She suddenly seemed galvanised out of her almost catatonic state and Oliver blinked in amazement at the change in her. With some difficulty he transferred his attention back to the car.
‘And there’s a woman in the driver’s seat,’ he added grimly. ‘Call the rescue services and then get back in my car before you freeze or we’ll be rescuing you, too.’
He told her which road they were on and then proceeded to yank the driver’s door open. At first it refused to budge, buckled by the force of the accident, but Oliver braced his shoulders and yanked again and this time the door groaned and opened with a hideous cracking sound.
‘They’re on their way,’ Helen muttered, and he realised that she was right beside him again.
‘You need to get back in the warm.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Helen said calmly, ignoring him and reaching into the car to remove the keys. Then she made her way to the boot and opened it.
‘What are you doing?’ Oliver watched in amazement as she hitched up the skirt of her suit and climbed into the back seat, via the boot, displaying an amazing amount of slender leg in the process.
‘I’m checking the baby,’ she called back to him, ‘while you deal with the driver. And there didn’t seem to be any other way in without climbing over your patient.’
Stunned by the change in her and temporarily hypnotised by her fabulous legs, Oliver opened his mouth and then shut it again as he heard the injured woman groan.
In a flash he was beside her, his mind back on the job in hand. ‘Hi, there.’ His voice was firm and reassuring and then suddenly he recognised the driver. ‘Michelle? Oh, you poor thing—what have you been doing? Sweetheart, it’s Dr Hunter.
You’re going to be fine. Can you tell me where you hurt?’
The woman gave a moan and gasped for air. ‘Oh, Dr Hunter—thank goodness. What about Lauren? Tell me she’s OK.’
‘If Lauren is this gorgeous baby, she seems to be fine,’ Helen said immediately from her position in the back seat. ‘She’s still strapped in and doesn’t appear to be hurt, but I’m not moving her until the paramedics arrive, just to be on the safe side.’
Michelle gave another gasp. ‘The car skidded.’
‘The roads are terrible,’ Oliver agreed, frowning slightly as he heard her laboured breathing. He flashed his torch to see if he could see visible evidence of injury. ‘I need to take a look at you, Michelle, before we get you out of this car. Where are you hurting?’
‘Chest…’ The woman gave a gulp. ‘I can’t really breathe properly.’ She gave a panicky gasp and Oliver flashed the torch again, this time conducting a swift examination. He shone the light on her trachea and noticed that it wasn’t quite central.
Damn.
He heard Helen talking quietly to the baby and then heard the shriek of an ambulance siren and saw the vehicle pull up by the edge of the ditch.
‘Michelle, I think you’ve broken a couple of ribs,’ he said gently, ‘and one of them has punctured your lung. You’ve got air where it shouldn’t be and at the moment it can’t escape. That’s why you’re having trouble breathing.’ And her breathing was becoming more and more laboured by the moment. Grimly aware that he was facing a serious medical emergency, Oliver started to undo the buttons of her coat. ‘I’m going to release that air and then you’ll be able to breathe again.’
And for that he needed access to her chest.
His gaze flickered to Helen and she gave a brief nod of understanding and wriggled her way out of the boot again, this time minus his coat which was now resting carefully over the little baby.
‘Needle thoracotomy. I’ll get you a large-bore cannula and some oxygen,’ she said quietly, and Oliver watched as she scrambled up the snowy bank, wondering what sort of nurse she was. Obviously a very efficient one. He shook his head as he contemplated how cold she must be in her thin suit.
He turned his attention back to Michelle who was gasping for breath. ‘I’m just going to move your coat and your jumper, sweetheart, so that I can get to your lungs. Then I’m going to put a little tube in to drain your lungs and that will make it easier for you to breathe on your way to hospital. You’re going to be just fine, angel. Trust me.’
‘Here. One 16G IV cannula and oxygen.’ Helen handed him the equipment he needed and proceeded to quickly adjust Michelle’s clothing so that he had access to the side of her chest. ‘We can’t undress her in this weather so I’ll just hold her clothes while you do it.’
Oliver glanced at her. ‘The paramedics lent you a jacket.’
‘That’s right. Just a shame they don’t have the same size feet as me,’ she said ruefully, and Oliver laughed.
‘Michelle, I wish you could see this woman’s shoes.’ As he spoke he was swabbing the skin and getting ready to insert the cannula. ‘You’ve never seen anything more ridiculous in your life. Just a few pieces of ribbon and a heel that looks like a lethal weapon.’
Michelle gave a weak smile as she breathed through the oxygen mask. ‘I love shoes, Dr Hunter,’ she rasped, and Oliver rolled his eyes.
‘Women! You’re incomprehensible.’ He used his fingers to find the right position and then gave Helen a quick nod to warn her that he was about to perform the thoracotomy. ‘All right, Michelle. This might be a bit uncomfortable for a second but it’s really going to help you breathe, sweetheart. Hold Helen’s hand for a minute. It will help warm her up. Heaven knows, she needs all the help she can get.’
Somehow Helen managed to hold the patient’s clothes out of the way, angle the torch so that he could see what he was doing and provide the necessary comfort and reassurance.