The Night Teddy Took a Helicopter Ride

Whether or not you've had the 'misfortune' to need them, we all know how fantastic the Pompiers and SAMU staff are.

When you do need them though you realise that 'fantastic' is not really an adequate-enough superlative to describe them.

On Saturday night we needed them.

Calling '15' isn't something I (Kirsti) undertake lightly. 'What if I'm wasting someone's time?'. 'What if it's not really an emergency?'. 'What if I'm preventing someone from using the service who IS in more need?'.

I was all ready to drive to Urgence with Teddy myself but I decided to call '15' 'just in case'.

The language barrier wasn't an issue - they couldn't have been more helpful. After all, who thinks to Google translate 'wheezing' before phoning 15?

After a 10 minute call and a 10 minute wait the Cavalry arrived. SAMU from 86 and the Sapeur-Pompiers from Bellac turned up together. A two year old in respiratory distress brings everyone running.

The Sapeur-Pompiers even brought a brand new teddy bear to placate Teddy - not that he needed it! Despite everything going on, he was holding court and keeping everyone laughing!

After assessment, it was decided Ted was experiencing a severe asthma attack (he's not asthmatic and he never had even vague asthmatic symptoms before). The medication they treated him with had almost immediate results - thank goodness.

Much to Teddy's delight, we were packed off into the Ambulance where it was decided we'd be taken to Limoges as they have a specific Children's Emergency department. The blue lights, Doctors and Ambulance were like an early Christmas present as far as Teddy was concerned.

Unbeknown to us, the lead Doctor has also been in discussions with another medical professional (on the phone) and a SAMU helicopter  had been requested!

Just the mention of a helicopter and Ted lit up like a Christmas tree!

So, a very fast ambulance ride - with blue lights and nee-naws - to the stade in Bussiere-Poitevine ensued - Ted had the nurse in absolute stitches (no pun intended) - she didn't speak a word of English and Ted's spoken french is limited to Bonjour, Au Revoir and Merci but then laughter transcends barriers anyway, followed by a 'private' helicopter ride for Ted and I to Limoges, and another ambulance ride from the helicopter to the hospital department, an overnight stay in the children's emergency ward, and 16 hours later we were back home like nothing had happened.

Teddy is absolutely right as rain again (he was bouncing off the walls in the hospital the following morning which is all well and good unless you're trying to keep him wired up to the monitor to read his vitals. The monitor flat-lined a dozen times on Sunday morning all because Ted had managed to bounce his sticky pads off. (Again).

14 medical staff, two pilots, two ambulances, one SAMU 4x4 truck and a helicopter were all involved in getting Teddy to hospital.

Every single medical person we encountered were fantastic to the 'n'th degree.

Now for the bits they don't tell you.

I was caught between a rock and a very hard place - risk throwing up in the ambulance if we were driven to Limoges because I suffer from travel sickness (there wasn't a 'risk' - it would be a dead cert. ), or be flown (and I hate flying - I'm a terrible terrible flyer).

We got to sit in the back of the ambulance and watch the helicopter land! If Ted wasn't strapped onto the stretcher with me, he'd have been off across the pitch to the chopper on his own!

I don't know what I was expecting but being 'inserted' into the bottom of a helicopter wasn't it. It was like being fed through a letter box whilst laying on a stretcher, unable to move. What made it even more 'fun' was the fact Ted had been strapped on top of me. There was perhaps two inches between his head and the helicopter interior. A helicopter's bottom is big, but not that big.

A helicopter is very small inside and, by the time you've inserted a stretcher and added two doctors and two pilots, it's cosy.

They only carry one additional set of headphones for the patient. As Ted was the patient, he called dibs. Me. Well, I can still hear the sound of rotor blades.

There is no inflight entertainment. Fortunately, we had Ted so that role was filled.

Similarly, there is no drinks trolley.

We remained laid down and strapped in for the duration. Removing your own seat belt is prohibited (but you can't move your arms to do it anyway).

The flight from Bussiere-Poitevine to Limoges is 15 minutes.

The sky was beautifully clear on Saturday night so the night sky was lovely to stare at for 15 minutes.

My phone popped up with a 'wind warning' for the following day. I said more than a few 'hail Mary's' that it was as calm as calm the night we flew.

The french for 'wheezing' is 'sifflement respiratoire'.

Ted is absolutely fine. The Doctors think the asthma attack was brought on by a virus (he'd had a cold for a couple of days prior). They have no reason to believe he has asthma and that this is just an isolated case. We've come home with a 'puffer' and some other medications which he has to take for a couple of days.

So, if you were at Bellac Christmas Market and we missed you, we did give you a wave as we flew over.