Torin (Hope City #9) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,13
was thinking of doing at-home nursing also to bring in some extra money. Who else is on your caseload?”
“I’ve got a pregnant woman with a few complications. I stop by her house twice a week just to make sure everything is going fine between her regular doctor visits. And my third patient is a young man who shattered his leg in a skiing accident. I also just assist him in between his visits with his therapist.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Candace said, stopping as they came to Erin’s car.
“It’s not. While it’s not terribly challenging, it does bring in a little money, and I figure all experience is good. Goodness knows I need the money after the clinic I was working at closed when the head doctor went to prison!”
“Oh, God, I forgot about that. Hey, I know you’re volunteering for the marathon health committee. I was really late deciding to do so, but I’ll be at the next meeting.”
“I’m helping with the planning, but since I’m running I won’t be actively working on the day of the race.”
Candace’s eyes widened. “Oh, I’m so out of shape. The very idea of running in a marathon makes me tired.”
Erin laughed but knew that after the training in the Army, the marathon wouldn’t be easy but would be doable. She kept that to herself. “I’ve got a client to see and then I’ll be at the meeting. See you there.”
The two women hugged before she watched Candace continue walking down the street. Climbing into her car, she sat for a moment, her mind drifting over her changing career goals. From Army medic to LPN to now working toward her RN degree. She sometimes wondered why she stayed in the medical field. A rueful laugh slipped out as she shook her head. Maybe I should talk to my counselor about why I stay in an emotionally draining career. She quickly dismissed the idea; after all, nursing was all she’d wanted to do from childhood.
Several hours later, she sat in a large auditorium-sized conference room filled with others who were volunteering for the health stations at the marathon. As soon as one marathon occurred the city began planning for the next year’s, and this was no different other than as the tenth-anniversary marathon, it had opened to more registrants. Almost thirty thousand runners would be traversing the streets of Hope City. And the magnitude of planning for police, safety, security, health… Erin had been overwhelmed at the amount of work and volunteers it took to pull it off.
“I know some of you are running, but we’d like you to check in with us at Medical Tent Number One in the Athletes’ Village as soon as you get there. We don’t anticipate needing your services, but with your race number, we’ll have it in case of an emergency.”
Erin looked down at her Hope City Marathon map, seeing where the village was being set up. Hope City War Memorial Park was northeast of the Inner Harbor, a one-hundred-forty-acre park that was eleven city blocks square. The police would have the entire area cordoned off with high fences, only allowing the runners in. Two medical tents would be inside, ready for pre-race medical needs as well as the stations for after-the-race emergencies or injuries.
“Please, look at the sites for the twenty-six medical stations. For those of you volunteering, you can put in a preference if you want, otherwise, you’ll just be assigned.”
Someone raised their hand and the Marathon Medical Director nodded in their direction. “What if someone is having a major medical event during the race and can’t make it to a station?”
“There will be a Sweep Medical Bus that will be staffed with medical volunteers. But there will be ambulances, EMS bike teams, and the Hope City Mounted Police as well as the Hope City Police Bike Patrol which will all be able to get to runners needing immediate medical attention.”
Erin thought of Rory, wondering if he would be on the bike team or with his EMS partner, Shania, driving an ambulance on the day of the race. With Sean, Kyle, and Carter working for the police department, she figured it would be all-hands-on-deck with the McBrides. Thinking of the King family, she wondered who would be working and who would be running.
Suddenly, everyone around her was standing, and she realized the meeting was over. Jumping to her feet, she looked down at Candace, who was grinning up at her.
“Where did your mind go?” Candace asked,