"I was involved at 9-11-01 attacks in NYC. The
first day - that morning before the buildings
fell, I volunteered as an EMT on NYFD
ambulance. I was certified in my home state of
SC. I got down to the World Trade Center towers
before they fell. The second plane had just
crashed when the ambulance arrived on scene. We
lost the ambulance right away because of the
explosions and building pieces flying through
the air.
I joined the other volunteers trying to get
people out. Breathing the fumes. dust and
everything else in the air began that morning.
People were coming out of the buildings mortally
wounded, on fire with hundreds of jumps from the
buildings.
When the first building fell (when most of the
rescue workers were lost) we all ran in all
directions. I found myself hiding behind a tomb
stone in a graveyard at St. Paul's Church which
is across the street from the World Trade
Center. The heat in the buildings one of the
Fire Chiefs told us later was over 4,000
degrees. My hiding space across the street was
so hot I felt as though I was on fire and in
fact I did have burn holes in my uniform. The
air was so thick and hot I could not breathe.
As the buildings fell, it felt to me that the
sky was falling. I thought I would die.
But when I survived alone the others we just
went back to work doing whatever we could around
the World Trade Center area. When the second
building fell two fire fighters and I were able
to get underneath a fire truck and they shared
their air with me. I was at Ground Zero all that
day and night.
I do not remember if I told you that I was in
NYC because I was a nun and living in the
Convent house in Manhattan. Because of my
experience as an EMT and my emergency room
employment, I was asked to work with the
Coroner's Fatality Team. I agreed. I became a
Chaplain for the Coroner in the search and
retrieval of the bodies (after the first day
there were no 'bodies' just pieces. I stayed
at Ground Zero retrieving and blessing the
bodies as we found them and was to make sure the
other rescue workers were handling things as
best as they could. So I was present and
breathing air at Ground Zero for six months
(9/11/01-2/02). I had gotten to the point of
having to stop. I just could not do this work
anymore. I have a number of ailments causing
health problems for me. Could this have
impacted CIDP.
Peace"
