THE BEAUTIFUL, UGLY DAY

By Wanda C.

The air in Los Angeles County was fresher this morning than it had been in ages. Thanks to an early morning rainfall, the smog was low. Now the sun was shinning brilliantly, and the guys on A Shift at Station 51 just knew that today was going to be a good one. The klaxons had sounded as roll call was being conducted, and the engine company was well on their way to a canyon fire. So far the paramedics had not been called to the scene, but expected that they would before the morning was over. It seemed like a pretty big fire and only one squad had been called to the scene. Meanwhile, Roy DeSoto and John Gage decided to do a quick inspection on the squad.

“Do you think we will be called out on this one, Roy?” asked John, with a gleam in his eye. After all, he was with Engine Company 8 when he arrived in Los Angeles County and he would be the first to admit that he missed the big fires.

“Hard to tell. Sometimes they can get these canyon fires under control pretty quickly, so your guess is as good as mine,” Roy said peeping down at John from the hood of the engine.

“Finding anything interesting down there, Junior?” Roy asked, this time with a slight smile on his face. He had been calling Johnny that for as long as they had been partners, going on four years now.

“Well, you know how B Shift is, Roy. They never clean up things under here, and I thought I heard something rattling when they pulled in this morning. So I’m looking around, and I can tell ya, it isn’t gonna to be easy to find.” John’s voice had a bit of disgust in it, as he wondered why he and Roy always seemed to be the ones doing the repairs.

The paramedics weren’t the only ones enjoying the sun and unusually fresh air that day. Jay Bloomfield drove a Mac truck for a living, and decided that he would take his son, Danny, for a ride since he had the day off. Danny so loved riding in the big truck and to a ten year old, it was a thrill to be in the giant truck, and have a day on the road with Dad. When his father mentioned that he might be going for a drive, the young boy flashed his biggest smile, and no father could turn that down. So, they began their ride on the back roads of Los Angeles County. Danny noticed that his father was drinking something, and he wondered if it was the same stuff that his mom didn’t want his father drinking, since it was hidden in the brown bag.

“Dad, when we get close, will you take me to the fire department?” Danny had a tone of worry in his voice. After all, he didn’t know if his father would do this, and he wanted to go so badly.

“Why would you want to go to the fire department?” The man asked, having no idea why his son would request such a thing.

“Well, Pete and his dad went there on Tuesday, and Pete said that the firemen let him sit in the engine and even blow the horn!” He was gleaming at the thought, and his father picked up on that.

“Well, Danny, did Pete say what that cost them?”

“Oh, Dad, you know things like that are free. As long as the firemen aren’t busy, they’ll give you a tour of the whole station. Pete said that they went into Station 51, but I’d be happy to go wherever you would take me. Please, Dad, I’ve never even seen a fire engine up close.”

The man eyed the boy and thought, how could I refuse him something so simple, and the price is right. He pretended to think for a bit and finally looked over to his son, who was no so patiently awaiting an answer. The father nodded his head yes.

“Oh, thanks, Dad! This will be the best day of my life. I’m getting to go with you in the truck and to the fire station, too.” He then noticed that his father took another swig from whatever was in the bottle.

“Roy, I can’t seem to find it, but I know that I heard something when they pulled in this morning,” Johnny moaned.

“Well, if you look long enough and there really was a rattle, you will find it,” Roy said as he examined each belt under the hood and checked the oil. He knew that sometimes Johnny could hear rattles when no-one else could, so he often thought those rattles were in Johnny’s head more so than in the squad. But he knew that Johnny would check everything under the squad while he was there, and that was always a good thing.

Just about this time, the engine crew was finishing up their work at the scene of the fire. It had been a beautiful morning, but the fire scene and destruction had the guys forgetting about the beauty, and taking in the ugliness. They were also thankful that they had managed to get the fire under control before it damaged any structures.

“Cap, I’m bushed,” Chet Kelly moaned. After all, the morning had been a tough one for them all.

“I think we all are, Pal, but let’s just be thankful we got the fire under control when we did. An hour more and some of the houses would have been gone.” Hank Stanley, Captain of Station 51 A Shift, looked at his men who were all exhausted. “Great job today, guys. What do ya say we head back to the station and get some lunch?”

Marco wondered, could Gage and DeSoto have lunch ready when we arrive? He knew it wasn’t their turn to cook, but the thought of a nice, hot meal being in front of him when he arrived back at the station was more than delightful, and the fireman smiled.

“Cap, do you know if Gage and DeSoto have been busy this morning?” Marco asked, in hopes of an answer that would hint at some quick lunch.

“I haven’t heard them get any calls, Marco. But then again, we’ve been pretty busy, so I can’t say for sure.”

Marco still smiled as they entered the engine.

“What are you thinking about?” quizzed Chet.

“Well, I was just hoping that if they haven’t been too busy Gage, and DeSoto would have lunch ready for us.”

Chet laughed hysterically. He couldn’t imagine the paramedics getting lunch for the station when it wasn’t even their turn, but on second thought, they might have gotten hungry too.

Roy and Johnny were still hard at work on the squad. They couldn’t believe how light the workload had been today. Roy’s stomach began to growl.

“Hungry there, partner?” Johnny asked with a crooked Gage smile that Roy knew all too well.

“I could eat. Do you know who has chow today?”

Johnny thought and remembered Cap saying that….oh no,…..Cap did say that Chet and Marco had it today. Now Marco was a great cook, but Chet…..

“Uh, Roy,” Johnny looked over at him with disgust in his eyes. “You don’t want to know who has lunch today. Why don’t we fix something up real quick, and 'ol Chet and Marco will owe us one.”

“Chet?” Johnny could see the fear in Roy’s eyes, and just laughed. “Yeah, we might ought to go ahead and put something together.”

About the time that Roy and Johnny decided to be good samaritans, the engine crew was rounding the corner, headed to Station 51. They noticed a Mack truck headed toward the station, and didn’t think the guy was going to be able to stop in time to make the curve into the station. But then all the guys at once thought that they were mistaking about the truck. After all, why would a Mack truck be headed to the station?

Slamming on the brakes, Mike Stoker yelled, “CAP!”

Mike could see what all of them were witnessing. The truck that they had all noticed before was headed right for the squad. Roy was at the hood and Johnny underneath the squad with no idea what was going on. The guys in the engine could do nothing more than look in amazement as the giant truck ran into the side of the station, and right over the squad.

Roy heard the screech of brakes and looked up like a deer in the headlights of a car.

“Johnny!” He yelled, knowing that neither of them could get out of the way of the truck in time, but hoping that a miracle would happen for them.

“Huh?” Johnny looked up and everything suddenly went black.

Hank Stanley instinctively grabbed the HT and announced, “Station 51 has a code I, repeat a code I, send engine crew, ambulance, and at least one squad.”

“10-4, 51” Came the voice that usually gives the station directions about a rescue that they will be traveling to. But this time the voice would be instructing fellow firemen to help them.

The engine pulled up to the station, and Mike parked off the shoulder of the road knowing that other emergency workers would need ample space to work.

“My God.” Was all that Cap could say when he saw the carnage in the station.

“Where’s the squad?” Marco thought aloud.

“Roy, John” called Cap Stanley, but no answers were to be heard.

“Kelly, go inside and see if you can find them. Marco, check the truck and see if you can get it open. Stoker, let’s see if we can see anything in the remnants of the squad.”

“Cap, I see Roy.” Mike now had some hope. Roy at least appeared to be alive. Mike could see his chest raising and falling, so at least his airway was somewhat intact.

“Kelly, get over here and help Stoker out,” Cap yelled as he checked on Marco’s progress.

“We have two victims, the driver is DOA and the little boy’s in pretty bad shape Cap.” Marco said sadly. At least the boy looked to be in bad shape.

“Do what you can until help arrives.”

Where were the troops anyway? It seems like an eternity since I called in the code I. Cap looked at the clock and it had been only five minutes since he had called in the code. In the background he could hear sirens; music to his ears at this point. He walked over to Stoker and Kelly, and checked on Roy. Roy was semi-conscious, and bleeding from the head, arm, and they couldn’t see his legs at this point.

“Roy, pal, can you hear me?”

“C Cap?” Roy could barely speak.

“Yes, just hang in there, help’s on the way.”

Roy opened his eyes as far as he could. It was obvious that he was going into shock, and he muttered something that no one answered. They couldn’t understand him and knew that he needed to save his energy, so they attempted to quiet him. Roy looked around as best he could. Where’s Johnny and why can’t I talk? He mustered all the strength he had and managed to say, “Johnny, under squad.”

The three firemen all looked at each other, not knowing what to say. There was no underneath the squad. It was totally crushed.

At that moment the paramedics arrived, Craig Brice in the lead. None of the guys particularly liked Brice (the walking rules and regulations book), but they were all relieved that he was on the scene. Despite his cocky attitude, Brice knew what he was doing. He went over to Roy and quickly assessed his injuries while another paramedic got on the phone to Rampart Emergency. Contact had to be established quickly, and everyone knew that time was of the essence. The “golden hour” had begun.

“We have to get this truck out of here, so I can better assess DeSoto’s injuries.” Brice, as usual was in his professional, emotionless mode. “Is he the only fireman injured?”

The guys didn’t know what to say. After a long pause, Cap Stanley said that John was pinned under the squad, and let Brice know that both Chet and Marco were attempting to find him.

“The squad is under this truck?” It was the first time that any of the firefighters had heard the slightest amount of emotion in Brice’s voice and, frankly, it made them all even more afraid of Johnny’s fate.

“Yes,” was all that Hank could manage to muster.

Emotions were frazzled. A very orchestrated, yet frenzied, search was underway for John Gage. By this time one of the engines had found a way to move the truck at least enough to get Roy away from its grasp. Most of the firemen didn’t even know about Johnny at this point, the focus was on Roy, since he was the accessible patient. Brice carefully followed Dr. Kel Brackett’s instructions and had an IV with ringers into Roy’s arm at record pace. The paramedic’s vital signs improved quickly, but everyone knew that they had to get him out of the grasp of the truck and to the hospital.

By this time Danny was in the ambulance and on his way to Rampart Emergency. Luckily, the boy had sustained minor injuries compared to the ones Roy had sustained. Danny had a broken arm and had a concussion. But other than that, the paramedics thought that he was injury free. Of course they would know more when Rampart ran the tests that they needed in order to make sure.

When Roy was freed, he became more alert and oriented. Both legs were broken and one was a compound fracture. Immediately Brice radioed Rampart to let them know that Roy had lost an extensive amount of blood. Brice hung another IV and applied a tourniquet to the leg with the compound fracture. Also Brice and Chet put shock pants on Roy. Chet hated this, because Roy was screaming in pain, and they could do nothing for his pain with his head injury.

“Isn’t there a better way of doing this?”

“No, this is the only way and these shock pants are necessary; they could save his life.” Brice was his usual robotic self now, and when Chet heard the words “save his life,” he only then began to realize the seriousness of Roy’s injuries.

“Transport as soon as possible.” Brackett’s voice came over the radio.

Just then another ambulance arrived, and Brice took Roy to it. He got into the ambulance with him. There were still paramedics on the scene, and if they did miraculously find Johnny alive, he would be well taken care of.

“Where’s Johnny?” Roy asked, Cap Stanley knew that Brice would give him a negative answer, so he quickly went into the ambulance and simply said, “We’re working on him, pal.”

This was so strange. Johnny had been in trouble and injured more times than the guys could count, but Roy had been there to help him. Except for the time the Rattlesnake bit him, and they all pitched in to help Johnny treat himself.

Roy had his fair share of injuries, too. It came with the territory, but again, his partner was there to help him and give him the care that he needed. This time was different. Cap thought, they’ve never both been injured critically, or possibly lethally at the same time. Thank God that others were at what was left of Station 51 to help out, and now the hunt for Johnny continued.

“Cap, I think I’ve located John.” It was unusual, being an engineer, but Stoker had found both paramedics.

The truck had been pulled away and they now at access to what was left of the squad. All the crew of A Shift ran to Mike Stoker at once, and sure enough, they could see a bit of black hair from under the squad. It was Johnny. But how could they get to him? They could only see his hair and still didn’t know if he was alive.

“John, can you hear me?” Cap Stanley was almost afraid to utter those words, but knew that he had to. No response. “Hang on, pal, we’ll have you out soon.”

They didn’t know if they wanted Johnny out. He had given them so many scares over the years, but how could anyone survive what he just experienced? With three engine crews working diligently, they managed to remove the remnants of the squad. When they did, none of them could believe their eyes. There was Johnny, obviously unconscious, not moving, but he looked fine. Sure, there were some scratches and some bruising. But from looking at him, they didn’t see any bones protruding or very much blood.

“Johnny?” Chet was the first over to him, and he felt for a carotid pulse; and a grin came over his face.

“He’s alive!” Chet exclaimed, and the paramedics that were there pushed Chet out of the way so they could assess their patient.

“Rampart this is squad 110, how do you read?”

“We read you loud and clear, 110, what do you have?” Dr. Joe Early was working on this since Brackett was in with Roy.

“We have a male, approximately 27 years of age, who was involved in a crushing accident. Vitals are: Pulse 110 and thready, BP is 90 over 60 and respirations are shallow and 35. Advise Rampart the patient is John Gage.”

Joe Early knew that Johnny had bleeding because of the vitals and was immediately concerned.

“110, are there any obvious fractures or bleeding?”

“We’re still checking, Rampart, but so far nothing more than a few crushed ribs. And he has a gash on his forehead, approximately 3” long and ½” deep. The patient has a few abrasions and a minor hematoma, but there does not appear to be any major fractures at this point.”

“110, administer O2, IV with ringers in both arms, and check his breath sounds and pupils.”

“Rampart, breath sounds are diminished on the right side and pupils are equal and reactive, but sluggish.”

“10-4 ,110, give me the vitals every 5 minutes and transport as soon as possible. Do you have an ambulance on the scene?”

“That’s affirmative, Rampart. Will be transporting shortly. 110 out.”

“How is he, guys?” Cap was obviously concerned.

“It’s too soon to tell, Cap, but considering how he was pinned under that squad, and the amount of time that he was pinned, he’s doing really well.”

With that, the ambulance blasted the siren and off to Rampart they went. With the damage to the bay, the department decided to stand down the crew for now. They all headed to Rampart to wait for news on their fallen comrades.

Waiting in the hospital is never easy, and with two of your fellow firefighters critically injured, it was almost more than the engine crew could take. Soon after they arrived at Rampart, Joanne, Roy’s wife, came through the doors, looking for her husband in desperation.

Cap Stanley went over to her and filled her in on what had happened, and on what little they knew about her husband’s condition.

“What about Johnny? Was he hurt too?” This was normal for Joanne as she thought of John and Roy as a team. They were a team and as close as brothers. Cap filled her in on the even smaller amount of information that he had on Johnny.

“How did it happen?” Joanne had to know the answer to this question as she thought, how could they have been injured so badly working on the squad inside the station?

“Drunk driver,” Chet muttered with vengeance in his voice.

“Well, did they catch him?” Another question that Joanne needed the answer for.

“Didn’t need to,” Marco added, “He pretty much caught himself. Just lucky that his kid wasn’t injured badly.”

With those words, Joanne sank into her chair. Sure, every firefighter’s wife dreaded the call. They all knew that it could happen at any point, but they never really talked about it. The situation would have been tough enough if her husband would have been injured attempting to rescue someone in trouble, but being hit by a drunk driver while in the station working on the squad was more than she could handle. She buried her head in her hands and wept quietly.

“How’s he doing Joe?” Kel Brackett had just entered the room in which Dr. Joe Early was working on paramedic John Gage.

“Not good, Kel, not good at all. We’re going to have to get him up to OR shortly. His BP keeps dropping, and now we’re just getting him stabilized enough to get him to the OR. I’m afraid that this might be more than even John Gage’s body can handle.”

Brackett looked at Johnny and was amazed that he looked as good as he did. Sure, his color was bad, and he had a few bruises and cuts, but overall he looked good. Kel knew that the problem must be internal bleeding and they would not know just how much or how serious it was until they had him in the OR.

“Well, Roy’s stabilized. Let me go out and talk to Joanne, and I’ll give you a hand with Johnny.”

Joe didn’t get a chance to tell Kel, but he was hoping that he would be available to assist in this particular surgery. He was afraid of what he might find when they got into the OR and opened Johnny up. It couldn’t be good with all the blood loss. Joe Early was betting on a liver laceration and possibly a torn spleen. He wouldn’t know for sure until the surgery. But one thing he was sure of, they must be prepared for anything.

Dr. Brackett came down the hallway and saw a half dozen sets of eyes staring up at him. A less experienced doctor might have been intimidated, but he had been in worse situations than this in his career. Not much worse, but worse nonetheless.

“Joanne, Roy is stabilized, but he’s very sedated. He was pretty upset about Johnny, and we thought it best to sedate him. His body needs that in order to heal.”

“Can I see him?” Joanne gave the doctor a look that no one could turn down, and he allowed her to see her husband, but only for a moment. She was so relieved that she rushed to be by Roy’s side.

“What about Johnny?” Chet asked before any of the other crew had a chance.

“We are about to take Johnny to the OR. There are some obvious internal injuries, but we’ll not know much until we get in there and open him up; and see what we have.” Dr. Brackett was usually very matter of fact, but he knew these men and how close they were. I wish that I could tell them more, he thought, but knew that it would not be fair to speculate at this point.

“I’ll let you know as soon as we know anything.” He paused before turning to go to the OR.

“Thanks, Doc” came from Hank Stanley’s lips just as Kel rounded the corner.

All the men sat down except for Chet. He couldn’t be still. He kept pacing as though that would help the one man on the shift that he always delighted in getting into trouble. All of the guys knew that truly Chet and Johnny liked each other, even respected each other, and now Chet was proving them right.

“Have a seat, Pal.” Cap Stanley said to Chet, who by now was looking like a lost puppy. “It’s probably going to be a long night.”

Back in the OR, nurse Dixie McCall was the head nurse and wouldn’t have missed being in the room to help her dear friend John. She had known him since he began training for the paramedic program, even before actually, and she knew that he was one of the best. The doctors, nurses, firefighters, policemen, and paramedics were family in an odd sort of way, and when one of their own went down, they were all greatly affected.

“Let’s see what we have.” Dr. Brackett was ready to get in there and save this man’s life, as was Dr. Early. When they opened Johnny, they couldn’t believe the amount of blood they found. There was so much, that finding the origin quickly was impossible.

“Suction, Dix.” Dr. Brackett had to see where all this bleeding was occurring.

“Kel, here’s a grade six liver laceration, but I can close it without much trouble.”

“Let’s see what else we have in here before closing it, Joe. Dix, we’re going to need to pack this liver.” Dr. Brackett knew that the liver needed to be suchered, but he wanted to see if there was more urgent damage before starting.

“Clamp” Dr. Early said as he noticed an artery that was torn. He clamped the artery and much of the blood flow stopped.

The surgery took hours. They found several other arteries that were in need of repair, sutured the liver, and closed the young paramedic, breathing sighs of relief in unison. Johnny Gage had done it again. He had beaten the odds. When they began the surgery, they couldn’t imagine that he had survived the accident, much less a surgery. He had flat lined twice, but with only one shock each time, they managed to get him back. He was a true survivor.

After what seemed like an eternity, the doctors exited the OR to a room of waiting firefighters. They each had a look of fear and wonder in their eyes. Not one of them said anything as the doctors approached. By this time Joanne had joined, them as had Hank’s wife.

“How is Johnny?” Chet would have been the first to inquire.

“He has a recovery period ahead of him, and he’ll be on the vent and sedated for a couple of days, but there’s every reason to believe that he will make a full recovery.” Joe Early told the relieved firemen.

They all said, “YES” in unison as if they had practiced it. Joanne and Mrs. Stanley looked at each other and smiled. They were so happy for their husbands and their friends.

“Can I go back in just long enough to tell Roy?” Joanne asked, not knowing what to expect. “If he’s asleep, I’ll not wake him.” Maybe that will help me to get in. If I know Roy, he isn’t completely asleep.

“Sure” said Brackett, and Dixie walked with her to the ICU to see her husband.

Just as Joanne expected, Roy drowsily opened his eyes when he heard them enter the room. She took her husband by the hand and assured him that his partner would indeed be fine, and his eyes closed peacefully into a deep sleep.

In a week, Johnny and Roy were sharing a room at Rampart. They were both enjoying all the pampering and attention. Even Joanne had been there to sneak in cookies or some other goodie every day. Both Johnny and Roy really wanted to get back to work, in spite of all the attention, and worked very hard to get in shape to leave the hospital. Roy had a laugh every day at Johnny. He draws those nurses like crazy. No matter what happens to him, he still has the Gage charm. It was true, Johnny had an eye for the ladies and they returned his curiosity.

After six weeks, they both returned to Station 51 when A Shift was scheduled. This time there was a heavy rainstorm. The weather was absolutely terrible and they knew that they would be on the road all day.

“Well, well, look who’s back!” Chet proclaimed when he saw them entering the station.

“Yeah, welcome back, guys.” Marco put a hand on the shoulder of each of the paramedics.

“It hasn’t been the same around here without you.” Cap Stanley added.

“Just wish that we could give you better weather on your first day back.” Mike knew how tough it was to drive in this weather.

Johnny and Roy looked at each other and laughed. It felt wonderful to be back.

“Thanks guys, but Mike, I think I’ve had enough beautiful, ugly days to last a lifetime.” Johnny grinned.

“Same here, partner.” Roy agreed.

“Squad 51, woman unconscious, 111 North Eakon, cross street Ferrell. 1 1 1 North Eakon, cross street Ferrell. Time out 08:20.”

“Squad 51, 10-4, KMG365” Captain Stanley said. “Good to have you back, guys.” He smiled as he handed the slip of paper to Roy, who was about to pull out.

“Good to be back, Cap.” Roy really meant those words, too. He and Johnny smiled all the way to the site of the emergency!

Thanks to Becca for some medical answers!:o)