Wednesday July 23
8:00pm

This week on MEDICAL EMERGENCY, doctors have to stop a man’s heart, a four-year-old has dropped an axe on his toe and a professional jockey has a horrendous accident.

A 43-year old man is suffering from a dangerously high heart rate. Mate’s heart is pumping at more than 240 beats a minute, nearly four times the normal rate. Attempts by trauma staff to slow his heart using the drug Adenosine do not work. If the second dose fails, they are going to have to take more extreme measures.

In Sydney’s St George hospital, four-year old Aden has been brought in by ambulance after dropping an axe on his toe.

A 25-year-old jockey has been flown to the Alfred Hospital after a fall during a trial race in Balnarring. Staff are concerned his painful ankle injury could mask the symptoms of something more sinister. Scans of Leigh’s neck come back and the news is not good.

Paramedics are called to a code one emergency. The family of a chronically ill man suspect he is suffering from a stroke. John, who is bed-ridden, has cancer and is also a diabetic. The paramedic quickly confirms that Colin is actually suffering from hypoglycaemia or low blood sugar. Ensuring John is hydrated and keeping his sugar levels stable is a full time job for his carer, wife Kathleen. With his levels going up slower than paramedics would like they decide the only course of action is to hospitalise him.

MEDICAL EMERGENCY is narrated by Chris Gabardi.