So we get about half way back, avoiding mud holes and rogue branches until, sure enough, I get smacked with a branch in the face (it was dark after all.) Not bad, but it left a scar which has almost since healed. But it all turned well. We get her in the ambulance, give her some laughing gas and get going. I leave an hour and a half later than I was supposed to.
But good deeds are not without some rewards to the karma.
The next morning I go back to work my own shift. A couple of hours into the day an officer for Orland stops by and asks if it's okay to have a kid come by to check out the firehouse with his grandfather. The officer assured us we'd get a kick out of it. I ask "what, is it the mayor's son or something?" He says, "oh no, this is better!"
So the kid and his grandfather get there and we are introduced. Turns out that, as it shows above, this was Jenny McCarthy's son, Evan. Jenny's mother lives locally and this was her step-father that brought the kid in. She was up in the city speaking for an autism cause, which she has been doing since her son was diagnosed about 3 years ago. He did not seem afflicted at all. More like a usual five year old, shy and quiet. Before they left, Evan got his picture taken with me and a co-worker in front of the fire truck. I don't think I'll be getting a copy, but it was nice little brush with fame.