20 HEALTH • Spring 2016
O
n April 15, 2013, registered nurses Susan Papalia and Lynn Landry were among the volunteers stationed near
the Boston Marathon finish line, helping runners who'd pushed themselves to the edge and were now in
medical trouble.
Then, two men set off pressure-cooker bombs in the crowd.
"It basically went from this relaxed feeling, like the city's united, to a mass casualty event in seconds," Papalia said.
"You train for it, and you hope it never happens."
The medical team went into triage mode, giving emergency assistance to those who needed it and getting the victims to the
city's hospitals. Three people died within seconds of the blasts, but the 264 people who were injured got the treatment they
needed and survived.
For the medical volunteers, there was no time to react emotionally that day, but a few days later, Papalia reached out to Landry
and another friend who had been part of the team.
In her professional research and volunteer work, Susan Papalia
combines empathy and smarts \\ By Livia Gershon
A NURSE'S SOUL NOURISHING WORK
P H O T O / M A T T V O L P I N I
Susan Papalia,
posing with her
running shoes, has
23 cardiovascular
research studies in
various phases.
