Chapter 30 - Picnic Sunday
"Good morning, Nana. Good morning, Gramps."
"Good morning to you, Alex. You're up before the alarm today."
"We're too excited to sleep! Kase is working on breakfast so I came to wake y'all and Momma. Everything will be ready in a few minutes."
"I could learn to like being awakened by a call to breakfast."
"Don't get accustomed to it, Mr. Williams. Even our bubbly teenagers aren't up early enough for this except under special circumstances."
"I hope the day stays 'special' for them. They deserve some time to be kids and have fun. And I should get them into firearms training. Maybe later today? I'll look through our weapons and pick out things appropriate for protection in the woods. We've not seen any coyotes since I shot the last couple of them but I'd expect them to be getting brave enough to be back on the property today or tomorrow."
"Talk to them about coyotes and firearms at breakfast and start covering the rules. We have the range out behind the barn when they're ready for that. Sarah knows it all but probably needs some polishing of her skills."
"I'll do that."
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The dishes are being washed and I'd expect the boys to get here soo…
There's a dirt bike coming but it's going like a bat out of hell. Neither boy rides like that.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Yes, Bo…"
"Come quick! Some coyotes got to Sally when she was collecting eggs! I shot the one that had her down and the others ran away. Matt and Mom are doing first aid but said they needed more help!"
"Paul, I'll take the EMT bag and the SUV so we can transport Sally and family if needed. I'll call you on the CB and report the level of injuries and needed response. Three minutes."
"I'll check with Scott County on availability of an ambulance and air evac."
'121 to Scott County.'
'County.'
'We have an eight year old girl mauled by coyotes. My wife's a nurse and has gone to provide first aid and evaluate the injuries. Is air evac available if needed?'
'No air evac. Chopper is waiting for a replacement rotor as it's a few hours away from end-of-life.'
'This is the National Guard. Mr. Williams, we don't have a Medevac but do have a helicopter and medics. What is the location?'
'Less than a half mile from me. Green house with metal roof.'
'Have your coordinates. Be there in five minutes.'
'121 out.'
'We will notify the Trauma Center. Scott County out.'
'Guard out.'
'Miss Kitty from Marshal Dillon.'
'She's busy. This is Bobby.'
'Bobby, there's a green or tan military helicopter on its way. Tell Mrs. Williams five minutes or less and that the Trauma Center is being notified. Then go stand in the road where there are no fences on either side. Wave your hands high over your head when you see the chopper.'
'Yes, sir.'
'Dillon out.'
'Bobby out.'
"I guess that means the picnic is off."
"Alex, the picnic at the lake behind Bobby's house is off. Everyone will want to be at the Trauma Center and none of them will be thinking about food for a while. We'll quickly heat some things in the microwave oven and put them in good insulated chests and put the cold things in a separate cooler with some freezer blocks. Add some beverages, plates, forks, napkins and blankets and we have a portable picnic that can be loaded in the back of the SUV in less than two minutes. Sally, her mother and your Nana will likely go on the helicopter. We'll all walk to their house and take the coolers with us so we can load and leave from there. I brought one of the good CB handi-talkies up from the basement so we can keep in touch if Carla calls while we're on our way."
"We can picnic at the hospital?"
"There's a small park with trees, picnic tables and paved walking paths. Not as nice or as private as the lake but you asked for a picnic and I said 'yes'. I keep my promises."
"And the hug is because?"
"Because you do find a way to keep your promises, Gramps! And there's enough food for everyone, not just the original four. And you're making Bobby and his Mom feel like they have a lot of family when they need that."
"I need to lock up and set the alarm."
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'Marshal Dillon from Miss Kitty.'
'Dillon here.'
'Mostly scratches and some surface bleeding but a couple of nasty looking deep bites with some possible torn muscles in her left leg. Air evac would be ideal as there's only one IV in this kit that isn't expired. Need to check the other kit when we get back home.'
'Guard chopper on its way. We're on the way there on foot. I expect Sally, her mother and you will be in the chopper. We'll load up the others in the SUV and head that way. You'll get there 45 minutes before we do.'
'That'll work. We'd only be a little crowded if everyone rode back in the SUV. I hear a chopper. Someone is directing?'
'I told Bobby to stand in the road where there are no fences and wave his arms over his head. It's also the only green house with a metal roof within five miles of us.'
'They're landing. Kitty out.'
'We're at the driveway. Dillon out.'
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"Ma'am, how'd you get so much done so quickly?"
"I'm a nurse with combat experience. You learn to work fast or you don't get to finish."
"Understood. We have coordinates for the Trauma Center. We can take the girl, you and one other."
"Annie, get in. Paul will be driving the SUV and he'll get Bobby and any others there."
"I'm in. Where do I hold on?"
"Ma'am, strap in here."
"OK."
"Wind it up, Skipper. We're running short of IVs back here."
"Hold on."
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"That was quick!"
"Matt, think about the scenarios they practice for."
"They'd be doing this under fire?"
"In their planning. No wasted motions. Every motion the correct one. Maybe a little easier when not under fire. Definitely a lot harder emotionally when it's an injured child. Everyone load up in the SUV and we'll head for the Trauma Center. They'll be there in less than 15 minutes. We'll be about an hour."
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"You made very good time, Paul."
"We had a little help, Love. Amos heard the exchange and had Cliff Andrews divert to provide us with lights and siren escort to the County line. Sheriff Tanner himself picked us up there. He's Annie's cousin so he was taking care of family. Sally's status?"
"Most of the blood on her clothes was from superficial cuts and scratches. The deep bites on her left leg did muscle damage and she's in surgery for that. While Sally's sedated, some of the facial injuries and a few others will get the attention of a plastic surgeon. Had we had more IV solution, she could have come in the SUV. However, the crew of the chopper was glad to 'get real world experience on something worth doing'."
"Time estimate for surgery?"
"Two to three hours."
"Can you pry Annie out of the surgery waiting room to go eat lunch? Sarah, Alex and Kasey helped get everything ready for a much larger picnic. There are multiple tables in the park."
"So that's why the wagon is strapped into the roof carrier! I love your planning, Mr. Williams. I'll check with the duty nurse about a pager."
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"A tablet, Love?"
"Hospital tablet on the internal network. The surgery patient status board - the screen Annie is glued to - is on an internal web page. Sally is patient number 127. The information is updated every five minutes and they can put a message in the crawl line at any time if Annie is needed."
"Even better than a pager."
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"Carla, how did you know you'd need food for this many people away from home today?"
"Didn't know that, Annie. The kids wanted to have a picnic at the lake and we had enough leftovers from the cookout yesterday to feed four hungry teenagers today. You're benefitting from that."
"But what about their picnic?"
"It's not the lake, but do they seem to be having fun at the far table?"
"Yes. Some of the laughter is even contagious. I see they're moving Sally to recovery. I should go in now."
"At least ten minutes to get her moved, the monitors set up and a couple of chairs in place by her bed. You'll get a notification when Momma can come and hover over her. Finish your second burger. Nurse's orders."
"Yes, Nurse Carla. I see why Bobby was excited about the burgers. These are good! Can I get the recipe?"
"I'll copy the recipe for you but you'll have to shoot your own elk."
"Elk? I would've guessed better venison than I've ever had before. Don't think I'll be getting one of those this year."
"We probably won't be doing that again soon but it was an interesting trip and we brought back a lot of meat. If you need some elk to keep Bobby eating at home, let me know."
"I doubt that these burgers have greater attraction for him than Alex does - they do seem to light up when they're together. You're not playing matchmaker, are you?"
"Only enough for the girls to have someone close enough to their ages to provide a bit of 'normal' in their lives."
"Knowing what I know of recent events, you've managed to provide a *lot* of 'normal' for them to be where they are now. There's the '127 in Recovery' notice in the crawl line. Thanks for everything. I must go see about Sally. Will they let Bobby in?"
"I think it's 14 and up. Tap the 'Visitation Rules' menu."
"Max of two visitors at a time. Ages 12 and up. All of them are covered."
"Go tell Bobby. Remember that Sally may be out of it for quite a while from the anesthesia and that she'll be on some potent painkiller for several days. I'd expect a pain pump or maybe a nerve block pump for an adult but I'm not sure what they do for kids after surgery like this."
"We'll find out soon. You come with us. I'm sure Sally will want to see 'Aunt Carla' when she's sufficiently awake."
"You and Bobby head on in. I'll be ten minutes behind you."
"Bring Alex. Bobby took it hard that he couldn't prevent harm to Sally."
"Will do."
"Bobby?"
"Yes, Mom?"
"They're moving Sally to Recovery. Max of two visitors at a time and ages 12 and up so you and I will go first. Expect Sally to be dopey or unconscious from the anesthetic but she'll be coming around. Mrs. Williams and Alex will come in after us."
"On my way, Mom. You will come later, Alex?"
"Yes, Bobby. As soon as they'll let us."
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"Paul, Annie asked me to come in and bring Alex as support for Bobby. While you wait, here's my sketch for expanding the garden and for the PVC pipe plus plastic film greenhouses we discussed. If you use the tractor to turn the soil in the additional garden space then mount the roto-tiller to break it up, Rob can supervise the greenhouse work while you're on the tractor as he has helped with similar greenhouses in the past."
"Using all the greenhouse space for veggies and not roses?"
"The roses of my well fed granddaughters' cheeks are much better than roses that wilt as soon as they leave the greenhouse. So, yes. Just veggies."
"I'll review your ideas and add any questions I have."
"Plan on coming in to see Sally. You know she'll want at least a hug if not some lap time from her 'Uncle Paul'."
"Lap time may be awkward depending on her IVs and any surgical drains but I did remember to bring these."
"A little pack of M&M's! Her all-time favorite candy. Today I won't call it spoiling, just adding a bit of 'normal' to a scared little girl's day."
"I'll give it to her but with you there to control consumption, Nurse Williams."
"As usual, Mr. Williams. That reminds me, I want to check whether they've checked Sally's blood sugar. All the adrenaline would have driven the level crazy. I'll be back in a few minutes."
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