story4052.xml
Title
story4052.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-11
911DA Story: Story
My story actually begins on September 10, 2001. I had to leave my 1 1/2 year old daughter and my husband in our home in Arizona to be with my father and step-mother in California. My father was scheduled for major surgery at the veterans hospital in San Diego on September 12th. My father had a huge abdominal aorta aneurysm that could burst at any moment. The surgeons were giving him 50/50 odds of making it through surgery because they were afraid that the aneurysm may burst and shred apart once they got him open. Since he had to be at the hospital the 11th I drove out the day before. Leaving my baby girl for the first time for a whole week. Although my baby would be with her father, my husband, I was very stressed and sad leaving her and facing what I had to face in California.
So I headed for my father's home in Riverside, California.
The evening was uneventful except for my sadness at the seperation from my daughter and the uneasiness of what may lay ahead for my father in the next few days. September 11th, I awoke at 6:00am California time to prepare for the day ahead. My father was due at the hospital by 10:00am.
My father was awake before everyone and had turned on the television and could not believe his eyes. I was in the bathroom and heard one of the main anchors from the news (Dan Rather or someone of that sort) talking excitedly, not his normal tone, so I stepped into the den where my father was pacing in front of the television and I saw bodies falling from the first building of the WTC. As I stood there trying to comprehend what I was seeing another airplane hit the second tower of the WTC. I realized at that very moment that we were at war.
It seemed as though everything was moving in slow motion. I headed back to the bathroom to complete my routine when it hit me that my mother was in Manhatten, New York City! She had gone to visit family! Then my breath went away. I sort of announced to my father and step-mother that my mother was in that city where all of those terrible things are happening! Of course I could not get through to New York City by that time, so I was pretty much a mess. I called my step-father and my brother and told them to try and contact mom in New York and let me know as soon as possible how she was. My mother knew I would be a mess and in the meantime got ahold of my brother who then got ahold of me and told me she was okay. Of course I knew she was some 100 blocks away from the WTC but it did not matter, I could not imagine what would happen next!
After I calmed down, Dad and I went to fill the car with gas for our trip to San Diego. During that short drive to the gas station I became completely consumed with thoughts of my husband and child in Arizona. Although Arizona was a long way from what was happening across the country, I was consumed with fear for my child. I wanted to hold her and protect her but I could not. My emotions were battling inside of me but I could not voice them because we had to keep my father as calm as possible. If his blood pressure were to rise he would be at a much higher risk of something terrible happening. So I took a deep breath and became the strong one. I called home to my child and heard her laughing in the background, while giving instructions to her nanny on what to do in case of emergency, I silently prayed for our country.
My dad, stepmom and myself loaded ourselves into the car and headed off to San Diego. During the drive we listened to the news and were shocked and getting very frightened when it was announced that the pentagon had been hit by a passenger plane. As I was driving towards my father's uncertain future, I wondered only to myself if any of us were to have a future. I could not believe what was happening. I wanted to scream and cry and hold my husband and child, see my mother and tell everyone how very much I loved them but I could do none of these things. I had to carry on with the task at hand. Enroute to our hotel where we were to stay for the week we watched the naval base go on high alert and lines of cars lined up outside the base gate to get in for duty etc. After checking in at the hotel we then headed for the hospital where my father was to check in. Even the hospital was on full alert with armed guards out in front checking belongings and IDs. As we sat waiting for the hospital admissions to call my father's name we watched more of the horror on the news. Every television station was covering these events as they unfolded. I remember looking around the waiting room at all the veterans watching the television, and wondering what thoughts were going through their minds.
As the day went on everywhere we went we were bombarded by information and terrible loss. Somehow we made it through this horrible Tuesday and the days that followed. We watched coverage of these events during the 15 hours of my father's surgery. He made it through and got a second chance at life. We finally got my mother out of New York the following week, but dreaded her having to fly all the way back to California. We were afraid. Everything seemed off and nothing was ever the same again. That Saturday after the attacks, I was returning to my hotel from visiting my father. As I got out of my car I heard explosions coming from across the bay. Everyone that was outside the hotel stopped and looked to the sky, wondering if this was our time. It turned out that Sea World was having their fireworks display. Unfortunately the damage was done, we were all gun shy.
I finally went home the next day when my father was completely out of danger. Driving back to Arizona I listened to the news all the way home. I was so anxious to see my husband and child, thirty miles outside of my hometown of Chandler, Arizona, I finally cried. I had been praying. I had been strong. Knowing that I was only a few minutes from holding by baby, I finally allowed myself the chance to grieve.
One year later I am suddenly thrust back into that uneasy, queasy feeling of disbelief, sadness and pure horror that any human being could have so little regard for life. I am blessed to have my family with me, alive and well. I cherish every moment. Last night September 10th, 2002, I called each one of my family members and told them how much I loved them because you never know what tomorrow will bring.
So I headed for my father's home in Riverside, California.
The evening was uneventful except for my sadness at the seperation from my daughter and the uneasiness of what may lay ahead for my father in the next few days. September 11th, I awoke at 6:00am California time to prepare for the day ahead. My father was due at the hospital by 10:00am.
My father was awake before everyone and had turned on the television and could not believe his eyes. I was in the bathroom and heard one of the main anchors from the news (Dan Rather or someone of that sort) talking excitedly, not his normal tone, so I stepped into the den where my father was pacing in front of the television and I saw bodies falling from the first building of the WTC. As I stood there trying to comprehend what I was seeing another airplane hit the second tower of the WTC. I realized at that very moment that we were at war.
It seemed as though everything was moving in slow motion. I headed back to the bathroom to complete my routine when it hit me that my mother was in Manhatten, New York City! She had gone to visit family! Then my breath went away. I sort of announced to my father and step-mother that my mother was in that city where all of those terrible things are happening! Of course I could not get through to New York City by that time, so I was pretty much a mess. I called my step-father and my brother and told them to try and contact mom in New York and let me know as soon as possible how she was. My mother knew I would be a mess and in the meantime got ahold of my brother who then got ahold of me and told me she was okay. Of course I knew she was some 100 blocks away from the WTC but it did not matter, I could not imagine what would happen next!
After I calmed down, Dad and I went to fill the car with gas for our trip to San Diego. During that short drive to the gas station I became completely consumed with thoughts of my husband and child in Arizona. Although Arizona was a long way from what was happening across the country, I was consumed with fear for my child. I wanted to hold her and protect her but I could not. My emotions were battling inside of me but I could not voice them because we had to keep my father as calm as possible. If his blood pressure were to rise he would be at a much higher risk of something terrible happening. So I took a deep breath and became the strong one. I called home to my child and heard her laughing in the background, while giving instructions to her nanny on what to do in case of emergency, I silently prayed for our country.
My dad, stepmom and myself loaded ourselves into the car and headed off to San Diego. During the drive we listened to the news and were shocked and getting very frightened when it was announced that the pentagon had been hit by a passenger plane. As I was driving towards my father's uncertain future, I wondered only to myself if any of us were to have a future. I could not believe what was happening. I wanted to scream and cry and hold my husband and child, see my mother and tell everyone how very much I loved them but I could do none of these things. I had to carry on with the task at hand. Enroute to our hotel where we were to stay for the week we watched the naval base go on high alert and lines of cars lined up outside the base gate to get in for duty etc. After checking in at the hotel we then headed for the hospital where my father was to check in. Even the hospital was on full alert with armed guards out in front checking belongings and IDs. As we sat waiting for the hospital admissions to call my father's name we watched more of the horror on the news. Every television station was covering these events as they unfolded. I remember looking around the waiting room at all the veterans watching the television, and wondering what thoughts were going through their minds.
As the day went on everywhere we went we were bombarded by information and terrible loss. Somehow we made it through this horrible Tuesday and the days that followed. We watched coverage of these events during the 15 hours of my father's surgery. He made it through and got a second chance at life. We finally got my mother out of New York the following week, but dreaded her having to fly all the way back to California. We were afraid. Everything seemed off and nothing was ever the same again. That Saturday after the attacks, I was returning to my hotel from visiting my father. As I got out of my car I heard explosions coming from across the bay. Everyone that was outside the hotel stopped and looked to the sky, wondering if this was our time. It turned out that Sea World was having their fireworks display. Unfortunately the damage was done, we were all gun shy.
I finally went home the next day when my father was completely out of danger. Driving back to Arizona I listened to the news all the way home. I was so anxious to see my husband and child, thirty miles outside of my hometown of Chandler, Arizona, I finally cried. I had been praying. I had been strong. Knowing that I was only a few minutes from holding by baby, I finally allowed myself the chance to grieve.
One year later I am suddenly thrust back into that uneasy, queasy feeling of disbelief, sadness and pure horror that any human being could have so little regard for life. I am blessed to have my family with me, alive and well. I cherish every moment. Last night September 10th, 2002, I called each one of my family members and told them how much I loved them because you never know what tomorrow will bring.
Collection
Citation
“story4052.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 18, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/15471.