Treatment of WTC-Related Health Conditions

I was called to the World Trade Center that morning of 9/11/2001 roughly an hour after the buildings fell. I brought light trees and generators to the site , and was put in a Caterpillar 950 Payloader for the next 16 hours. [I] started clearing the Northeast corner of the Trade Center where Borders bookstore and the post office were. [The] next day, on the 12th, I worked the Pile in a Bobcat, taking debris from the bucket brigade that was made up of all first responders. Then, [I] worked with the FBI, picking up pieces of the plane up Church Street all the way up to Canal Street.

My exposure to 9/11 will forever be etched in my brain, never to be forgotten and no amount of therapy can erase the things I saw, felt and smelled. I was left [with this scar] after I developed colon cancer five years later from the exposure of doing my duty as a civil servant transit worker.

My scars are a constant reminder of the sacrifices and selflessness all us first responders endured.

The WTC Health Program  is instrumental in making sure we get all the proper care mentally and physically.

I had to learn and continue to learn daily, my new normal of living. One day has changed so much. It effected me, but it also affected my family and friends. They suffer because they have had to watch me endure so many challenging health issues and they can’t do anything to change that or to make me better. I went from never being sick and being such an active person to someone who can’t get out of bed at times, who can’t walk up the stairs at times, who can’t have the future that I was expecting to have.

People often tell me they don’t know how I do it, how I try to live the best life I can. Well, what’s the alternative? Giving up. I can’t do that. We didn’t do that on 9/11. I try to be a beacon of hope for others that suffer also.

We need to talk about what we’ve been going through the last 20 years and what the rest of our lives could possibly look like. I know that I will continue to get sicker from that day, but it wouldn’t change what I or any of my colleagues did. I have suffered, physically, mentally and emotionally. I have spent the last countless number of years working on my physical health and the last 2 years working on my mental health. As a 1st responder, we were never really taught until recently how to take care of ourselves. We’re still in the middle of a culture change. Even though I have faced some backlash, I continue to speak my truth in the hopes that others like myself do not feel alone. I am blessed to have an amazing support system, my family, friends, coworkers, doctors, and my fellow 9/11 responders. My individual and group PTSD therapy has taught me so much about myself. I can’t imagine surviving the things I have gone through without it.

I was part of a team responsible for restoring Verizon's high-speed data communications for brokerage houses and other large customers in the Wall Street area.  Our company had committed to getting Wall Street back online for the opening bell on Monday, September 17, and we had to make good on the promise.  My team had to retrieve equipment from the blacked-out Verizon building next door to Ground Zero, reinstall it in a nearby location, and test it before Monday morning.  Some of the guys on the team worked all weekend, and thanks to their efforts we made the deadline.

I have some nasal and respiratory issues related to the exposure.

Membership in the Program has connected me to caring professionals who truly take the time to monitor my health and wellness.

I think about the day-laborers who I witnessed mopping floors as dust fell out of the air, working in T-shirts and a dust mask while I was protected by a paper jumpsuit and a respirator.  I often wonder what happened to them.

"The aim of this project is to tell with humility and grace, the way in which the First Responders to September 11 terror attacks, find strength, resilience and long-term healing, and explore any meaning and purpose that they may or may not have found from within the trauma. What struck me most was their humility as they all rejected the notion of being called ‘heroes’ and that if they had to do it all again, they would with no hesitation. I felt honored, grateful and blessed to have spent some time with them in my studio in New York. They are incredible humans."