Lilith Whispers Back

DOWN BY THE RIVER

“Dad, look at the sun,” Sam said as he pointed out the front window of their red Cherokee Jeep.

“Wow, the colors of orange and pink are beautiful. The sun will be setting soon. Keep a look out for animals along the road,” Brad said as he smiled at his seven year old son who held onto the dash as he peered out the window.

“Dad, wait till Mom sees the fish I caught!” Sam exclaimed excitedly.

“You brought it in like a champ,” Brad smiled.

“Dad, thanks for letting me sit up front. So far I have seen 4 deer, 2 antelope and that one big elk,” Sam added.

With the road now dark and Sam dozing, Brad reached down to scan for a radio station. In that instant an elk jumped in front of the Jeep hitting the front corner and sending the vehicle into the ditch. Brad, not badly hurt, called out to Sam. He was against the dash, unconscious.

A 911 ambulance, that Brad had called, arrived and transported the still unmoving yet breathing child to a nearby clinic. A trauma fixed wing plane and crew were requested and en route to them. On board the air flight plane was the pilot Joshua, Flight Nurse Lilith, and Paramedic Ron. Joshua was an experienced pilot of ten years. Ron had been a paramedic with the fire department for five years and now with the flight team for two years. Lilith had been a flight nurse for two years now. It was her dream after she got some ICU and emergency room experience. She found the job always exciting, challenging and very humbling. She knew she would be dealing with some of the worst experiences of a patient’s life. She felt blessed to be a part of their experience and try to heal, comfort, relieve pain and get them to a hospital as soon as possible.

“We’ve got a seven year old male, 24 kilograms, car versus elk, with severe head injuries to be transported back to Children’s Hospital in Denver,” Lilith reported to Ron.

“I’ll calculate the ventilator settings while you do the medication plan,” Ron said as he checked to see that they had all necessary equipment secured on the stretcher.

An ambulance was waiting at the airport to transport the flight team to the clinic. On arrival to the clinic, the child, Sam, had a secured airway supporting his breathing, but his heart rate and blood pressure were elevated. Lilith gave sedation, pain medication for comfort and diuretics for brain swelling.

Lilith leaned close and spoke into Sam’s ear, “Sam, my name is Lilith. You hit your head and we are going to take you to the hospital. I will give you medicine for pain. You will not be able to talk because you have a tube in your mouth helping you breathe. Your Mom and Dad will be going with us. You are safe.”

Lilith and Ron moved quickly to stabilize Sam and prepare for transport. Lilith, knowing that a head injury and medication could affect the short term memory, kept repeating information to Sam every ten to fifteen minutes during the transport.

“Sam, my name is Lilith. You hit your head, we are taking you to a hospital, a machine is helping you breathe, I am giving you medication to help you rest, your Mom and Dad are with us, you are safe.”

Mom sat up front with the pilot Joshua and Dad sat in the back with Lilith and Ron. Sam was loaded onto the plane on his stretcher with the respirator and multiple monitoring devices. When all was secured the plane took off for Denver. Lilith and Ron continued to monitor and treat Sam.

Lilith repeated, “Sam, my name is Lilith, you hit your head, we are taking you to a hospital, a machine is helping you breathe, I am giving you medication to help you rest, your Mom and Dad are with us, you are safe.”

Sam’s heart rate and blood pressure stabilized. Lilith and Ron started catching up on their medical documentation. The flight was smooth, skies were clear, and no storms were expected.

Music interrupted Lilith’s thoughts. “Ron, where is that music coming from?”

“What are you hearing this time?” Ron smiled.

Lilith looked up front and saw Mom talking with Joshua. Dad, exhausted from worry and remorse, was asleep in his seat. Lilith and Ron exchanged worried glances. For a moment they worried that Sam was in danger, but everything indicated that he was stable.

“What kind of music do you hear?” Ron asked.

Lilith listened closely and spoke the words,

“Down by the river,

Down by the sea,

Johnny broke a bottle

and blamed it on me.

I told ma, ma told pa,

Johnny got a spanking

so ha ha ha.

How many spankings did

Johnny get?

1, 2, 3”

Lilith smiled, “He keeps repeating it over and over. It is a rhythmic child’s song.”

“Who is ‘He’? Do you mean the boy?” Ron asked.

“Yes, Sam is singing. He must be comfortable.” Lilith smiled.

Lilith with her gift of clairaudience was the only one who heard Sam’s song. She knew Sam was now comfortable.

She continued to whisper in Sam’s ear, “Sam, my name is Lilith. You hit your head, we are taking you to a hospital, a machine is helping you breathe, I am giving you medication to help you rest, your Mom and Dad are with us, you are safe.”

The team safely arrived at the airport and took their helicopter to the Children’s Hospital. Report was given to the physician and nurses and Sam’s care was relinquished to them.

Weeks later the flight team got word that Sam had recovered from his injuries and was back home with his parents.