Page 80 of Doc Hollywood

“I’m through the cords, inflating the cuff. Restart compressions,” she announced. She grabbed the mask Taylor was holding from his hand, removed it from the tubing, and attached the tubing to the top of the airway. “Taylor, take hold of this breathing tube and don’t let go. I’ll find a tie when I can.”

Clara stepped aside when she was confident that Taylor had hold of the tube and flicked the ventilator on, announcing, “Continue compressions; do not stop for breaths. Lacey, what’s my time?”

“One minute forty seconds.” The young woman’s shaking voice replied.

“Thanks.” Clara moved around to the defib again. “Continue chest compressions. I am charging the defib.” Once the noise rang out to indicate it was fully charged, she put her hand up, “Stop compressions.”

The man doing CPR immediately halted and stepped back.

“We have VF, and everyone clear. Taylor, disconnect the oxygen, leave the breathing tube hanging out of his mouth, and step back.” She paused, checking he was following her instructions, which he did without hesitation. She pressed the red button. “And shocking.”

The director’s body jolted.

“Continue CPR. Lacey, I need you to tell me when we’re another two minutes in,” Clara called as she ripped the top drawer of the arrest trolley open and silently thanked herself for putting some pre-filled mini jets of adrenaline in, as she thought they would look good on film.

Snatching one, she injected the drug into the drip. “First adrenaline going in.”

Clara looked around herself. The room was full of people, some queuing up to take a turn at CPR, and the rest were just standing staring, with horror in their eyes. A lot of people were going to need a lot of debriefing after this.

“Is someone meeting the ambulance?” Clara glanced around the room, and only blank faces stared back. “Lacey, can you radio down and get security to wait for the ambulance and bring them up.”

She was aware of Lacey doing what she had been asked, but her mind had already moved on to her next task. Her eyes darted around until they fell on the tape she usually used to tie the breathing tube in, and she snatched it up, striding to the head of the bed.

She stood so close to Taylor that her body was pressed up against his. “I need you to keep holding the tube while I tie it in. Don’t let go, okay.” Clara felt the rumble of his affirmative answer rattle through her, and despite the dire situation, she shivered involuntarily.

When she had finished tying the tube in place, she checked her knot once more before she announced, “Tube is secure. Taylor, just stay here and make sure it doesn’t go anywhere. Lacey, what’s my time check.”

“Just coming up to two minutes,” Lacey said.

“Thanks. Continue CPR.” Clara stepped back to the defib.

The man who was currently taking a turn doing chest compressions nodded at her and put his head back down to continue what he was doing.

“Charging defibrillator,” Clara called out. The wail of a fully charged defib rang through the room. “Stop compressions.”

Clara stared at the monitor. “We have a non-shockable rhythm, dumping charge.” Leaning forward, she felt for a pulse in Mr Atrosky’s neck, and she sighed in relief when she felt a beat under her fingers. “We have sinus rhythm.”

“Is he going to be alright?” Devon’s trembling voice called out from the corner.

“He needs to get to a hospital. He could still deteriorate,” Clara said briskly. She wasn’t going to lie and say everything would be alright.

“Taylor. I feel faint,” Devon called out.

Taylor glanced up, and his eyes didn’t seek Devon’s out; they sought Clara’s, waiting to see how she would react.

Clara swallowed once, trying to dislodge the lump in her throat, but she immediately stepped forward and nudged Taylor away, taking over the job of supporting the tube. She grabbed some tape that had been stuck to the anaesthetic machine and firmly attached the tubing to the bed so it couldn’t accidentally be pulled out.

She tried not to look at Devon collapsing against Taylor the second he was within reach and tried to ignore the stab of jealousy that rolled over her when she saw the actor sweep Devon up into his arms and carry her out of the room as she wept on his shoulder.

Clara wrenched her mind away from Taylor and back to her patient. She could still see on his ECG that his heart was in trouble and hoped the ambulance would arrive soon. They needed to get Mr Atrosky to a cath lab so they could open up the blocked blood vessel in his heart.

Now that she had a bit of time, she got some fluids going and started medication to raise his blood pressure, as it was currently lower than she would have liked. Again, she was glad she had fully stocked the movie set with actual medical equipment.

Two paramedics came rushing into the room, carrying everything they would need to deal with a cardiac arrest. They both ground to a halt when they saw Mr Atrosky lying on the operating table, hooked up to far more advanced equipment than they carried.

Clara stepped forward and spoke clearly, “My name is Doctor Clara Upford. I’m a consultant anaesthetist. The patient is Damien Atrosky, a sixty-nine-year-old man.” She gave them a full handover, explaining everything that had happened and what she had done to save him.

When the paramedics loaded him onto their gurney and wheeled him out the door, she didn’t even ask them; she just followed them out, climbing into the ambulance with them.

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