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The lifeguards ran into action as a report of thieves came into the tower. They all split up trying to find who was responsible. Terry and Hoppo went towards a grassy area while Harries and Azza went towards the pavilion behind the tower.
Deano spotted someone running and chased after him. It broke his heart a bit to see that it was a teenager. He wondered what was going on in their lives to have them do this.
He caught up to the kid after a minute of running.
“Come on, let’s go to the tower mate.” He says calmly.
The kid tried to swing at him, but Deano stepped back. He grabbed the kid’s arm, firm but not aggressively.
“Come on we’ve seen you stealing, the police are on their way. Let’s just go to the tower.”
The kid walked with him albeit very reluctantly. As soon as he saw the cameras though it was like a bomb went off. He started screaming and yelling, trying to get to the camera men, who wisely stayed a few meters away. Deano grabbed the back of the kid’s shirt as he tried to climb the railings to get at the camera.
“Come on mate, let’s go.” He says, trying to deescalate the situation.
He was thrown off guard when the kid whipped around and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
“I ain’t going with you!” He yells.
Deano looked up at the stairs to see if anyone was nearby. Him looking away was all the time the kid needed to throw a punch. Deano grunted as a fist hit his chin, sending him to the side.
From a distance Azza saw Deano get clocked and started running. He grabbed the walkie and basically yelled into it.
“The third thief just attacked Deano I need help on the promenade behind the tower.”
There were various confirmations of lifeguards that were now on their way.
Deano threw his hands up as well as he could as the kid threw another punch. He was still being held by the collar and couldn’t back up much.
“Don’t do this, you don’t want assault charges.” He tries, blocking a third hit. Azza was almost to him.
The kid was too angry to listen and pushed Deano hard in the chest, using his hold on the collar to help push him down.
Deano let out a yell as he hit the ground, head cracking against the cement. The hard landing knocked the air out of him causing him to gasp, back arching, unable to breathe. He laid there, dazed. Suddenly there was a weight on his chest and then his head snapped to the side.
“DEANO!” Azza screamed. The kid had landed on top of Deano and threw another punch.
From the stairs behind the tower, he saw Harries sprinting across the promenade and then tackle the kid off Deano. Hoppo and Terry right behind him. The cops were with them, and they dragged the kid kicking and screaming towards their vehicle.
Deano still hadn’t gotten up. He was laying scarily still on the ground.
Deano’s head was pounding and his whole body hurt. The back of his head felt sticky. His chest hurt too, and he knew he was gasping. He hadn’t been able to catch his breath from the initial fall. There were hands in the sides of his head, keeping him still. Someone was talking but his ears were ringing too much to listen.
“Deano.” Hoppo said as he held the man’s head and neck still. “Deano, I need you to look at me.”
Azza was standing behind them, calling the ambulance. Harries was keeping people from crowing too much with the help of Kyle and Maxi, who had returned from the skate bowl. Terry had Deano’s wrist in hand, keeping track of his pulse. They both looked up as Reidy arrived and kneeled beside them, spinal board and oxygen kit in hand.
“I don’t like how he’s breathing.” Terry says.
Deano had stopped gasping, but his breathing was still ragged. Reidy placed the oxygen mask over Deano’s mouth and nose which would hopefully help him breathe better.
“Deano.” Hoppo said louder trying to get the man’s attention.
Deano looked to him, but his eyes were glassy. It was then that Hoppo noticed that one pupil was larger than the other and felt his stomach drop.
“Ambo is five minutes out.” Azza says.
Hoppo looked up at his lifeguards. “I know we all want to be here, but Kerrbox is by himself right now. Azza, Maxi, and Kyle, I need you to get back to the beach.”
“Keep us updated.” Azza says, knowing that his boss was right.
Hoppo nodded and looked back to Deano, whose eyes had started fluttering.
“He’s bleeding.” Reidy says suddenly. The gash on the back of Deano’s head had made a small puddle of blood on the concrete below him.
Deano was tired and his head hurt badly. His vision was fuzzy and darkening in the periphery. Someone was tapping his cheeks and there were loud voices. He tried to see where they were coming from, but he could focus.
“Deano, you have to stay awake.” Terry said loudly, tapping the man’s cheek. Reidy was pulling gauze out of the oxygen kit to try and get under his head to stem the bleeding. “You must stay awake.” He tried to catch the man’s eye, but they were distant and unfocused.
“We need to get him on the board.” Reidy says.
There were sirens in the distance.
“Harries!” Hoppo called, “we need you over here!”
Harries ran over and kneeled on the ground.
“You hold the board while we roll him.” Hoppo says. “Reidy, press the gauze onto the cut. Hopefully laying him down is enough pressure.”
Together, he, Terry, and Reidy rolled Deano onto his side, making sure his neck and back didn’t move.
Harries carefully pushed the board to Deano’s back while Reidy pressed a hand to the back of his head. They were about to roll him back when his chest heaved.
“Keep him on his side!” Terry says, as Deano vomits.
Deano gasped between heaves. The movement from lying flat to being in his side aggravated his headache and cause his stomach to roll. In turn, throwing up just made his head hurt even more. His body decided that it had had enough, and his vision went dark.
There was a collection of swears as the lifeguards felt Deano go limp in their hold. Quickly but carefully, they rolled him onto the spinal board, gauze in place. Hoppo placed the oxygen mask over his face.
“This is not good.” Terry says.
“Paramedics are here.” Harries says, looking at the stairs where two were running towards them.
“What happened?” One asked, kneeling beside Deano to get vitals.
Hoppo explained the situation with the thieves and that the one that Deano caught had not taken kindly to being caught. “His pupils were two different sizes, and he just threw up before fainting. The back of his head is bleeding as well.”
“Alright, we need to get him to hospital immediately. One of you can come with us but we need to go now.”
“You’re the boss.” Harries said. “We can handle the beach for a few hours.”
Hoppo nodded and they were off. It was a tense ride to the hospital as the paramedics tried to stabilize Deano. They changed the gauze out for compression bandages and Hoppo felt his heart jump when the removed gauze were almost wholly soaked red.
When they arrived Deano still hadn’t regained consciousness. He was wheeled away quickly for scans and tests.
Hoppo anxiously waited in a waiting room as the doctors ran their tests. He messaged the guys that they had arrived and that he was waiting for the results.
He didn’t know how long it was before a doctor finally came to talk with him.
“What’s going on?” Hoppo asked, keeping himself as calm as he could.
The doctor motioned for Hoppo to follow him and started talking as they walked. “The good news is that Mr. Gladstone did regain consciousness shortly after arriving, which is a very good thing. The scans we ran have shown that Mr. Gladstone has some swelling in the brain and that he has a fracture where his head hit the ground.”
Hoppo couldn’t pay attention to where they were walking as he listened to the doctors’ words. Never did he imagine that he’d be in this situation.
The doctor continued. “Right now, he’s on oxygen and a combination of medications to keep that pressure down. He’s also been sedated to let his body focus on recovery.” The doctor explained. They turned a corner and went through a set of double doors which revealed a hallway of hospital rooms. A sign hanging from the ceiling read ‘Neuro Critical Care’.
“If the swelling does not go down or Mr. Gladstone shows signs of deterioration, an operation may have to be performed to relieve the pressure in his skull to prevent brain damage.”
They stopped in front of a room. From the window in the door Hoppo could see his friend lying in the bed. There was a cannula under his nose giving him oxygen and he was hooked up to three different IV drips. He was pale and there were bandages wrapped around his head. There was a brace around his neck.
“The back of his head received eight stitches to close the wound” the doctor said. “The next 24 to 48 hours are critical, but if he does well, he’ll be mostly clear of major damage.”
“How long does it take to heal from something like this? And what is the brace for?” Hoppo asks quietly, watching his friend through the window.
The doctor let out a small sigh. “Don’t worry, there was no spinal damage. The brace is to keep him from moving his head and neck too much which could impede the healing of the fracture in his skull, which should heal in about six weeks, maybe a little longer. The concussion though could take months, and even then, there’s a possibility of long-term side effects.”
“What kind of side effects?” Hoppo asks, not knowing if he wants the answer or not.
“Brain fog, difficulty with memory or concentration, chronic headaches, dizziness and balance difficulties, sensitivity to light and noise, some have trouble with sleeping. In some cases, it can affect people’s moods; depression, anxiety, irritability, mood swings.”
Hoppo let that sink in. The information left a pit in his stomach. All of those would impact Deano’s ability to be a lifeguard. And for what? Because some kid lost his temper after getting caught committing a crime?
“You can go in and sit with him, talk to him. If all goes well, we’ll wake him up tomorrow and check on everything.” The doctor pat his shoulder kindly. “Try to remember that those are all possible side effects, not a guarantee. There’s also the chance that after a few months he’ll be back to normal and ready to go.”
Hoppo nodded and opened the door to Deano’s room, the doctor leaving to go check other patients. He sat down next to Deano’s head and just watched for a few minutes.
“Harries messaged me.” He started. “The kid is being charged with reckless grievous bodily harm. He’ll likely face a pretty long jail sentence.” He took a deep breath. “You better be okay Deano. We don’t want you to have to leave the team because of this, don’t let an angry kid ruin your career. We’ll all be behind you cheering you on, making sure you’re ready to come back as soon as you can.”
He looked at his phone as it buzzed. A message from Terry.
“Any update?”
He looked back to Deano, who looked so uncharacteristically helpless in the hospital bed. “They’re going to be devastated.”
He selected terry’s contact and called him, realizing that it was past seven already. Terry picked up immediately.
“What’s happening Hop.” Terry greets. There were voices in the background. “We’ve just finished closing up the beach and are all here. You’re on speaker by the way.”
“It’s not good guys.”
“What happened?” It was Maxi, and he sounded scared.
“He’s in the neuro ICU right now. There’s some swelling in the brain and he’s fractured his skull. If the treatment right now doesn’t work, he’ll probably have an operation to relive the pressure in his skull.”
It was silent on the other side before a hesitant Reidy spoke up. “What kind of operation?”
Hoppo rubbed a hand over his face. “Honestly I didn’t ask but it can’t be anything easy.”
“How longs he out for?” It was Kerrbox.
“Probably eight weeks at the very least. Doc said it could be months though.” Hoppo says.
“Is there time for any of us to come up?” It was Harries that asked.
“Visiting hours end soon and he’s not waking up till tomorrow, at the earliest.” Hoppo tells them. “I suggest everyone goes home to rest and we’ll come tomorrow to see how he’s doing.”
The next afternoon, Hoppo, Terry, Reidy, and Harries were gathered in Deano’s hospital room waiting for him to wake up. The doctor had stopped the medications about two hours before. When the other lifeguards had first entered the room, it was rough. It was never easy seeing one of their own in the hospital, especially because it didn’t happen often.
“Do we know how long it’ll take for the meds to wear off?” Reidy asked the room.
“Should be soon.” Hoppo tells him, watching Deano carefully.
It was only a few minutes later before the unconscious man let out a groan and scrunched his eyes. The four men quickly leaned forward. Terry grabbed a hand and squeezed it.
“You’re alright Deano.” He said calmly. “It’s okay. Me, Hop, Harries, and Reidy are here with you.”
“Come on mate.” Reidy says. “Time to wake up.”
Deano’s eyes slowly opened, and he looked around the room.
“H’rts.” His voice was scratchy.
“You’ve fractured your skull and have a pretty severe concussion.” Hoppo says, grabbing some ice chips a nurse had left a while ago. He looked into Deano’s eyes and was relieved to see his pupils were a more normal size than they had been the day before. “It’s going to hurt for a while.”
“Th’ kid?” Deano asked.
“Officially being charged.” Harries said. “The Bondi camera man’s footage sealed it.”
Terry quietly left the room to tell the nurse that Deano had woken up before reentering. “It’s good to see you awake.” He sat by Deano’s side and helped him eat a few ice chips which soothed his sore throat.
“How long ‘m I out for?” Deano asked Hoppo.
“A few weeks at least but don’t worry about that right now.” Hoppo says. “You need to focus on getting better.”
Deano tried to look around the room and seemed to only just notice he had a neck brace on. He looked to the others quickly, mild panic setting in.
“There’s no spinal damage.” Reidy says quickly. “It’s just to minimize movement so you don’t worsen the skull fracture.”
Deano relaxed into the bed at that.
There was a knock on the door as a nurse and the doctor entered the room. The guys left as they performed various tests to see how Deano’s mental abilities were doing.
“Do you think everything is okay?” Harries asks.
“It seems like it.” Terry says. “Maybe a little confusion but I think that’s warranted when you wake up in the hospital after being sedated.”
“Didn’t seem like he lost any memory either.” Reidy says. “Even asked about the kid.”
“The kid is lucky.” Harries says, mostly to himself. He crossed his arms and looked to the floor. “Anything worse and he could have been charged with manslaughter.”
Hoppo rested a hand on Harries shoulder and squeezed it. “He’s okay Harries, he woke up and everything looks to be going okay.” The nurse and doctor looked pleased as they continued to talk with Deano. “The kid’s going to learn his lesson when he ends up with some pretty heavy jail time.”
“It shouldn’t have happened at all.” Harries says quietly.
The group stayed silent and the door to Deano’s room opened a few minutes later.
“Everything is looking good so far.” The doctor tells them with a smile. “He’ll stay for a few more days just to make sure but I’m optimistic for a full recovery.”
“Thank you, doc.” Reidy says, shaking his hand.
The doctor nodded and left them to go back to Deano.
“You did good, Deano.” Hoppo says with a small grin. “Looks like you’re getting out of here in a few day’s time.”
“Can’t wait.” Deano says. “Always disliked staying in hospital.”
“Don’t we all.” Reidy laughs, planting himself back in his former chair.
Four Months Later
“Deano!”
There were multiple shouts as he entered the tower for the first time in twelve weeks. His doctor had cleared him for light duty, AKA, manning the tower and manning the tower only.
“Good to have you back.” Hoppo says smiling at his lifeguard.
“It’s good to be back.” Deano says looking at everyone. “I was going stir crazy.”
“We missed you mate.” Kerrbox tells him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “How long till you’re back in the water?”
“I have another x-ray in two weeks.” Deano says. “The fracture looks like it’s healed up nicely, but he just wants to be careful considering what we do.”
There was also the fact he had developed chronic headaches and migraines due to the concussion. His doctors we’re working on finding a medication that would make them easier to deal with. Currently he couldn’t be out in bright light for long periods of time or high levels of noise. The main reason he wasn’t on the beach though was because balance was vital to performing rescues properly, and the migraines messed with his balance and made him dizzy.
The team leaders and Hoppo knew this but not everyone did. He was hoping they’d figure it out before too long though.
They all stood around for a few more minutes before they had to get back to their stations. Hoppo stayed behind.
“You let me know if you need anything, okay?” Hoppo tells Deano. “There’s no shame in asking for help.”
“I know.” Deano nods. “I’m just really glad to be back.”