So, I gave her an IV...

Walking to the shower with Blue, flip flops and towels, and this female dressed in Pt's falls over in front of us and hits her head against the concrete barrier.

Instinctively I wanted to laugh. Blue moved forward and then I realized: besides being funny, maybe she needed help. I followed. We were maybe 30 feet away from her, and got there quickly even in beach footwear. She was laying there on the gravel, looking faint for a good reason – she'd just passed out.

Blue told me to go get the Combat Life Saver bag, CLS for short, which usually entails some needles, IV solution, tubing, tourniquets,bandages of all sizes, and some rubber gloves for safety. Halfway to our room I shouted, where is the bag? He reminded me that it resides at the casualty collection point near our sector. Pod. Area. House. CHU. Whatever.

I flip flopped over to it and brought it back. When I got there he'd put her, awake after her fall, laying down flat. I dropped the bag next to the collection of toiletries, my plastic Ziploc bag torn from the drop in the rocks. Shampoo and soap neglected, grime rubbing onto the cheap plastic baggie.

Blue reassured her, and I opened the bag, looking through the contents. Plastic gloves? Missing. Rubber band to constrict blood flow? Missing. Medical tape? Missing. Rock and roll.

Alcohol pad rubbed onto the inside elbow, needle placed against the flesh. IV tubing inserted into IV bag, bubbles of air pushed out for safety reasons. Skin stretched taught with the non-dominant hand thumb. Needle slid into vein. Flash chamber splashed red, signifying entry into the vein. Catheter advanced, needle removed. And without the tape, the catheter wouldn't stay in place. Blood flowed outwards and I tried again. And again, movement of the arm forced the catheter out. Switch arms, and do it again. And it sticks, and someone comes with tape, and we tape it down.

And the IV gets hooked up, and Blue gets into a vehicle to escort her to the medical clinic.

And half an hour later, he walks in our room and says, "You gave her HexTend, the one you never use except for massive bleeding. The one where, if they have a head wound, they might die."

Whoops. No good deed goes unpunished. Medics yelled at me later. Fuck 'em. I tried.