Ching-Ling Lim

Li Qing Tai was in the cafe next to the police station when the explosion went off. The force of the explosion was so great that it sent her flying through the window into the nearby carpark. She landed on the gravel with a loud thud, hitting her head hard on the ground but just missing a parked car by several centimetres. Around her, chaos reigned as the terrified patrons of the shopping complex scattered out, trying to run to safety. Such was the heat from the initial explosion, it soon set off a chain reaction of car explosion sending several of them flying through the air in spectacular fashion. Debris from the cars showered the car park with a piece of a bumper bar, narrowly missing Li Qing’s legs.

She lay there sprawled for several seconds, disorientated. Looking up, she found herself hidden behind a parked car and groaned. Any attempts to try and sit up were abruptly cut short by the immense pain that seared through her upper back and her left shoulder, and she speculated that she had probably broken something when she landed. She vaguely noticed something else too – she couldn’t move her legs. She gritted her teeth both in immense pain and utter panic, hoping that someone would find her behind the parked car. In the chaos around her, she could have easily been overlooked. She had an immeasurable headache which seemed to be getting worse and soon felt something sticky trickling down her forehead. As sirens approached, she closed her eyes partly due to the intolerance of the brightness in her eyes and partly due to the fact that she had suddenly become very tired.

Gwen Fitzpartick was doing a quick survey of the surrounding area when she heard a faint groan coming from behind a parked car. Upon investigation, she discovered an Asian woman in her mid-thirties, sprawled awkwardly on the ground. Her left arm was trapped under the weight of her body and a pool of blood was slowly beginning to seep out, indicating a possible head injury.

‘I’ve found someone!’ she called out to her colleagues and ran towards Li Qing to offer comfort and medical assistance. She gently brushed Li Qing’s hair off her face. ‘It’s okay. I’m here to help. Where are you hurting?’

‘Everywhere,’ Li Qing murmured, struggling to keep her eyes open and wincing as she tried to move.

‘Don’t move,’ Gwen ordered gently. ‘We’re going to put a neck brace on you and we’ll do the moving. Understood?’

Li Qing tried to nod but the pain was too great. A second paramedic, Josh McKay, had joined them and was taking out an oxygen cylinder while Gwen placed a cervical collar around her neck.

‘This is going to hurt a fair bit but we’ll try to be as gentle as we can,’ she assured her then tried to divert her attention away from the pain with casual conversation. ‘My name’s Gwen. What’s yours?’

‘Li ..’ Li Qing trailed off in a faint croak but could only manage the first half of her name.

She soon became mildly aware that Gwen was trying to keep her awake but she was far too exhausted to give any further response. Within a few seconds, the sounds around her faded into nothing and she promptly passed out, causing some alarm amongst the paramedics attending to her when they realised they couldn’t rouse her again. Gwen activated her two-way communicator and spoke into it with urgency as her Josh attached Li Qing to the oxygen cylinder and medical equipment.

‘We need the stretcher down here. Priority one. Unconscious collapse. Serious head injury, suspected internal bleeding and broken bones.’

They had just managed to get her on the body board when another explosion went off. This time it was coming from a parked car just meters from them. Both paramedics stared at the fireball in horror.

‘We need to get her out now!’ Gwen decided as more emergency personnel arrived to help them with the board lift.

‘Crap! I can’t find a pulse,’ Josh informed them.

Time was of the essence. All four of them lifted their victim and made a run for it as the car that Li Qing had landed next to exploded. The officers made sure they were far enough away from any more harm and put Li Qing down so the Josh and Gwen could do their jobs.

Josh took out a bag-valve-mask and placed it on the victim’s bloodied face. Gwen unpacked a nearby semi-automatic defibrillator while Josh worked on the mask’s bag, pumping it steadily and rhythmically. Gwen turned on the defibrillator and obediently followed the electronic verbal prompts emitted from the defibrillator before placing the padding on the Li Qing’s chest and connected the electrodes.

‘Stand clear,’ she called out and Josh stopped pumping the bag and moved back slightly away from Li Qing.

Gwen pressed the shock button on the defibrillator and Li Qing’s body jumped slightly as the electric shock was delivered. The heart analysis registered a very faint heartbeat but Gwen knew it wasn’t nearly enough to sustain the life of the woman in front of her. She pressed the button once more and this time, it jerked the heart into action. The electrocardiogram registered and stronger sinus rhythm and both Josh and Gwen delivered a sigh of relief. With a pulse now present, both Gwen and Josh decided to transfer Li Qing onto the stretcher with the help of the body board. Once on the board, the paramedics lifted her onto the stretcher and into a nearby ambulance.