No. 17 - FIELD CARE 101

@whumptober2021

@whumptober-archive

“Please don’t move!” | hemorrhage | dread

Part 1//Part 2

It was a relief to get Harrison into the chopper, where they had more scope to work. Less danger, too. They could work without having to constantly watch their backs. Another crew had apparently recovered bodies, but no word on who they were yet. They had work to do to keep Harrison from joining them.

The blood loss was quite something. Even with the tourniquet in situ, there was a significant amount of bleeding from elsewhere, too. The entirety of his right side was a mess, bloodied and broken. The more they did, the more injuries they seemed to find.

Harrison’s obs were shocking, and yet they continued to get worse. They were still a good way off the base when his blood pressure sank, and they rushed to find the source of the new bleed.

He was bleeding through the tourniquet, what was left of his leg causing blood to soak into everything, pool around them as they tried to work. They were transfusing now, pushing blood as fast as they can to try and stabilise him - or at least keep him stable to get him to base and to surgery. They did their best to stop the haemorrhage, taking the tourniquet as tight as they dared.

As they tightened the second tourniquet, Harrison screamed. He wasn’t with it at all, but the pain suddenly made things clearer. He pushed their hands from his leg, fingers clasping around blood and fabric. His back arched in pain as he tried to get away from it. He didn’t want it. He caught Matt’s eye as he tried to help, silently begging the other man to just let him go. He didn’t want to live in that much pain.

Matt tried to soothe Harrison as he screamed. “It’s alright, we’ve got you. We’re gonna look after you, just hold on for us. Nearly back at base, nearly there.” He soothed, as one of his team gave more pain meds. “I know it hurts, I know.”

Why wouldn’t they just let him go? He couldn’t do this anymore. Marcus was gone, he could feel it. The pain was horrific, and the meds only made the world spin even more. He couldn’t just give in, his body wouldn’t let him, no matter how much he wanted to. Nausea rose again and he retched, though made no attempt to move. He had no energy to care, to carry on living.

“I know, I know.” Matt soothed, and they moved him up onto his side as he retched. “Hold on for us, Harrison. Just hold on.” He repeated, There wasn’t a lot more they could do, just try and keep on top of the bleeding, keep pushing blood and fluids to keep him stable. They’d already sent the alert to base, the team were waiting for them.

Vomiting and barely conscious, Harrison begged silently. He couldn’t do it, not without Marcus, and not with his injuries.

More drugs were given in an attempt to stabilise him, the tourniquets finally doing their job. There was enough blood in his chest to worry them, though he was still compensating enough. They had their airway kit out, the drugs ready to knock him out, but while he was still conscious, it was easier to keep him that way. It was there if they had to, but it would be easier to do it with the full team, in a much safer environment.

The transfer had him screaming again, even with all the painkillers. Lights flashed around him and alarms blared, but he struggled to focus on anything. He barely recognised the faces of the team he’d worked with for months as they swarmed around him, crying out for them to stop, to just let him go. It was a welcome bliss as he finally slipped under, into the welcome blackness waiting.