Story Market Day
- Thread starter ComCamGuy
- Start date
I WILL NOT give in to the urge to find a picture of a hairy, fat male(?) wearing a thong for you. Mostly because I don't want to use the eye bleach I would need.
Dumb Blonde
Contributing Member
Aussie thongs, you're welcome.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
At the Motel Down South
It was a busy hour or so as the three of them unloaded the truck into their rooms. They sorted as they went. One of the things Gabriel made sure of was all his sewing stuff went into his room. While the bulk of everything else went into Samantha’s room. When they had the truck emptied, Stephen went over and let Bill the mechanic know. Once he drove off with it, the group gathered in Stephen and Gabriel’s room.
“Did he say how long?” Samantha asked Stephen.
“At least a couple days. Longer if he has to get an engine.”
“So, how much is all this going to cost?” Gabriel wondered out loud.
“I don’t know, but I told him to find or get what he could since we are a long way from where we need to be.”
“What if he can’t find an engine?”
“I told him to check around for any trucks or cars someone might be willing to sell.”
“Can we afford that? Can YOU afford that?” Sam asked, the worry thick in her voice now.
“I don’t know. A lot depends on what he comes up with. I didn’t fly down here with a spare bag of money.” Stephen said.
“So, I guess it’s hurry up and wait.” Sam stated, knowing that answer didn’t make any of them happy.
“At least it gives me time to finish those moccasins for you, sis.” Gabriel said as he started shifting and moving some of the boxes.
Stephen stood there, wondering how he was going to entertain himself while they waited.
It was a busy hour or so as the three of them unloaded the truck into their rooms. They sorted as they went. One of the things Gabriel made sure of was all his sewing stuff went into his room. While the bulk of everything else went into Samantha’s room. When they had the truck emptied, Stephen went over and let Bill the mechanic know. Once he drove off with it, the group gathered in Stephen and Gabriel’s room.
“Did he say how long?” Samantha asked Stephen.
“At least a couple days. Longer if he has to get an engine.”
“So, how much is all this going to cost?” Gabriel wondered out loud.
“I don’t know, but I told him to find or get what he could since we are a long way from where we need to be.”
“What if he can’t find an engine?”
“I told him to check around for any trucks or cars someone might be willing to sell.”
“Can we afford that? Can YOU afford that?” Sam asked, the worry thick in her voice now.
“I don’t know. A lot depends on what he comes up with. I didn’t fly down here with a spare bag of money.” Stephen said.
“So, I guess it’s hurry up and wait.” Sam stated, knowing that answer didn’t make any of them happy.
“At least it gives me time to finish those moccasins for you, sis.” Gabriel said as he started shifting and moving some of the boxes.
Stephen stood there, wondering how he was going to entertain himself while they waited.
223shootersc
Veteran Member
Thanks, CCG!
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Later
Stephen was still amazed as he watched Gabriel’s deft fingers dance over the leather as he worked on a mostly finished pair of leather moccasins for Sam. At this stage, he was using a hand punch to sew on the loops for the laces.
“Where did you learn all of this?”
“Here and there. The moccasins thing was something I picked up in the last year. One of my customers had a pair he needed fixed and didn’t want to send them back to the original maker and wait. He wanted them for a Faire the next weekend and they wouldn’t make it on time.”
Gabriel paused as he rethreaded the hand awl for the next tab.
“So, he knew I did web gear mods for the WWII reenactors and hit me up. It was fun working with leather instead of canvas and webbing. I took the job and went to work on them. Once I saw how they were put together, I knew I could do something like this. The biggest problem was figuring out how they came up with the pattern in the first place. So, when he came back to get them, I asked him how they measured him to make them fit. That’s when he told me the secret to the pattern. After that, I was good to go.”
“I take it the pattern is the roadblock?” Stephen asked.
“Oh yeah! The pattern is what tells you how to cut the leather. If the pattern is off, they don’t fit right. The whole selling point of these is they are made for each individual foot, not off the shelf from some generic template.”
Gabriel stopped sewing and went over to his luggage. He rummaged around in the bag for a moment or two before pulling out a finished moccasin.
“Here’s the one I made for myself.” He handed it to Stephen, who turned it over and over in his hands, feeling the smooth supple leather. His first thought was ‘Barbara would love a pair of these!’.
“How did you get into sewing and all of this in the first place? Did Home Ec class just hook you or what?”
“Kinda. I was trying to help Mom. It was when Sam was gone. Not all of us got to run off to Italy as a foreign exchange student.”
Stephen could see Samantha out of the corner of his eye. She visibly flinched when Gabe said it. He turned and looked over at Sam, but she just gave him a small, silent shake of her head, no.
“So, mom got you into sewing?” Stephen knew he would talk to Sam about it later.
“Yeah, then I helped a buddy fix his gym bag, and took another sewing class at school cause I realized there were like ten or fifteen girls for every guy. I got good at it, then…I don’t know…I started helping this girl from class who was doing it for friends, then it just snowballed from there I guess.”
“Well, you do a hell of a job. I’m sure if you want to keep doing it when we get north, there’s going to be plenty of people needing your handiwork.”
“I hope so. It’s not like I have any other job skills.”
“I think you will be fine.” Stephen thought of all the nylon gear they used in the park just with the staff. He was sure he could get repair work and maybe even custom soft gear jobs just from the park and the park staff. Hell, next summer there would be plenty of people in the park needing upgrades or repairs. It wouldn’t take much to set his little brother up with a full-fledged business once they got north. Once they got north. There’s the rub.
“So, what do I need to do to get one of your wonder moccasins for me?”
Gabriel looked up from the leather in his hands.
“We’re going to be here a couple days, right?”
“From the sound of it, maybe even a week. Why?”
“OK, I can unpack the machine and knock out the main seams. Then it’s handwork like this,” he held up the one in his hands, “I can work the main parts now.”
“So, what’s it going to cost me?”
“A pair of tube socks and about a half a roll of duct tape.”
Stephen was still amazed as he watched Gabriel’s deft fingers dance over the leather as he worked on a mostly finished pair of leather moccasins for Sam. At this stage, he was using a hand punch to sew on the loops for the laces.
“Where did you learn all of this?”
“Here and there. The moccasins thing was something I picked up in the last year. One of my customers had a pair he needed fixed and didn’t want to send them back to the original maker and wait. He wanted them for a Faire the next weekend and they wouldn’t make it on time.”
Gabriel paused as he rethreaded the hand awl for the next tab.
“So, he knew I did web gear mods for the WWII reenactors and hit me up. It was fun working with leather instead of canvas and webbing. I took the job and went to work on them. Once I saw how they were put together, I knew I could do something like this. The biggest problem was figuring out how they came up with the pattern in the first place. So, when he came back to get them, I asked him how they measured him to make them fit. That’s when he told me the secret to the pattern. After that, I was good to go.”
“I take it the pattern is the roadblock?” Stephen asked.
“Oh yeah! The pattern is what tells you how to cut the leather. If the pattern is off, they don’t fit right. The whole selling point of these is they are made for each individual foot, not off the shelf from some generic template.”
Gabriel stopped sewing and went over to his luggage. He rummaged around in the bag for a moment or two before pulling out a finished moccasin.
“Here’s the one I made for myself.” He handed it to Stephen, who turned it over and over in his hands, feeling the smooth supple leather. His first thought was ‘Barbara would love a pair of these!’.
“How did you get into sewing and all of this in the first place? Did Home Ec class just hook you or what?”
“Kinda. I was trying to help Mom. It was when Sam was gone. Not all of us got to run off to Italy as a foreign exchange student.”
Stephen could see Samantha out of the corner of his eye. She visibly flinched when Gabe said it. He turned and looked over at Sam, but she just gave him a small, silent shake of her head, no.
“So, mom got you into sewing?” Stephen knew he would talk to Sam about it later.
“Yeah, then I helped a buddy fix his gym bag, and took another sewing class at school cause I realized there were like ten or fifteen girls for every guy. I got good at it, then…I don’t know…I started helping this girl from class who was doing it for friends, then it just snowballed from there I guess.”
“Well, you do a hell of a job. I’m sure if you want to keep doing it when we get north, there’s going to be plenty of people needing your handiwork.”
“I hope so. It’s not like I have any other job skills.”
“I think you will be fine.” Stephen thought of all the nylon gear they used in the park just with the staff. He was sure he could get repair work and maybe even custom soft gear jobs just from the park and the park staff. Hell, next summer there would be plenty of people in the park needing upgrades or repairs. It wouldn’t take much to set his little brother up with a full-fledged business once they got north. Once they got north. There’s the rub.
“So, what do I need to do to get one of your wonder moccasins for me?”
Gabriel looked up from the leather in his hands.
“We’re going to be here a couple days, right?”
“From the sound of it, maybe even a week. Why?”
“OK, I can unpack the machine and knock out the main seams. Then it’s handwork like this,” he held up the one in his hands, “I can work the main parts now.”
“So, what’s it going to cost me?”
“A pair of tube socks and about a half a roll of duct tape.”
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ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
It wasn’t long before Stephen was standing there, wearing two pairs of tube socks, a thin pair over a thick winter-weight wool pair. He watched Gabriel make a pad of tape strips to stand on, then use more strips to completely encase his whole lower leg. Stephen still wasn’t sure how tall he wanted them. Gabe kept talking about five button, nine button and other things like he expected him to know what he meant. Gabe told him he was making the pattern for the tallest height, and it was easier to make it shorter afterwards, once he decided.
While Gabe worked, he kept tossing out all the next choices Stephen needed to make, like which leather, Elk or Buffalo, did he want an overlayer for insulation and weather, what for buttons, and which material for the sole.
As Gabe talked, Stephen realized his annoying little brother was gone. Here was a craftsman well and confident in his trade.
While Gabe worked, he kept tossing out all the next choices Stephen needed to make, like which leather, Elk or Buffalo, did he want an overlayer for insulation and weather, what for buttons, and which material for the sole.
As Gabe talked, Stephen realized his annoying little brother was gone. Here was a craftsman well and confident in his trade.
223shootersc
Veteran Member
Nice leather work! Thanks, CCG!
Armadillo3
Member
Haven't had a good pair of moccasins in years. Remember how comfortable they were.
The closest thing to real fitted martial arts shoes from Pilsung made in Korea.
Just one string around the top of ankle and fit to the feet like being barefoot but with protection.
Now I am going to have to look for a good custom maker.
The more I read the stories from CCG and 223shootersc, the more it costs me money for items that I
remember from the past, that I decide to buy again.
The closest thing to real fitted martial arts shoes from Pilsung made in Korea.
Just one string around the top of ankle and fit to the feet like being barefoot but with protection.
Now I am going to have to look for a good custom maker.
The more I read the stories from CCG and 223shootersc, the more it costs me money for items that I
remember from the past, that I decide to buy again.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
couple big Ren Faires in Illinois, you could go get fitted and hooked up.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
The Next Day
There wasn’t much to do at the Motel. Samantha was reading a book when Stephen came over to her room.
“What’s up?” she asked when she answered the door.
“Gabe kicked me out. He said I was distracting him too much so I figured to come see what you were up to.”
“Just rereading a book.”
Stephen looked around the room at all the boxes and bags stuffed in here with Samantha. He knew they could pack this stuff smaller, given enough time, and now it looked like they might have that time, depending on what the mechanic found out.
“I might have another project we could do while our elf is making shoes.”
“What do you have in mind?” she looked at him with suspicious eyes. Stephen couldn’t help but laugh.
“I was thinking we could downsize this pile if we broke stuff down and put it together into kits.” He remembered when Barbara showed him how she stripped out and downsized an MRE to almost a third of its original size without losing any of the nutrition.
“Kits?”
“Yeah, we take the contents and reassemble them into meals instead of components. Stuff like the canisters of egg protein powder are a pain in the ass to pack, but if it goes in with the rice or noodles or potato flakes, it takes up almost zero extra space since the powder fits in the nooks and crannies and we get rid of the container. Same thing for the boxes of potato flakes, and the dehydrated veggies and so on and so on.”
“So, what you’re saying is you want to rope me into building meal bags again like you tricked me into when you did your big hike. I’m not a little kid anymore. You can’t fool me.”
Stephen grinned at the memory them slaving away in the kitchen, him bribing her with homemade brownies as they put together his pre-packs.
“Tell you what. I’ll go over to the mechanic and see if he has a rough estimate of how long before he knows something, then on the way back, stop at the shop and rob and see if they have some brownies.”
“They better, otherwise you’re on your own.”
There wasn’t much to do at the Motel. Samantha was reading a book when Stephen came over to her room.
“What’s up?” she asked when she answered the door.
“Gabe kicked me out. He said I was distracting him too much so I figured to come see what you were up to.”
“Just rereading a book.”
Stephen looked around the room at all the boxes and bags stuffed in here with Samantha. He knew they could pack this stuff smaller, given enough time, and now it looked like they might have that time, depending on what the mechanic found out.
“I might have another project we could do while our elf is making shoes.”
“What do you have in mind?” she looked at him with suspicious eyes. Stephen couldn’t help but laugh.
“I was thinking we could downsize this pile if we broke stuff down and put it together into kits.” He remembered when Barbara showed him how she stripped out and downsized an MRE to almost a third of its original size without losing any of the nutrition.
“Kits?”
“Yeah, we take the contents and reassemble them into meals instead of components. Stuff like the canisters of egg protein powder are a pain in the ass to pack, but if it goes in with the rice or noodles or potato flakes, it takes up almost zero extra space since the powder fits in the nooks and crannies and we get rid of the container. Same thing for the boxes of potato flakes, and the dehydrated veggies and so on and so on.”
“So, what you’re saying is you want to rope me into building meal bags again like you tricked me into when you did your big hike. I’m not a little kid anymore. You can’t fool me.”
Stephen grinned at the memory them slaving away in the kitchen, him bribing her with homemade brownies as they put together his pre-packs.
“Tell you what. I’ll go over to the mechanic and see if he has a rough estimate of how long before he knows something, then on the way back, stop at the shop and rob and see if they have some brownies.”
“They better, otherwise you’re on your own.”
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
At the Mechanic’s
Stephen walked into the open rollup door into the mechanic’s bay. Their truck was in there already, hood up and a rolling table next to it held parts he could vaguely recognize. He continued forward until he could see the mechanic working away under the hood.
“Morning, sir.”
He looked up at Stephen. “Morning, what’s up?”
“I was going next door to the store and wanted to stop in and see if you had a rough estimate on when you might know something. I don’t want to unpack ten days of underwear if you think you might know something in three.”
“Well, if you get lucky and it’s simple, it will still take a couple days to fix, and if it’s what I think it is, it will take even longer to fix, so you should be safe unpacking three- or four-days’ worth of underwear.” He said with a grin.
Stephen was about to say something else when a woman he hadn’t seen yet walked into the bay.
“Dad, you got some more tape, this thing is still leaking.”
She was tall and young, about the same age as Samantha he figured. She was holding her arm in a towel as she came around the truck.
“Yeah, honey. Let me clean up my hands and I can help you out.” He said from under the hood.
“Hang on, mister. I’m a paramedic. I might be able to help. I might not know a darn thing about cars but banged up people? That I can do.” He stepped towards the woman, who immediately took a few steps back and looked at the mechanic. Stephen looked over at him too.
“It’s ok, Lacy. Let him look. I’m right here.” Stephen heard the change of tone in the last part of what he said, the first part was reassuring. The second part was all iron.
He cautiously stepped over to the woman. Now that she was right in front of him, his brain shifted gears. He could feel it happen as he purposefully put on his medic mind.
He was still fresh enough from all his classes to upgrade from Advanced EMT to Paramedic that he could see the assessment sheet in his head as he started looking at her. He hadn’t been doing it forever like his boss, Doug, where he just did it as quick and simple as stirring his cup of coffee.
He started with a quick glance head to toe to get his general impression of his patient.
She was a young, fairly fit woman, but she had multiple scrapes and bruises, especially on her hands and arms from what he could see. One hand had a towel she was pressing against the other forearm.
“Ma’am, can you pull that away for a moment so I can see?”
She looked from him to her father who must have nodded, because she pulled back the towel. When she did, he could see the problem. She had a long, deep laceration on her forearm, still oozing a healthy stream of blood when she released the pressure. It didn’t take long for him to come up with a plan.
“Go ahead and cover it up tight again.”
After she did so, He shifted around where he could see them both.
“That needs stitches.”
“Closest hospital is in Bakersfield, and we aren’t going there again. Too dangerous.” The mechanic said flatly.
“Well, in that case, I could probably take care of it if you trust me.”
“I barely know you.”
“Good point, but you know I’m not running away, and you can watch everything.”
“You going to do stitches? I didn’t know Paramedics did that stuff.”
“We are more than just ambulance drivers and I’m a backwoods Wilderness Paramedic. You would be amazed at some of the things we can do. The bad part is I don’t have a drug bag with me, so that might get a little touchy. Give me about fifteen or twenty minutes to get some stuff together.”
“What do you need from us?”
“If you have another one of those small rolling tables and a clean towel or sheet we can cover it with, I should be able to get the rest.”
Stephen walked into the open rollup door into the mechanic’s bay. Their truck was in there already, hood up and a rolling table next to it held parts he could vaguely recognize. He continued forward until he could see the mechanic working away under the hood.
“Morning, sir.”
He looked up at Stephen. “Morning, what’s up?”
“I was going next door to the store and wanted to stop in and see if you had a rough estimate on when you might know something. I don’t want to unpack ten days of underwear if you think you might know something in three.”
“Well, if you get lucky and it’s simple, it will still take a couple days to fix, and if it’s what I think it is, it will take even longer to fix, so you should be safe unpacking three- or four-days’ worth of underwear.” He said with a grin.
Stephen was about to say something else when a woman he hadn’t seen yet walked into the bay.
“Dad, you got some more tape, this thing is still leaking.”
She was tall and young, about the same age as Samantha he figured. She was holding her arm in a towel as she came around the truck.
“Yeah, honey. Let me clean up my hands and I can help you out.” He said from under the hood.
“Hang on, mister. I’m a paramedic. I might be able to help. I might not know a darn thing about cars but banged up people? That I can do.” He stepped towards the woman, who immediately took a few steps back and looked at the mechanic. Stephen looked over at him too.
“It’s ok, Lacy. Let him look. I’m right here.” Stephen heard the change of tone in the last part of what he said, the first part was reassuring. The second part was all iron.
He cautiously stepped over to the woman. Now that she was right in front of him, his brain shifted gears. He could feel it happen as he purposefully put on his medic mind.
He was still fresh enough from all his classes to upgrade from Advanced EMT to Paramedic that he could see the assessment sheet in his head as he started looking at her. He hadn’t been doing it forever like his boss, Doug, where he just did it as quick and simple as stirring his cup of coffee.
He started with a quick glance head to toe to get his general impression of his patient.
She was a young, fairly fit woman, but she had multiple scrapes and bruises, especially on her hands and arms from what he could see. One hand had a towel she was pressing against the other forearm.
“Ma’am, can you pull that away for a moment so I can see?”
She looked from him to her father who must have nodded, because she pulled back the towel. When she did, he could see the problem. She had a long, deep laceration on her forearm, still oozing a healthy stream of blood when she released the pressure. It didn’t take long for him to come up with a plan.
“Go ahead and cover it up tight again.”
After she did so, He shifted around where he could see them both.
“That needs stitches.”
“Closest hospital is in Bakersfield, and we aren’t going there again. Too dangerous.” The mechanic said flatly.
“Well, in that case, I could probably take care of it if you trust me.”
“I barely know you.”
“Good point, but you know I’m not running away, and you can watch everything.”
“You going to do stitches? I didn’t know Paramedics did that stuff.”
“We are more than just ambulance drivers and I’m a backwoods Wilderness Paramedic. You would be amazed at some of the things we can do. The bad part is I don’t have a drug bag with me, so that might get a little touchy. Give me about fifteen or twenty minutes to get some stuff together.”
“What do you need from us?”
“If you have another one of those small rolling tables and a clean towel or sheet we can cover it with, I should be able to get the rest.”
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Stephen and Gabriel’s Room
Gabe looked up as Stephen came into the room.
“The more you distract me, the uglier your boots are going to be.”
“Don’t worry about that right now. Do you have any small, curved needles?” Stephen asked as he dropped a shopping bag on his bed and dug in it for something.
“Yeah, why?”
“I got a special emergency sewing job for you.” Stephen said as he crammed stuff in his pockets from the shopping bag and his pack.
“What kind of sewing job?”
“People. I’m going to do the rest of the work, but I need your sewing skills.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“Nope. The mechanic’s daughter has a big lac on her arm that needs stitches and there’s nowhere for her to go get them. I’m doing all the prep work, and you are going to do the needlework.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a package which he promptly tossed to Gabriel.
“Here’s your thread. A brand-new roll of fifteen-pound monofilament fishing line.”
“You’re kidding me. I’m not a medic!”
“You’ve sewn more in the last ten days than I have in the last ten years. You are just stitching more skin,” he waved to the boots next to Gabe. “it’s just this ‘leather’ is still alive.”
“I…”
“Look, you got this. I’ll do all the medical stuff. You just have to worry about the stitches. Needle, thread,” he pointed to the roll in Gabe’s hand, “and a hemostat or needlenose pliers if you don’t have any.”
Gabe looked up as Stephen came into the room.
“The more you distract me, the uglier your boots are going to be.”
“Don’t worry about that right now. Do you have any small, curved needles?” Stephen asked as he dropped a shopping bag on his bed and dug in it for something.
“Yeah, why?”
“I got a special emergency sewing job for you.” Stephen said as he crammed stuff in his pockets from the shopping bag and his pack.
“What kind of sewing job?”
“People. I’m going to do the rest of the work, but I need your sewing skills.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“Nope. The mechanic’s daughter has a big lac on her arm that needs stitches and there’s nowhere for her to go get them. I’m doing all the prep work, and you are going to do the needlework.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a package which he promptly tossed to Gabriel.
“Here’s your thread. A brand-new roll of fifteen-pound monofilament fishing line.”
“You’re kidding me. I’m not a medic!”
“You’ve sewn more in the last ten days than I have in the last ten years. You are just stitching more skin,” he waved to the boots next to Gabe. “it’s just this ‘leather’ is still alive.”
“I…”
“Look, you got this. I’ll do all the medical stuff. You just have to worry about the stitches. Needle, thread,” he pointed to the roll in Gabe’s hand, “and a hemostat or needlenose pliers if you don’t have any.”
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Back in the Garage
When Stephen came back into the work bay, he found Lacy sitting on a stool in front of a small mobile worktable, her arm resting on the large towel covering the work surface, her father standing next to her.
“Good. This will work great.” Stephen said as he set several things down on the table.
“So, how are we going to do this?” The mechanic asked Stephen.
“Ok, the first thing we are going to do is stop the bleeding so we can get a good look at the wound and clean it up before we close it.”
About this time Gabriel came into the bay. The mechanic immediately went towards him.
“Sir, we are closed for lunch right now. I can…”
“It’s ok, he’s with me.” Stephen reassured him.
“Is he another paramedic?” the woman asked.
Stephen smiled at Lacy. “No, this is Gabe a master seamstress. His stitches will be a lot smaller, more even and more effective. Don’t worry. I’m doing the medicine parts, he’s just a whole lot better with a needle than I am.”
Stephen glanced over to see Gabe giving the young women one of his father’s flirtatious smiles. Just what he needed Gabe acting like his father in a time like this.
Stephen paused a moment to get his thoughts together. He knew he had to explain things to keep everyone on track with what needed to be done. He tried to think how Doug would do it. Stephen thought back to a rescue he did with Doug. It was hard one, Stephen was doing what Doug called ‘Wilderness Paramedic ride along’. Stephen resented it at first but with multiple casualties, he was glad Doug was there.
During the rescue, Stephen watched how Doug seamlessly splint the guy’s broke leg while keeping him distracted talking about what he was doing. Doug even managed to throw in a few jokes and find out about the guy. The guy was still laughing while occasionally wincing when Doug told him he was done and ready to carry him out in the Stokes basket. Doug assured Stephen he would learn to do it someday. Stephen wished someday was today. He wanted Doug here right now. Tenderness was his thing. He had no choice but to step up; there was no one to step aside to. This girl needed him.
“Alright, Lacy, I need you to look at me. I’m not going to lie to you. This going to hurt but I do what I can to minimize the pain. Tell me when it hurts too much. I am going to tell you what we are doing so you won’t be as afraid Ok. If you have questions, ask me Ok?
Lacy looked over at her father and nodded.
“Let’s get started. We are going to put a tourniquet on your arm.” He saw some apprehension appear right away.
“Don’t worry. It’s only temporary. We have to stop the bleeding. This way you won’t be bleeding while we work on the cut. As soon as we are done, we take the tourniquet off. The other thing is it will help it not hurt as much when we sew. Have you ever slept wrong on your hand, and it goes numb? Well, that’s part of what we are doing here.”
While he was talking, he was building an improvised tourniquet out of a cravat and a small rod. He tied the cravat tightly around the woman’s upper arm.
“The bad thing about a tourniquet, when I put it on, it’s going to hurt a lot if I do it right. Are you ready?”
He saw her take her father’s hand with her other hand then nod. Stephen began to twist. He could see the pain on her face and in how she squirmed. He didn’t stop. He had to cut off the flow. After two full rotations, he checked the pulse in her wrist. None.
“OK, now, I tie the second one around your arm to keep the stick where it is.” When he was done with that step, he looked at her face.
“Doing ok?”
She was still squirming but managed to blurt out a soft, “OK”
“Good. Now let’s get this thing unwrapped.” Stephen pulled the towel and makeshift bandages away. Now he could see the extent of the wound. It looked like a jagged tear more than a slice. In the cut itself, he could see some spots of clotted blood or debris.
Well, he was prepared for that, but she wouldn’t like what he had to do. First step was to numb it up as much as he could now since the other effect would take time to kick in.
He picked up the hand towel full of ice he brought from the motel and put the icepack directly on the wound.
“This will help numb it up before we clean it.”
While the ice did its job, he unwrapped the pediatric toothbrush and loosened the cap on the bottle of distilled water. After about ten minutes, Stephen decided it was time.
“You doing Ok Lacy?”
The young woman tried to answer but her head was buried deep in her father’s chest trying not to cry and wholly uninterested in watching what they were doing. The best she could answer was a small whimper which everyone took as a good sign.
“It’s time to start cleaning the wound so it doesn’t get infected. My brother is going to pour a little water over it while I clean it out with the tiny toothbrush. This will wash it out so I can see what is going on and Gabe can see what he is going to be sewing.”
Stephen kept hoping Gabriel’s was concentrating on providing the small trickle of water onto the wound, not the pretty girl. If he wasn’t, there was going to be one mad mechanic and one less brother. Stephen also had to keep his mind on scrubbing the wound with the toothbrush or his sister would be without a truck and two brothers.
“Everything thing is cleaned out and it looks good. I am going to turn the work over to the Master with the needle so you will have a minimal scarring.”
Stephen and Gabriel worked at bringing the wound edges together. Stephen pointed out the structure of the skin and how he wanted Gabe to sew it together.
“Hi Lacy. I’m Gabe. I’m going to be sewing up your wound. It shouldn’t hurt any more than getting a tattoo. You ever get a tattoo?” Lacy shook her head no. “Do you want a tattoo? I can make you scar look like a tat if you want me to. I can do mean looking dragon. Celtic knot? A heart for that special guy?” when she didn’t answer, he continued. “No special guy? I’m available.” Lacy for the first time since all this started raised her head and managed a smile as she looked into Gabe’s smiling eyes. Her father wasn’t sure if he was amused.
“Time to get the sewing done Gabe.” Stephen tried not to admonish him since Lacy was relaxing but time was important. He didn’t want to have the tourniquet on longer than they had to.
Gabe had the idea of what he had to do. It didn’t take long for him to finish. Watching Gabe work, Stephen knew he made the right call. It would have taken him eight times as long and would have looked like a seizure victim trying to draw Abraham Lincoln on an Etch-A-Sketch.
“Now, the part you have been waiting for. I’m going to slowly release the tourniquet, and make sure it doesn’t leak. It’s going to hurt again as the blood comes back into your arm, but it will pass.” Stephen told Lacy.
Gabriel’s sewing did a great job bringing everything together and there was barely a small amount of ooze, and even that didn’t keep going.
“OK, you need to leave these in for probably about two weeks.” Stephen was talking as he started dressing the wound, first with some antibiotic ointment, then a fresh pad and an Ace wrap.
“Keep an eye on it. If it gets really red or warm, then you need a doctor and some antibiotics. Don’t do any vigorous stuff with it and give it some time to knit back together. In about two weeks, clip the stitch and pull it out. After you do that, keep it protected another week since it won’t have the stitch helping hold it together.”
He was bundling up their tools as they finished. The mechanic stepped up to Stephen.
“Thanks. What can I do to help you for doing this?”
“Help us find a way to get north.”
When Stephen came back into the work bay, he found Lacy sitting on a stool in front of a small mobile worktable, her arm resting on the large towel covering the work surface, her father standing next to her.
“Good. This will work great.” Stephen said as he set several things down on the table.
“So, how are we going to do this?” The mechanic asked Stephen.
“Ok, the first thing we are going to do is stop the bleeding so we can get a good look at the wound and clean it up before we close it.”
About this time Gabriel came into the bay. The mechanic immediately went towards him.
“Sir, we are closed for lunch right now. I can…”
“It’s ok, he’s with me.” Stephen reassured him.
“Is he another paramedic?” the woman asked.
Stephen smiled at Lacy. “No, this is Gabe a master seamstress. His stitches will be a lot smaller, more even and more effective. Don’t worry. I’m doing the medicine parts, he’s just a whole lot better with a needle than I am.”
Stephen glanced over to see Gabe giving the young women one of his father’s flirtatious smiles. Just what he needed Gabe acting like his father in a time like this.
Stephen paused a moment to get his thoughts together. He knew he had to explain things to keep everyone on track with what needed to be done. He tried to think how Doug would do it. Stephen thought back to a rescue he did with Doug. It was hard one, Stephen was doing what Doug called ‘Wilderness Paramedic ride along’. Stephen resented it at first but with multiple casualties, he was glad Doug was there.
During the rescue, Stephen watched how Doug seamlessly splint the guy’s broke leg while keeping him distracted talking about what he was doing. Doug even managed to throw in a few jokes and find out about the guy. The guy was still laughing while occasionally wincing when Doug told him he was done and ready to carry him out in the Stokes basket. Doug assured Stephen he would learn to do it someday. Stephen wished someday was today. He wanted Doug here right now. Tenderness was his thing. He had no choice but to step up; there was no one to step aside to. This girl needed him.
“Alright, Lacy, I need you to look at me. I’m not going to lie to you. This going to hurt but I do what I can to minimize the pain. Tell me when it hurts too much. I am going to tell you what we are doing so you won’t be as afraid Ok. If you have questions, ask me Ok?
Lacy looked over at her father and nodded.
“Let’s get started. We are going to put a tourniquet on your arm.” He saw some apprehension appear right away.
“Don’t worry. It’s only temporary. We have to stop the bleeding. This way you won’t be bleeding while we work on the cut. As soon as we are done, we take the tourniquet off. The other thing is it will help it not hurt as much when we sew. Have you ever slept wrong on your hand, and it goes numb? Well, that’s part of what we are doing here.”
While he was talking, he was building an improvised tourniquet out of a cravat and a small rod. He tied the cravat tightly around the woman’s upper arm.
“The bad thing about a tourniquet, when I put it on, it’s going to hurt a lot if I do it right. Are you ready?”
He saw her take her father’s hand with her other hand then nod. Stephen began to twist. He could see the pain on her face and in how she squirmed. He didn’t stop. He had to cut off the flow. After two full rotations, he checked the pulse in her wrist. None.
“OK, now, I tie the second one around your arm to keep the stick where it is.” When he was done with that step, he looked at her face.
“Doing ok?”
She was still squirming but managed to blurt out a soft, “OK”
“Good. Now let’s get this thing unwrapped.” Stephen pulled the towel and makeshift bandages away. Now he could see the extent of the wound. It looked like a jagged tear more than a slice. In the cut itself, he could see some spots of clotted blood or debris.
Well, he was prepared for that, but she wouldn’t like what he had to do. First step was to numb it up as much as he could now since the other effect would take time to kick in.
He picked up the hand towel full of ice he brought from the motel and put the icepack directly on the wound.
“This will help numb it up before we clean it.”
While the ice did its job, he unwrapped the pediatric toothbrush and loosened the cap on the bottle of distilled water. After about ten minutes, Stephen decided it was time.
“You doing Ok Lacy?”
The young woman tried to answer but her head was buried deep in her father’s chest trying not to cry and wholly uninterested in watching what they were doing. The best she could answer was a small whimper which everyone took as a good sign.
“It’s time to start cleaning the wound so it doesn’t get infected. My brother is going to pour a little water over it while I clean it out with the tiny toothbrush. This will wash it out so I can see what is going on and Gabe can see what he is going to be sewing.”
Stephen kept hoping Gabriel’s was concentrating on providing the small trickle of water onto the wound, not the pretty girl. If he wasn’t, there was going to be one mad mechanic and one less brother. Stephen also had to keep his mind on scrubbing the wound with the toothbrush or his sister would be without a truck and two brothers.
“Everything thing is cleaned out and it looks good. I am going to turn the work over to the Master with the needle so you will have a minimal scarring.”
Stephen and Gabriel worked at bringing the wound edges together. Stephen pointed out the structure of the skin and how he wanted Gabe to sew it together.
“Hi Lacy. I’m Gabe. I’m going to be sewing up your wound. It shouldn’t hurt any more than getting a tattoo. You ever get a tattoo?” Lacy shook her head no. “Do you want a tattoo? I can make you scar look like a tat if you want me to. I can do mean looking dragon. Celtic knot? A heart for that special guy?” when she didn’t answer, he continued. “No special guy? I’m available.” Lacy for the first time since all this started raised her head and managed a smile as she looked into Gabe’s smiling eyes. Her father wasn’t sure if he was amused.
“Time to get the sewing done Gabe.” Stephen tried not to admonish him since Lacy was relaxing but time was important. He didn’t want to have the tourniquet on longer than they had to.
Gabe had the idea of what he had to do. It didn’t take long for him to finish. Watching Gabe work, Stephen knew he made the right call. It would have taken him eight times as long and would have looked like a seizure victim trying to draw Abraham Lincoln on an Etch-A-Sketch.
“Now, the part you have been waiting for. I’m going to slowly release the tourniquet, and make sure it doesn’t leak. It’s going to hurt again as the blood comes back into your arm, but it will pass.” Stephen told Lacy.
Gabriel’s sewing did a great job bringing everything together and there was barely a small amount of ooze, and even that didn’t keep going.
“OK, you need to leave these in for probably about two weeks.” Stephen was talking as he started dressing the wound, first with some antibiotic ointment, then a fresh pad and an Ace wrap.
“Keep an eye on it. If it gets really red or warm, then you need a doctor and some antibiotics. Don’t do any vigorous stuff with it and give it some time to knit back together. In about two weeks, clip the stitch and pull it out. After you do that, keep it protected another week since it won’t have the stitch helping hold it together.”
He was bundling up their tools as they finished. The mechanic stepped up to Stephen.
“Thanks. What can I do to help you for doing this?”
“Help us find a way to get north.”
Last edited:
223shootersc
Veteran Member
Tit for Tat. Thanks, CCG!
SquonkHunter
Geezer (ret.)
larry_minn
Contributing Member
When I went thru wife’s stuff getting out of military. I found 30 stitching packs. Sterile curved needle, tweezer type thing. I told her I liked super glue and duct tape. 
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Nice revision.
Siskiyoumom
Veteran Member
The mechanic and daughter need to with the three amigos north. A mechanic can have mad skills and tools and I am positive the daughter does as well. Thank you for the new chapter!