I was a volunteer in the frozen zone and stayed down there for a month or so after 9/11. Since there was no organization to speak of, especially in the early days, I freelanced - day one I spent in the medical triage area on Greenwich, later I worked with the Red Cross, and then started an aid station at Church and Dey.
My main focus became acquiring and distributing respirators. To this day I look back with frustration at the whole scene. I was only an EMT and recently graduated pre-med biology major at the time, but I KNEW that the smoke and dust was dangerous. The struggle to get masks and, even worse, get people to wear them was incredible. I had a doctor yell at me in front of a room of people for wearing my respirator because she thought it made people uncomfortable (half a block from the pile)! I also had a platoon of soldiers, among others, refuse to wear their masks while literally standing on the pile controlling access. Don't get me started on Whitman and her "It's safe" pronouncements....
I wore my mask all day long except when sleeping and eleven years later my lung function is good (ran two miles in less than twelve minutes this winter) and I'm healthy.
stopnfall12 karma
I was a volunteer in the frozen zone and stayed down there for a month or so after 9/11. Since there was no organization to speak of, especially in the early days, I freelanced - day one I spent in the medical triage area on Greenwich, later I worked with the Red Cross, and then started an aid station at Church and Dey.
My main focus became acquiring and distributing respirators. To this day I look back with frustration at the whole scene. I was only an EMT and recently graduated pre-med biology major at the time, but I KNEW that the smoke and dust was dangerous. The struggle to get masks and, even worse, get people to wear them was incredible. I had a doctor yell at me in front of a room of people for wearing my respirator because she thought it made people uncomfortable (half a block from the pile)! I also had a platoon of soldiers, among others, refuse to wear their masks while literally standing on the pile controlling access. Don't get me started on Whitman and her "It's safe" pronouncements....
I wore my mask all day long except when sleeping and eleven years later my lung function is good (ran two miles in less than twelve minutes this winter) and I'm healthy.
Good luck, OP, my thoughts are with you.
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