Dave Branton, Flight Nurse
My Day
Unpredictable work
(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)
"Because we're working up North, it can be pretty unpredictable. I remember taking a patient out of Pongassi and the nearest airstrip was in Little Grand Rapids - wintertime, winter road. We had a patient with a breathing tube in place and the road was really bumpy.
"The biggest challenge was hanging onto the ventilation bag. As you hit bumps you didn't want to pull the breathing tube out. We ended up crawling along at 10 kilometres an hour. It took us an hour and a half to get to the airstrip by which time the physician and I, both of our hands were aching."