Page 8 of In Too Deep
The trauma to Lydia’s chest must have caused bleeding around her heart, with fluid building up and squeezing the organ until it couldn’t pump.Meg had seen it resolved in the ER.
They didn’t have a hope of resolving it here.
Blood was crushing Lydia’s heart.
“Noah, she’s going into cardiac arrest.”
“What do we do?”His voice was steady, that ranger calm.But his eyes were wide.
“Pericardiocentesis.”Her voice shook.“I need to drain the fluid around her heart.But I don’t have the right catheter.”She fumbled through her bag with shaking hands and pulled out a fourteen-gauge needle—too short, too wide, wrong for this procedure.
It was a desperate move.But Lydia’s lips were turning blue and her pulse was fading beneath Meg’s fingers.
There was no time.
“Hold her steady.”
Noah’s hands clamped onto Lydia’s upper arms, his jaw set as he nodded.
Meg’s hands shook as she aimed for the subxiphoid space.Her mind raced through every complication.
Lord, I need Your help.
But just like always, the words didn’t seem to reach higher than the ceiling.
Don’t hit the lung.Don’t hit an artery.Don’t?—
She pushed the needle in—slow, steady, holding her breath until she felt the pop.
Blood-tinged fluid dribbled out.Lydia’s breathing eased for a moment and her chest rose a little more.
Relief surged—then vanished like smoke.
Lydia’s pulse faded beneath Meg’s fingers.Her breaths grew shallow.
“No, no, no.”Meg pressed harder on the needle and tried to draw more fluid.But it wasn’t enough.The damage was too severe.
Lydia’s eyes fluttered.Then her breath stilled.
“Lydia!”Meg’s voice broke as she started CPR, her hands pumping the girl’s sternum.“Come on, stay with me!”
Noah’s hands joined hers and took over compressions when hers faltered.
But Meg knew it was too late.
The fluid had crushed Lydia’s heart.No CPR could restart what had been compressed beyond function.
A grinding crunch echoed through the passage.Then a beam of light pierced the darkness as voices called out.
The South Rim SAR team burst in—five of them, with headlamps slicing through the dust and a backboard slung between them.The team dropped to their knees as two took over CPR.
Meg stumbled back, her boots slipping on blood-slick stone.She watched as they worked, their voices calling out vitals and procedures.
But she knew.There was no hope.Not now.Not here.
Noah’s hand found her arm and pulled her toward the narrow opening where sunlight now spilled through.“Meg, come on.”His voice was raw but firm.
She stumbled after him, her legs moving on autopilot.She wanted to scream, to run.But her limbs carried her forward and scraped against rocks that tore at her uniform.
