Bondi Rescue

Occupational Hazard

Rolling his eyes, Jesse shakes his head and reaches out to push Jamie's ankle. She's sitting on top of the rhino while he rests in the driver seat, her leg dangling off the side. How she isn't burning up in the sun, he doesn't know. He can't count the times she's sat crossed-legged on the desk instead of one of the empty chairs inside the tower. It's like she doesn't know how to sit properly.

"Pfft," Shaking his head, Jesse has to move when Jamie's leg swings a little too close to his head. He's about to warn her when he hears her chuckling. "Watch it." He shouts and hits the top of the buggy right below her.

Suddenly there's a motion and Jesse turns to see she's jumped back onto the sand. "I couldn't do more damage," She says and continues in the same breath while pointing into the water. "See that guy?"

"Yeah," Jesse nods and sits up while reaching for the radio. "Uh, Jesse to central, we've got a guy down here stuck in a rip, doesn't look too bad but J's gonna have a paddle out." As he's finishing his sentence, Jamie lifts the board and started out into the water.

The swimmer has drifted further out but Jamie reaches him soon enough and sits up as he grabs onto her board. She decides against asking if he's alright as the water loudly crashes around them and shouts for him to climb onto her board instead.

In his haste, the man tips the board as a wave crashes down over them and Jamie is ducked under the water. Kicking her legs, she pushes herself back to the surface and flips her board back over. "Get on, lie on your stomach," Jamie tells the man. She keeps one hand on her board and grips his arm with the other.

"You're fine, relax," The girl tries to assure him but as the seconds tick by, the man becomes more and more panicked. He wasn't that bad off when she'd reached him but panic can spread through a person quickly. And panic easily clouds one's mind and prevents them from thinking clearly.

Once again, the man struggles to climb onto the board and another wave sends them both under the water. Jamie makes her way back up but right when she feels her head breach the surface, her lungs ready to inhale the salty air, something hard strikes the back of her hair and everything goes black.

From the shore, Jesse sees the situation turn from manageable to terrible in a second flat. He's quick to radio for help before rushing into the water. He doesn't have a board, he removes his shirt as he runs and chucks it into the sand. Once in the water, he lifts his legs over the liquid to move quicker and dives into the deeper part. Then he swims out to where he last saw Jamie as quickly as he can.

Jesse is able to grab Jamie's abandoned rescue board and uses it to reach her quicker. His heart drops more and more as the seconds go by and he doesn't see her. And when he does finally spot her, he feels no relief as he pulls her dead weight onto the board.

Securing her best he can, Jesse paddles faster than he ever has back to shore. He can see Hoppo, Maxi, and Chappo there waiting with the medkit and defibrillator. They all rush out to help lift the board that Jamie lies on and carry it up just enough to be out of the water.

"She's got a pulse but she's not breathing," Chappo determines while Maxi quickly dries her chest and Jesse holds her head still.

"We have to roll her," Hoppo tells them and everyone moves to roll Jamie into the recovery position. With a hit to the head and possibly neck, the possibility of a spinal injury is high but if they don't clear her airway, it won't matter.

Immediately, water pours from Jamie's mouth and even her nose but she still doesn't take a breath. Hoppo grabs the ambu bag and places the mask over her face before pushing hair into her lungs. He only does it once before grabbing the right size guedel airway and sliding it into her mouth and down her throat. More foamy water spills from her mouth while the Dfib shows them her slow heart rate. Shocking is not advised but she still hasn't taken a breath on her own.