Individual Summary: One of the boys is allergic to something. As in......deathly allergic......But no one had any idea until they're on-air, in the middle of the show, and they suddenly start going red in the face and gasping for breath......
*****
Before the show had begun way back in 2002, Bob - as the head medic on the crew - had made a point of getting a list of everyone's allergies, medications, and medical history (within reason). He always made sure he had a well-stocked medical cupboard at the clinic, full of the necessary emergency equipment he might need on very short notice, as well as the usual dressings and bandages that one might use on a less serious injury.
Among all of this, in his locked drug-safe, were a stash of epi-pens.
These epi-pens - used in the case of a severe anaphylactic reaction - had never been used in more than 15 years (although Bob made sure to replace them before the start of each series, just in case).
However, during the 2018 series, that was about to change.
Some of the crew had allergies that they didn't even know about - ones that they found out rather by accident while working, in the canteen, or just wandering around the bush. Some found out that they were allergic to bees and wasps, others to certain plants.
But none of these reactions had been any worse than a localised skin reaction, therefore not requiring the use of the epi-pens.
Even the boys themselves had been the victims of a few minor allergic reactions - mostly to the plants that lined the paths into camp and into the trial clearings.
But, after the preparation for a link involving the boys went a bit south - thanks to a sudden gust of wind that had sent their cue-cards into the jungle undergrowth - Ant had spent the two minutes before they'd come back on-air searching through the bushes to find their cards.
Letting out a triumphant "Ah ha!" when he felt his fingers close around the card, he pulled out of the shrubs with a big smile on his face, not noticing the little arachnid he now had for company.
The tiny, pale, eight-legged parasite immediately burrowed happily into the skin of its host, and began to drink greedily.
They went back on-air, and things progressed fine for the first thirty seconds or so, until Ant became distracted by an annoying itch on his right forearm. Scratching it absent-mindedly, he continued along with the script, scratching more furiously as the itch increased.
Dec sent him a sideways frown, eyebrow twitching just slightly upwards as a questioning look took over his expression.
Ant forced a smile onto his face and pushed his arm down by his side, clenching his fist to keep from scratching.
It didn't work, and as soon as he'd said his line, he was back and scratching away.
But this time, his nails forced the tick to dislodge slightly, and - in reflex - it spat out some of its toxins and proteins through its saliva.
Within seconds, the toxins had started to spread through Ant's bloodstream, and his immune system was kicking up a right fuss at the sight of them - releasing inflammatory mediators in excess, and forcing his body's regulatory systems into overdrive.
On the outside, Ant had started to realise that something wasn't quite right: his chest felt tight - like it was being squeezed by a sumo wrestler - and each breath was getting harder to draw in. His face felt hot, yet there was a cold sweat that was starting to form along his upper lip and on his forehead. He could feel his heart racing, and he started to feel vaguely sick in his stomach - as if he was just moments away from throwing up.
He tried to cough in an attempt to clear his airway, but that just forced his chest tighter, and then he couldn't stop the reflexive action as more coughs and gasps shook his whole body.
Now his mouth was starting to tingle, and he could feel his tongue starting to swell inside it. Frantically reaching out and grabbing onto Dec's shirt, Ant tried to tell him what was going on; but all that came out was a muffled mumble of incomprehensible sounds.
He saw Dec's eyes widen in fear and he heard - over the rushing of blood in his ears - his friend stumble through some impromptu link to take them to the next VT, before he started calling urgently for Bob.
That was the last thing he heard, as the next thing Ant knew was blackness.
*****
"ANT!"
The sound of Dec's frightened cry urged Bob to increase his pace. He'd only gone back up the trail a bit to treat one of the sound guys for a heavily bleeding gash on the arm, and he'd just been on his way back when he'd heard the call on the radio to come back to the location immediately.
Walking quickly (medics never ran, never), Bob rounded the corner of the trail and had to stifle a hiss at the sight of Ant - collapsed in a heap on the ground, face red and swollen and wheezing horribly with every breath - and Declan - kneeling beside his friend, face pale and hazel eyes darting around frantically.
Kneeling beside the two, Bob began a quick assessment.
Ant was completely unresponsive - not even twitching as Bob rubbed his knuckles down his sternum. Following his protocol, the medic immediately went to check his pulse. It took a few disconcertingly long seconds to even find it, and the racing, yet weak and thready beat didn't do anything to reassure him.
But there was a pulse, and that was the main thing for him at the moment.
Next up, was airway - although this proved to be quite tricky to check, given that Ant's face and lips were so swollen by now that he could barely open his mouth.
Deciding to waste no time, Bob quickly checked his patient's breathing, and was startled to find him wheezing audibly with every breath.
Taking out his stethoscope, he had a listen to his chest, and his heart plummeted when he heard the full-field inspiratory-expiratory wheezes.
Putting all of this together with the visual information he had, Bob quickly realised what he was dealing with: anaphylaxis, and a very serious case of it.
Taking his drug kit out of his bag, he opened the compartment which contained the epi-pens, and took a few calming breaths as he checked the outsides for any damage.
Dec - sitting beside him still - had also caught sight of the pens, and had gasped sharply, his whole body tensing.
Bob tried to smile encouragingly at him, before gently moving him out of the way so he could have free access to Ant's upper thigh.
Putting the injector against the denim of his jeans, Bob took another deep breath and pressed down on the plunger.
Hearing the click as the needle dove into Ant's muscle, he kept up the pressure for ten more seconds, before removing the injector and rubbing the side of his patient's leg to help distribute the drug into the bloodstream.
Satisfied that the main complaint had been addressed - temporarily, of course - the medic returned to addressing the other concerns.
He attached a nebuliser mask - containing salbutamol and ipratropium bromide - to Ant's face, before switching on his oxygen tank and letting the medications get into his lungs as he breathed. Finally, he attempted to insert a cannula into Ant's elbow - but thanks to his dangerously low blood pressure at the minute, it took a few moments before he got the flashback he wanted. Once the line was in, he attached a 500mL bag of saline, and instructed one of the camera operators to hold it above them.
"Dec, can you raise his legs up? Just put them on your knees....that's it" Bob gave the other man another smile, and he was relieved to get a tiny twitch of the lips in return - though his eyes still looked rather shocked and very frightened.
Thankfully, the fast-acting adrenaline was clearly starting to work, as Ant's eyelids began to flicker.
"Ant? Can you hear us?" Bob asked, squeezing the younger man's trapezius muscle.
This time, he got a response - Ant groaned behind the mask and tried to shift away from the medic's hand.
"Come on, open your eyes" he coaxed, switching to the more painful stimuli - the sternal rub.
That worked, and tiny slivers of green appeared behind the slits of his eyelids.
"Welcome back" Bob smiled kindly, using his fingers to check Ant's pulse in his wrist - not as strong as in his neck, but it could at least be felt now.
"How are you feeling?"
Ant tried to reply, but all that came out was another mumble.
Nodding in understanding, Bob put his palm on the side of the younger man's head and wiped some of the sweat off.
"You've had a severe allergic reaction to something, Ant" he explained, seeing Ant's eyes widen in realisation and he started to shift around on the ground.
"Hey, try to stay still kiddo" Bob soothed, hand shifting to rest on Ant's shoulder.
But his patient just raised his right arm up and pointed weakly to a - very red and swollen - lump on his forearm.
Frowning as he took a closer look, Bob felt his own eyes widen when he saw the pale arachnid still burrowed into Ant's skin.
Nodding in comprehension, Bob gently forced Ant's arm down as he turned back to look at him.
"Yep, that explains it - you've got yourself a paralysis tick bite, and apparently, you're allergic to them" he concluded, getting out his magnifying glass to inspect the parasite.
"P-paralysis tick?" Dec hissed from behind him, and Bob could practically hear his panic rising at the parasite's name.
Straightening up, Bob smiled reassuringly at the two of them, putting a hand on each of their shoulders.
"It normally only really affects children and animals, but adults can have a reaction to them as well" he explained, pleased to see them both relax marginally.
Thankfully, he was spared having to say any more when he heard sirens approaching. Moments later, two paramedics and a fellow intensive care paramedic were strolling down the path, carrying their kits and spine board between them.
Bob quickly explained what had happened, and the crew agreed that Ant should be taken to hospital to have the tick removed and to be kept under observation for any further side effects.
Once Ant was loaded into the back of the ambulance, Bob was about to climb in to accompany the crew on their way to hospital (at the crew's request), when he felt the presence of someone familiar at his side.
He didn't even have to turn around to know who it was.
"Declan, I'm sorry son, but you can't come with me" he murmured sadly, putting his hands on the shorter man's shoulders and trying not to feel guilty at the impossibly miserable look on his face when he said that.
"But-" Dec started, but Chris stepped in at that moment to cut him off, not unkindly.
"Listen kiddo," the director started sympathetically, resting a comforting hand on the presenter's back. "I know you want to, and if we didn't have to finish the show, I'd happily let you go too - heck, I'd drive you there myself if there weren't any seats left in the truck. But we have to finish the show, and we need you to stay here for that."
Burning hazel eyes shot around to face him, and Chris sighed at their obvious shimmer.
"I know, son" he whispered, answering the unspoken plea, "but we need you back here. It's only one more link, and then it's down into camp. Can you do that for us?"
Dec appeared to consider it, glancing with a lost expression back towards the ambulance - which had started its engine and was waiting on Bob to join them - before he turned back to Chris and Bob with a determined flash in his eyes.
"I'll do it" he whispered, though he sounded less than happy about the idea.
Smiling encouragingly at him, Bob pulled him into his chest for a quick hug before climbing into the ambulance, the truck driving away from them as soon as the door closed.
Dec watched it go, the loneliness already making itself known, but he could do this - everyone was relying on him to finish the show.
He just hoped he could get through it okay.
*****
As it turned out, he could, and now Chris was driving him down to Murwillumbah hospital at the end of the shooting day - as he'd promised.
Pulling up outside the building, Chris waved him off - making him promise to keep them all updated - before he drove back towards the set.
Taking a deep breath, Dec walked into the lobby of the hospital and was surprised to see Bob leaning against one of the couches, and on the couch was -
"Ant?"
His friend glanced up at the sound of his voice, and immediately grinned - though it was a bit dimmer than usual.
"Hey kidda" Ant croaked hoarsely back, waving his arm that had a bandage around where the tick had obviously been removed.
As his friend immediately sitting down on the couch next to him, Ant had to chuckle as he quickly found himself with a lapful of relieved best friend as Dec wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug.
"Whoa, ease off a bit kiddo" Ant groaned as his friend's squeezing exacerbated the heaviness in his chest.
Instantly, Dec let go and pulled away, looking immensely guilty.
Another chuckle escaped Ant at this, and he pulled him back in.
"Idiot, I'm fine" he whispered in his ear, "Just have to be a bit more gentle with the hugs for a bit."
He smiled as Dec relaxed at that, resting his head in his collarbone - his favourite spot.
Bob watched the two with his own smile curling at his lips.
"Don't ever do that again - you scared the shit out of us" Dec grumbled into Ant's neck, nestling in closer so that his head dropped to rest over Ant's heart.
Perfectly aware of what his friend was doing, Ant let him be - feeling touched as Dec let out a quiet sigh of relief at the comforting thump thump under his cheek.
"Well, now that we know about it, we can deal with it properly if it ever happens again" Bob replied quietly from behind them, and both boys immediately tensed at the thought of going through all that again.
"But here's hoping that it never will, of course" the medic hurriedly added, smiling as the two gave identical huffs of agreement.
Chuckling, he put a hand on their shoulders and gestured towards the entrance with his head.
"Come on, let's get you two home."
*****
END of this chapter.....
*****
Next Time.....
2011 was a very hard year for the boys, especially Dec - but he never told anyone outside of those who needed to know what happened. Most of the Australian crew - including Bob - had no idea what had happened that year. So Bob is surprised, and rather concerned, when Dec suddenly starts acting strangely after one of the crew accidentally mentions their fathers.......