2001. What a year. It was the year that Everything went down. My brother broke his arm. My dad had gall bladder surgery for gall stones like a bag of marbles. Mom...I forget what happened with her, but my sister got married. And I? I got a new kidney to take over for the other one that was beat down by immune suppressant medication. Double edged sword, no?
And I was still in school, though in September, I was still recovering so my plate wasn't as loaded as usual. I had afternoon classes. I was checking my email in a groggy fog that accompanied just waking up rather than the consistent one I had before my transplant. That's when it all went down.
And just like WWII stories/movies/books can tear me to pieces, any thought of what happened in New York still makes me tear up. A lot of Wrong happened that day...so glad this isn't a vlog because I'd turn off the camera right now. Anyways, it took a while to sink in what was happening. Mom and I had every television on, tuned into the news. Dad was shooed home in case They decided to bomb the federal building where he worked in Kansas City. Class was cancelled. It didn't matter. There was nothing but death and dying happening.
But someone once said that experience is an arrow. You have to be drawn back, put under extreme duress and pressure, but then you are released into freedom and joy. I saw heroes that day. I saw heroes for weeks, for months, for years. Even now, there are people still rescuing others from that devastating day and the events after.
And my heart goes out to those who lost. And my love goes out to those who helped.
