story8025.xml

story8025.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-20

I'm a hospital corpsman in the Navy and once or twice a month we held blood drives throughout base. 9/11 was our scheduled blood drive for that month. We got stuck in a basement of an old building but we did what we could to get set up and soon we were ready for donors. The morning had been slow but there was a continous flow of people coming in. One of my friends then approached me and told me that two planes had crashed into the twin towers. Rumors spread so quickly and being stuck in a basement we didn't have a T.V. or radio so none of us really knew what was going on. All I heard throughout the day were rumors. I remember being upset because the officer in charge told us to stop talking about it and focus on what we were doing. Soon, people starting coming to the blood drive by 100's. On an average blood drive we would normally get around 25-30 units of blood. This day we received over 100 units of usable blood. We didn't stop taking donors until after dark. When I was finally on my way home I still had no idea of what was really going on. When I pulled out of the base I saw miles of cars lined up trying to get on base. I think it was then I started to realize how big this really was. I walked in my house to find my boyfriend staring blankly at the T.V.. I'll never forget how I felt the first time I actally saw those planes crashing into the towers. For days after that, whenever I closed my eyes, all I could see was that image. The days that follow were the most horrible days of my life. My boyfriends' grandmother passed away and he would be gone for the next week. It was also my 21st birthday but I felt so sad and heartbroken, I really couldn't be happy. All I remember is getting in my car and driving for hours because I couldn't stand the feeling of being home and everthing on T.V. was so upseting. I had never felt so unprepared and alone in my life. All I could do is think about the families of the victims and how much I felf so lucky to be alive. At 21, I felt for the first time, how important and short life could be. A year later, I can hardly stand to watch images form 9/11. Although I will always feel for the families of those who were affected, I wish I never had to see or hear about it again. I have so much pain inside of me but I can't even begin to understand what the families are going through. They're always in my prayers.