How 9/11 Taught Me To Stop Saying ‘Everything Will Be Okay’
<p>I’ll spare you the usual details of that awful morning. They have been well-documented and you have likely seen enough video of the event to last a lifetime. I was working at a hospital less than half a mile from the World Trade Center where, from my office, I had a clear view of the buildings and even had to tilt my head back to see their tops. A colleague and I were in my office pondering the incident in the first building when we witnessed the second plane disappear into the south tower.</p>
<p>My sister was scheduled to fly to New York that morning from the Midwest. I called my father, knowing that any moment the phone lines would be jammed. He’s a Bronx-born New Yorker and when I told him that planes had been intentionally flown into the World Trade Center, he simply said, “What are you talking about?” I told him to check on my sister’s whereabouts and that I had to go. I hung up the phone and made my way, bewildered and afraid, down seven flights of stairs to the emergency room.</p>
<p>Our small ER was quickly overwhelmed by a large number of “walking wounded” and a few severely injured victims. The cafeteria became an accessory treatment area and the hallways and corridors overflowed with passersby and uninjured victims who saw the hospital as a safe space. Everyone asked me, “How can I help, doc?” Genuinely. Truly. “What can I do?” I had never experienced — and don’t expect to experience again — the unity of purpose and spirit that existed in that moment.</p>
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