Diane had been visiting Paula when Kate called to reveal the desperate turn of events at the rally. At Paula’s behest, Diane turned on the TV. As Kate gave her running commentary to her mother, Paula and Diane’s eyes were glued to the television. What they saw frightened them to the core.
“Come on, Gwen! Get him out of the water! Look, Billy’s pulling him out of the water for Gwen. God, look at Gwen now! The damn cameraman must be trying to show her boobs! Look at all of that cleavage, and on TV yet! Steve must have a pulse, Paula, Gwen’s breathing for him, but she’s not doing CPR. That’s a good thing,” assured Diane. “Look! Steve’s moving! He’s breathing! Look at Gwen cry, Paula. She was afraid that he was going to die. Wow! Look at that!”
Gwen gave Steve several breaths, all the time praying silently that he’d recover. Her heart felt colder than the waters she had so recently left. What if he died? She decided she’d breathe for him for hours if that’s what it took. Suddenly she felt Steve cough. She quickly moved her lips off his and tilted his head to the side. A surprisingly small amount of fluid spilled from his mouth. Then Steve gasped for breath. Gwen watched Steve take several large breaths. Then, with tears streaming down her cheeks, she leaned back in and kissed his lips gently. She then pulled his head to her chest and hugged him as her tears of joy rained down on his face. Then she saw the blood!
Steve’s stomach was crimson as blood flowed down his abdomen and dripped onto the frozen ground. Gwen reached down and felt the red fluid, trying to convince herself that it couldn’t be blood. As she rubbed it between her fingers, she soon realized that it truly was blood and it was coming from lacerations in Steve’s stomach and chest!
“Gwen, put this blanket on and let us take care of Steve. You’ve saved his life, but we need to get him to the hospital. You can ride with us,” promised Nancy Burns as she and her crew, seemingly coming from out of nowhere, moved quickly to professionally care for the patient. “We’ll backboard him and transport him as fast as we safely can.”
The throng that had come for a football rally, stayed to watch their volunteer ambulance crew provide the best possible care for the team’s star quarterback. The viewers at home had the same opportunity, but with a far better view. Gwen hovered nearby and even assisted when she could. Billy, with a blanket wrapped around his middle, was a great help in lifting one side of the backboard that held Steve. He assisted the crew as they carried it up the incline to the waiting gurney. It only took a minute for the crew to secure Steve in the gurney and load him into the rescue vehicle. Gwen nimbly climbed in the rear of the ambulance before the doors were closed and the vehicle sped away.
Charlotte saw Billy standing alone, watching the ambulance as it sped away. She ran to the platform where he and Steve had shed their clothes and gathered all of their belongings into her arms. Then she made her way toward Gwen’s pile of clothing, only to find Kate already there.
“Kate, we’ll go get Billy and drive to the hospital! Your amazing sister may want her clothes, although she sure got out of them fast enough. That was the most incredible, and heroic thing I’ve ever seen!” babbled Charlotte as she raced Kate to her car.
Paula was beside herself as she watched her semi clad daughter climb into the ambulance. “Come on, Diane! We’re heading for the hospital. I have to take some clothes to Gwen. You can make phone calls on the way, just get in the car,” urged Paula.
“Paula, Do you believe what we just witnessed on TV? Your cell is ringing every few seconds. I bet all our family and friends either saw that rescue, or have heard about it by now. I can’t believe what happens when those two kids get together. It’s like some sort of cosmic event or something,” offered a still amazed Diane.
Amber Stahl had wrapped up her live coverage of the event and was helping her cameraman pack his equipment into their van when her cell rang. “It’s the station, Stan. Hello, Frank. Yes, it was even more incredible in person. Yeah, we’re headed to the hospital right now. Thanks! I just said what came to mind as I watched the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. These kids are unbelievable. We should have a crew follow them around all the time!”
Charlotte, Paula, and the TV van pulled into the hospital parking lot at almost exactly the same time. “Mom!” called Kate as she joined her mother racing for the entrance. “Did you see Sis? She saved Steve’s life, and he saved those babies! Has anyone ever had a cooler big sister, or big brother?”
After opening the stubborn car door, Steve could remember starting for the surface with the two children in his arms. His lungs were in agony as they practically screamed for oxygen. He remembered nothing after that until he felt warm water dropping onto his face and soft lips forcing air into his tortured lungs. He coughed and immediately felt his head being turned as he spit up fluids of some kind. He opened his eyes and saw Gwen’s face very close to his as she brushed his lips quickly with her hand. Then she kissed him and clutched him to her chest!
Steve was surprised that she had no shirt on, but he wasn’t about to complain. He was taking deep breaths and trying to return to normal. He felt Gwen touch his stomach and then heard the ambulance crew talking to Gwen. He was undecided if he was in a dream, or if it was real. Then he began to feel very cold and started shivering. He was able to answer direct questions, but remained silent otherwise, as he was back boarded, carried up a hill and placed on a gurney. Steve saw Billy looking at him with tears in his eyes as he was being loaded into the ambulance, so he winked, drawing a huge grin from his friend. The ambulance crew quickly placed a mask over his face and Steve began to feel a lot better.
By listening to the conversation between Gwen and Nancy, he learned that Gwen had saved his life. He had given Gwen the two children and then he had slipped under the surface. If Gwen had not already been in the water and prepared to help, it was doubtful if Steve, or the children, would have survived. Gwen minimized her role, but it was evident that Nancy believed her actions were extremely heroic, and told Gwen so repeatedly.
As soon as he had been placed in the ambulance, Steve was given oxygen from a non-rebreather mask. Nancy gently cleaned some of the blood from Steve’s chest and stomach as Gwen assisted her. It seemed like they had just left the scene when Steve felt the ambulance stop and back up. The doors swung open and several men carefully released the gurney and rolled it to the rear of the vehicle and lifted it off.
At the hospital, Dr. Laura Masters had been between patients when she saw the nurses and staff crowding around a television. Out of curiosity, she joined the group and watched in fascination and amazement as events unfolded. Laura saw the incredibly beautiful girl perform rescue breathing on the young man. Then Laura was paged. Two infants involved in a near drowning were due within minutes. As she prepared to treat the children, she considered the situation. The one baby had been crying on camera, so it likely would be healthy. The second child was the concern, although she had only seen them momentarily on the screen before they were whisked away by the first ambulance on the scene.
When the crew entered the emergency room, Laura knew immediately that the children would be fine. They were both wide awake and crying. She gave them a quick examination and then ordered x-rays since they had been involved in an automobile accident. Serious injury appeared unlikely, but that was the reason for x-rays. Laura knew that she couldn’t always see broken bones. Laura spoke to the parents as she examined the children.
“I saw some of this on the television. I’ve got to tell you that your children are extremely fortunate. I’ll have them x-rayed because they were in a serious accident. We’ll also keep them in the hospital overnight for observation, but it appears, on my initial examination, that they’re doing pretty well. It’s especially amazing when you know they were under water for several minutes. That young man must have kept his cool and somehow managed to get these two some air in that car.”
“Thanks so much, Doctor! I’ll never be able to thank Steve Hammer enough for saving my babies. I just hope he’ll be okay,” sobbed the infants’ mother. “The team was supposed to be on the bus right now to get ready for the big game. Now I hear they’re staying home tonight to see what happens with Steve. Coach Watkins really cares about his players. That’s why they play so hard for him. When they bring Steve in, please take real good care of him!”
It was only a few minutes later that Laura was notified that the second ambulance was nearing the hospital. The patient’s vital signs were strong. He was, however, bleeding from numerous cuts and abrasions. When the door to the emergency room slid open, Dr. Laura Masters and the nursing staff watched a tall, beautiful young woman in a red bra and panty set, smeared with blood, and hair dripping wet, walk along side a gurney and hold the hand of the young man wearing a weak smile, and very little else.
“So, “The Lady in Red” and her dance partner decided to save the lives of two infants that were pretty much given up for lost?” greeted Laura as she directed the gurney to an empty bay, picked up a pair of scissors and deftly cut Steve’s muddy, wet underwear into several pieces.