Kids are indestructable... almost

So there we were, two ambo's driving around minding their own business when all of a sudden our terminal flashes.

We have a job!

Usually this would be cause for groaning and mumbling (joking, I swear) - but this call would lead us into a late meal and thus more pleasant pay packet. There's always something to celebrate in life.

We head down for a '?#' - possible fractured limb. The destination is a sporting oval that my TO knows well, and as we head down we see a game of under 12's rugby in play - this is going to be good. Coming from a different state, I never really got into rugby - but from what I've been able to gather the game essentially consists of one team trying their best to kill another team.

We knew then that if this was going to be a fracture, it was going to be done properly - and we weren't disappointed. We pull up at the windmill (otherwise known as a person frantically waving at an ambulance * see note below) and see not too far off a boy around 12 holding his arm and looking rather sorry for himself. His arm shows us why. He'd managed to break both bones of his forearm, the Radius and Ulna, the limb distal to this break flopped painfully with each movement he made.

He still had good circulation and sensation to the hand, something very important to check - because if the break has somehow damaged the vasculature or nerves it's going to be a very speedy trip to hospital for emergency surgery. I gave him some meds for the pain which almost knocked him out. The parents were a little worried about his decreased level of consciousness, but a quick chat convinced them it was for the best - what we had to do next would be something he probably wouldn't want to remember. As gently as possible we maneuvered the arm into a padded cardboard support, the poor boy still let out a semi-conscious groan of pain, and we slung it into a supported position. The meds are fairly quick to wear off, and as we drove off to the hospital we were able to have a bit of a chat and he told me about the game, which for the record ended in a tie.

I'm not sure exactly how many people have been inside a moving ambulance, but I'll give you a hint now that they're bumpy. We kept the poor boy on pain meds but still each pot hole and bump in the road left him a little sore.

We left him with the lovely doctors and nurses who promised to take good care of him, with a promise of ice cream being heard from a nurse as I walked through the exit.

He was going to be just fine...

* Note: To people who insist on waving to an ambulance while the lights and sirens are on - please don't do this unless you're the person we're going to - or at least going to take us to the person we're going to...