Page 68 of Nathan
Saving Serena
Nathan
“Serena!”
I saw her fall and jumped over the log to get to her, but the slope made her roll further down, her body crashing into a tree trunk.
My heart was in my throat as I sprinted after her and threw myself to my knees, reaching for her still body. “Serena… are you okay?”
She was on her back with her eyes closed, there was a large bruise on her cheekbone, and her nose bled.
“Serena, do you hear me?” Her hand was limp when I touched it, and automatically my military training kicked in. Staying calm, I lowered my ear over her mouth and looked down her body to make sure her chest was rising.
Satisfied that she was breathing, I rubbed her breastbone with my knuckles while calling for her, “Serena, open your eyes.”
Deep relief filled me when she sucked in a breath and fluttered her eyes open to look at me.
“My head,” She lifted her hand as her eyes teared up. “It hurts.”
“You fell. Don’t move, something might be broken in your back.”
“No, it’s just my head.” She tried to sit up, but I placed my hands on her shoulders and held her down.
“Don’t move a muscle. Just look into my eyes. We don’t know if anything is broken in your spine or neck. It’s paramount that you lay still.”
“You think I’ve broken my back?” Her voice was brittle, and fear shone from her moist eyes.
“I don’t know, but I’m not taking any chances.” I ran my hands over her, searching for fractures, moving from her scalp to her feet. “I don’t feel anything. Here, squeeze my finger.”
I placed my finger in her right hand and then her left. “Good, you have strength in your hands.”
“Do you feel this?” I touched her feet.
“Yes, it tickles.”
“How many fingers do you see?”
“Four.”
“And now?”
“Seven, but they kind of flicker in and out of focus.”
“I’m guessing you have a concussion. We need to get you to a hospital and make sure there isn’t any internal bleeding.”
“I’m sorry.”
I fished my phone from my side pocket and pressed 112. I could hear the number ringing, and then a male voice responded in Swedish. Luckily for us, the person on the phone was fluent in English, and I was able to quickly explain the situation. Having my mobile phone, I could identify our exact location, and twenty minutes later, a medical team arrived. The two paramedics placed Serena on a stretcher with support for her neck.
I know they both recognized her even though she gave them her birth name Sydney instead of Serena. Several times they asked her what had happened, and it annoyed me that the men were casting me looks of suspicion like I had something to do with her bruises.
I wasn’t allowed to come with Serena in the ambulance, so I followed in the rental car. Once we were in the hospital, nurses took over and asked more questions. I explained what had happened while Serena had been unconscious, but it was clear that they preferred to speak with Serena directly.
“Are you her relative?” a nurse asked me.
“I’m her…” I didn’t know what to answer because Serena and I hadn’t defined our relationship. An awkward silence filled the room, and then the nurse suggested, “Friend?”
“He’s more than that,” Serena commented from the bed and reached out her hand as if searching for me. With her head strapped down, her view was limited to the ceiling, so I walked over to take her hand and leaned over the bed so she could see me. “Definitely more than friends.”
