 |
| Me in the Kodiak plane with the patient (photo by Mandy Pehrson) |
|
Far above the ground we kept our little hospital. Expert eyes flitting from our patient to his I.V. ensuring that he remained stable. Periodically we checked vital signs and compared them to previous ones. We'd been working all afternoon to evacuate our patient from our rural clinic in the highlands of Papua New Guinea to a hospital in Australia. Now, we were in the air on the 4-hour flight from the highlands out over the Coral Sea to Australia. Our patient remained stable as we prayed for good flying weather and safe travel.
The dense black of the night pressed in around us in our tiny, rumbling Kodiak plane. Time crawled forward as we watched and waited for our arrival. Another hour and a half of night lay before us before we would reach the safe haven of Cairns, Australia (pronounced "cans"). Who knew a flight could feel so long. However, God had been gracious and our patient was resting comfortably on the stretcher that dominated the right side of the plane. It felt like being in the eye of the storm. The flurry of activity had begun in the early afternoon with an urgent call and classmates carrying the patient on a stretcher to the clinic. The doctor and I immediately started working on ways to nail down the root of the problem and the doctor determined that the patient's situation merited medical evacuation to Australia. Then the real frenzy of activity began with placing of an I.V., starting preparations for evacuation and obtaining all the necessary permissions to leave the country. After much ado and unforeseen and uncontrollable delays, we were finally off to the airstrip, bumping down the road in our land-cruiser-turned-ambulance. Now, all was still as we floated in the black sea of night flying over the ocean. Soon we would arrive in Australia and I was sure the frenzy would begin again as we would work to transition our patient from our plane to the ambulance, to the hospital and finally lay ourselves down for the night.
 |
| Returning to PNG after the medevac |
Soon the pilots radioed that they could see the lights of Cairns in the distance, and as I looked out the windows I could glimpse glimmering points of light floating in the darkness ahead like a tiny island. The other nurse and I trained our attention on our patient once again to ensure he was ready for landing. Not long after, the plane circled down and touched earth once again, coming to a halt on the tarmac. A small crowd awaited us in the humid night air including customs officials, EMT’s with their waiting ambulance, and support staff. Within a few minutes we were off again to the hospital where we wheeled out patient into the Emergency Department from the ambulance bay. The normal hustle and bustle of getting the patient checked in, settled and seen by a doctor followed. Finally, after all was set to right, the other nurse and I were taken back to the lodgings that had been arranged for us. It had been an eventful day and we were exhausted. However we were glad that all had gone well, and that God had favored and protected our patient and us along the way. I went to sleep wondering what the next day would bring and what adventure would await me when I stepped back into the clinic.
Comments
Post a Comment