Story time : I'm a Med student. We have to do rotations with the emergency medical service (it's called SAMU in France but anyway) related to our hospital. Most of the time we go by ambulance. Sometimes there are intervention by helicopter, when ambulances would make too much time to reach people's locations. But students are not always picked up because the heli cannot carry a medic + nurse + student + the patient together (payload). In each rotation we are two med students (5th year), the one who is not already on a intervention stay in the headquarter waiting for a calling. That day my fellow was a very kind, friendly nice guy. Always happy etc... you get the point. Let's call him Chrys (actually that's his name).

On one of my rotations I was called to get in the helicopter to rescue an old lady who had a stroke in a remote rural town. So we did our stuff etc.. then we got back to the hospital. Before the end of the rotation they called a second time a student to get in the heli for another mission. Chrys was on the route to the hospital but not there yet, I was the only student available, so I prepared to get in ; but usually when you already got you helicopter trip you let your fellow come at your place.

When I was attached to my seat and the pilot was about to turn on the engine I saw that Chrys had arrived, down the dropzone. I told the medic who was with me if we could switch and she said yes, so I unlocked from my seat and called him to come. He was happy and thanked me.

The internship has finished and that was his only intervention by helicopter (for me too, though). For him that was a transfer mission (they just have to transfer a patient from one hospital to another that has the right equipment to take care of him), so basically you have nothing to do to the patient during the trip, just stay there in case and profit the scenery, furthermore that was the sunset. I think he properly deserved it.

The End