Ten years ago was a day that changed America forever. I had always remembered my mom talking about where she was when Kennedy was shot. How she remembered it like it was yesterday. Every detail still fresh in her mind. The feeling that you could close your eyes and be back in that moment. How chilling.
I had never experienced a moment like that up until 9/11/2001. Sadly to say I had no idea what was happening in our country until 12:00 p.m.
Noon.
All those lost lives.
I was clueless to the destruction upon our country and the saddest part was I was sitting in a university. I sat through two college classes before our professor dismissed us from my third class at noon. I arrived at school before the first plane struck Tower One. I remember some people talking of things they heard on the radio before class but no one elaborated. It was too early to know what was really going on.
My second class at 10:30am was the same, just some idle chatter. My professor carried on and made no mention of what was happening. Maybe she didn't know either?
My third class at 12:00p.m was totally different. People were upset and angry. Why were we still in school, we needed to be home with our families. At that moment I did not have any idea why we needed to be home. I was completely dumbfounded and at that moment the professor walked in the room, in tears. She told us to go home. She hadn't been able to reach her son in NYC all morning and she was terrified. I walked out in a complete daze and having no idea what my eyes would see on a tv in a few short seconds.
The buildings being hit and then moments later tumbling to the ground.
Wow.
How could I have not known what was happening on 9/11???
This past week I've been watching some shows on CNN about 9/11. Not the typical ones about the clues leading up to the event or the unfolding of the day.
The first was called, "Terror of the Dust" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. It was all about the after affect of the dust on people who were at Ground Zero in "the pile." How they were wearing paper masks that did little to keep "the dust" out and how unavailable the respirators were for them to get. They were at a location nine miles from "the pile" and only first responders who were near that location were the ones wearing them.
What captured me most about this special was a story about two brothers, both first responders and both worked in "the pile." One brother wore no mask and one brother wore a respirator. The brother who wore no mask was not near the location to pick one up, the other brother lived near there and stopped on his way to "the pile" to get his. A few years later the brother, who did not have a mask, began to have a cough that wouldn't go away. He felt short of breath all the time and weak. It was determined he had Pulmonary Fibrosis and was listed for a lung transplant. The other brother, who had the respirator, has had no health concerns since 9/11.
The brother had his transplant but sadly his body rejected it and he is once again on oxygen and trying to get back onto the list. He was rejected by one hospital and was going to others to try and get his life back. He has three young daughters and a wife. He said he was given one to two years to live and that was five years ago so he must be doing something right. He had accepted that he would not live to an old age and he is still alive so he is going to enjoy the time he has with his family.
My mom and I had just recently had a conversation on why some people had "fragile" lungs susceptible to diseases and others did not. This fact was talked about in the show. The chief pulmonologist for the FDNY talked about why they didn't know why some people got lung disease and others did not. They don't know and we are just lucky that they can help those who do get these terrible diseases.
The second show( I did not catch the name of) was on last night. It was all interviews of different people about 9/11. How a man stood and watched the plane fly right at the building and he threw his hands up and said, "God I can't do this. Your turn." and hid under his desk as the plane crashed into the building. He said that his desk was the only desk on his floor that was still intact and his bible was sitting right on top of that desk. He was saved by another man whose office was on the 84th floor. He decided to try and find a way down even though everyone else was making their way up. He had a whistle and flashlight and heard the other man screaming to be saved. The man saw his flashlight and together he was able to get out and they found their way down 78 floors to the ground level and just ran from building.
There were also firsthand accounts from Dick Cheney, Tom Brokaw, a widow of a man on Flight 93, and President George W. Bush. They all just told their stories, their feelings, their personal accounts of the day. It was the most moving piece I have seen about 9/11. I was in tears the whole show as these people pored their hearts out and shared their insight into that day.
God Bless.
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