out of your second surgery,” Mum replied.

“Good Afternoon Mr Kendrik, it is good to see you awake again. How are you feeling? Any pain?” the Doctor asked when he walked into the room. “Feeling better and I can feel tingling in my legs,” I replied, “That is good news, your temperature is back to normal and we have managed to remove the cause of the infections, which was a tiny bone fragment, that the bullet had caused, and all the signs are that you will make a good recovery,” the Doctor informed me.

Over the next few days, I learnt from Mum and Marcus, who had come down on a commercial flight for a few days, that Auggie as running the Vet practice like clockwork as usual, and that Marcus had taken over my flying vet duties in the Beechcraft, which he was enjoying to fly. Rhodes was back at work at the Quarantine Station on the border, and a vet from DPI in Darwin had taken over my District Vet Officer duties, and was temporarily based in Timber Creek.

Over the next few weeks, I gradually got feeling and movement in my legs again, but I was going through some very tough physical therapy to be able to achieve that, and on some days, I was finding it really hard to bare. I had no idea what would happen in the future, wondering if I would it be able to fly any of my planes, and even working as a vet was starting to look like it would be impossible to do.

After nearly a month, I was finally released from hospital, and Mum and I stayed in a B&B in Perth, for a further two weeks, so I could attend a number of follow-up medical appointments and continue my physical therapy sessions, until I was finally given the all clear to be able to travel by air back to Kununurra, on a commercial flight.

The flight with Airnorth would be on an Embraer E190 jet aircraft, with a max of ninety-four passengers, two cabin crew and two pilots, and it would be a three-hour long flight, leaving just after 1 pm. Mum and I had seats near the very front of the aircraft, in the business class section, which really was just slightly bigger seats and a little more leg room, so as to make it a little more comfortable for me.

We took off smoothly and on time, as we headed north for home, and I was looking forward to being out in the open once again, as the crowded city has no longer of interest to me at all, especially after been stuck in a hospital for nearly a month.

I most have doze off, as I was awoken by hearing Mum whispering to someone, and then Mum giving me a shake of the shoulder. “Jexon dear, your services are required,” Mum whispered to me, so no one around us could hear, and the Steward motioned for me to follow her forward.

“I am sorry to disturb you while resting sir, but we have an issue, and your assistance would be very helpful, now that your Mum has confirmed that you are the Jexon Kendrik – the Flying Vet,” the steward said to me, as we approached the cockpit door, which was open.

Realising that this maybe serious, I took a deep breath, “Yes, how can I assist,” I responded. “Please follow me, the Captain will explain inside,” the steward said, as she indicated for me to enter, where I found the left seat empty, and the 1^st officer in the right seat.

“That is correct sir, and he has just arrived. So, is it confirmed that we have authorisation?” we heard the 1^st Officer say… “Ok, thanks for that base, over and out,” he said to end the conversation, before turning slightly in my direction. “Mr Kendrik, welcome and please take a seat in the Captain’s chair, he is currently indisposed in the lavatory, and will take a seat behind me when he returns.

I have just had confirmation of permission, from our head office, to allow you to be second chair for me for the remainder of the flight, if that is ok with you of course,” the 1^st Officer said to me. “Err… ok, but I am not qualified to fly an aircraft this big, plus I have not been medically cleared to return to flying planes,” I replied.

“You have now. Head office has been in contact with your doctor in Perth, and he has given you permission to resume flying, and this has been confirmed by the Civil Aviation Authority. We are currently flying at 11,000 metres, cruising at 420 knots, and we are currently just west of Halls Creek, so we don’t have much flight time left, before we land at Kununurra,” the First Officer said to me, as I took a seat and secured my seatbelt.