story5331.xml

story5331.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I was just going in to surgey to have a total left knee replacement due to problems with my Rumathoid Arthritis I've had since the age of 4 years. I am now 30 years old; I had no idea what had happend until after I was brought up to my room. My husband and parents were watching the TV in the waiting room when they saw the first reports of the first collision to the building and then the second. My doctors found out that the first tower had been hit at exactly the same time that they had started the surgery. They found out because they were going to do a press release about my knee replacement being the first one in Rockford, Illinois to be done using a procelaine replacement. When they contacted the newspaper office they were informed of what had just taken place. I on the other hand had no idea due to all the medications and the fact that I waas trying to wake up from the surgery. I kept seeing the images of the plane hitting the building and I couldn't figure out why they kept showing it over and over all day long. It wasn't until that evening that I could fully understand what had happened. I was so struck at the horror of what had taken place and I was so terrible sad for all the families of the people on the planes and in the buildings. I never felt so helpless and useless than at that moment when it all sunk in. I spent the next week praying that they would find suvivors in the wreakage, but in my heart I knew that it would be almost impossilbe for anything to have survied such a terrible act for more than a day or so. My heart truley goes out to all those who did survive and to the freinds, families and colleuges of those who were lost in such a meaningless act of terrorism. Yuo are all in my prayers. Dawn Behm