Since becoming a paramedic, Xander has confronted the psychological burden of his work.
However, this week’s episode of Home And Away shows that the first responder’s stress starts to show itself as tattoos.
Even though he lived, Xander (Luke Van Os) was on the verge of suicide when police officer Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) was shot during a recent police raid on the bikie headquarters.
According to Luke, “Xander is frequently sympathetic to how they [patients] feel and understanding of what it feels like to lose someone dear to you.”
Rose (Kirsty Marillier) is concerned for her brother’s health when she gets home to find him icing a recent tattoo on his chest that has become infected. She has observed him get tattoos during difficult times, such as after their father passed away, and she is aware that this is a sign that he is in pain.
In a sweet moment, Rose cleans the diseased skin on Xander and makes a radical suggestion: why don’t they both leave Summer Bay? After all, everyone who was crucial to them has abandoned them or distanced themselves from them, including their half-sister Jasmine.
Rose is still sad since he opted to take them out of his life so he could get over Jasmine, even though she feels terrible guilt for shooting Cash. She perceives that everyone has given up on them.
Xander agrees to consider his sister’s offer to leave, but he isn’t sure that leaving the Bay is the best course of action. Will the siblings persevere?
