A 9/11 story of sorts
Sep 9, 2011, 12:01 pm
#1
Moderator: Hilton Honors, Practical Travel Safety Issues & San Francisco
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: San Francisco CA
Programs: UA, Hilton, Priceline, AirBnB
Posts: 11,001
A 9/11 story of sorts
Some of you who know me offline may have heard some of this already but I wanted to share it with the FT family.
On Dec 28, 2002 Mr. S and I were visiting NYC for our holiday visit. We were walking past the Silver Spurs Diner in the Village, when Mr. S said "I don't feel well." I asked him if he wanted to go into the diner and have a soda and he said "I have to sit down right now" and passed out.
I had just taken a first aid course, and I knew to shout, "Does anyone here know CPR?" (and not to work on a loved one unless necessary) I called 911 in the meantime, and was told an ambulance was on its way.
A middle aged man with a small dog came up to me and said, "I don't know CPR but I know Reiki Healing Touch. May I sit with your husband?"
My first thought was, this is more like a CALIFORNIA thing, how weird. My next thought was, why not, since no one who knows CPR has come forward. My next thought after that was I hope he isn't going to rob me. But he had a dog so...
The man sat with Mr. S. and placed his hands on Bob's head and shoulders. By this time Bob was going in and out of consciousness, but after a few minutes he was groggy but conscious. The ambulance arrived and took Bob, worked on him for about 15-20 minutes on the scene.
While Bob was in the ambulance, the Reiki man and I started talking. He told me he was a native NY'er, had lost his wife in the Twin Towers, and he had vowed after that to never let a human being suffer if he could help it, and so had learned Reiki and some other massage tools. Being a New Yorker originally, and appropriately paranoid, my thought was, "Oh for Christ's sake, some freak cashing in on 9/11." That sounds strange, I know, but I lost several long time family friends on 9/11, and given the situation, you'd understand how scared I was and how little I was able to rely on my own good sense.
I thanked Reiki man, and he gave me his card and left, urging me to contact him if i needed further help. I let him know I had family and friends nearby and thanked him again.
The EMT workers emerged from the ambulance, told me they were taking Bob to St. Vincents. No other details. I rode to the hospital where Bob was placed in intensive care. I went back to our hotel, the Roosevelt, that evening where staff told me I could stay as long as i needed for the same discount rate we had been paying, including new years eve if need be.
These were the days you may remember that United had a local ticket office, so off I went the next morning to try and change our ticket to an open return. After first giving me the standard, no favors no waivers, the rep agreed to see what he could do. He made several phone calls and gave me a paper indicating as long as I kept moving our return date forward, I could change it for as many days as I needed. Whew.
Meanwhile I had posted on FT and received calls from several FT'ers, including Catman and a few others whose names I'm sorry I don't remember. But I will always remember the support.
Bob was in and out of consciousness for about a day, and they performed many, many tests. Their only conclusion after 2 days as he slowly recovered was that he had encountered some kind of severe virus, become dehydrated and that caused the severe symptoms.
By this time it was the evening of Dec 30 and if we didn't get out of
Manhattan by noon on Dec 31 we ran the risk of being stuck. I called United, booked the 11:30 AM flight back to SFO , cabbed down to St Vincents, picked up Bob and his sweaty clothes, and continued on to the airport where once we arrived home, Bob went on to play a NYE gig that was one of the best he ever played.
I was curious about Reiki man so I googled his name and the first site that came up was the NYT Portraits of Grief. His wife, to whom he had not been married for very long, had indeed perished in the Towers. I felt ashamed, then sad then extremely grateful that from this terrible tragedy on 9/11/2001, one man had decided to help others in need.
I don't want to expose Reiki man to any unwanted attention, but my initial donation to the Capt'n Dahl Fund is in his honor and his wife's memory.
Thanks for listening.
On Dec 28, 2002 Mr. S and I were visiting NYC for our holiday visit. We were walking past the Silver Spurs Diner in the Village, when Mr. S said "I don't feel well." I asked him if he wanted to go into the diner and have a soda and he said "I have to sit down right now" and passed out.
I had just taken a first aid course, and I knew to shout, "Does anyone here know CPR?" (and not to work on a loved one unless necessary) I called 911 in the meantime, and was told an ambulance was on its way.
A middle aged man with a small dog came up to me and said, "I don't know CPR but I know Reiki Healing Touch. May I sit with your husband?"
My first thought was, this is more like a CALIFORNIA thing, how weird. My next thought was, why not, since no one who knows CPR has come forward. My next thought after that was I hope he isn't going to rob me. But he had a dog so...
The man sat with Mr. S. and placed his hands on Bob's head and shoulders. By this time Bob was going in and out of consciousness, but after a few minutes he was groggy but conscious. The ambulance arrived and took Bob, worked on him for about 15-20 minutes on the scene.
While Bob was in the ambulance, the Reiki man and I started talking. He told me he was a native NY'er, had lost his wife in the Twin Towers, and he had vowed after that to never let a human being suffer if he could help it, and so had learned Reiki and some other massage tools. Being a New Yorker originally, and appropriately paranoid, my thought was, "Oh for Christ's sake, some freak cashing in on 9/11." That sounds strange, I know, but I lost several long time family friends on 9/11, and given the situation, you'd understand how scared I was and how little I was able to rely on my own good sense.
I thanked Reiki man, and he gave me his card and left, urging me to contact him if i needed further help. I let him know I had family and friends nearby and thanked him again.
The EMT workers emerged from the ambulance, told me they were taking Bob to St. Vincents. No other details. I rode to the hospital where Bob was placed in intensive care. I went back to our hotel, the Roosevelt, that evening where staff told me I could stay as long as i needed for the same discount rate we had been paying, including new years eve if need be.
These were the days you may remember that United had a local ticket office, so off I went the next morning to try and change our ticket to an open return. After first giving me the standard, no favors no waivers, the rep agreed to see what he could do. He made several phone calls and gave me a paper indicating as long as I kept moving our return date forward, I could change it for as many days as I needed. Whew.
Meanwhile I had posted on FT and received calls from several FT'ers, including Catman and a few others whose names I'm sorry I don't remember. But I will always remember the support.
Bob was in and out of consciousness for about a day, and they performed many, many tests. Their only conclusion after 2 days as he slowly recovered was that he had encountered some kind of severe virus, become dehydrated and that caused the severe symptoms.
By this time it was the evening of Dec 30 and if we didn't get out of
Manhattan by noon on Dec 31 we ran the risk of being stuck. I called United, booked the 11:30 AM flight back to SFO , cabbed down to St Vincents, picked up Bob and his sweaty clothes, and continued on to the airport where once we arrived home, Bob went on to play a NYE gig that was one of the best he ever played.
I was curious about Reiki man so I googled his name and the first site that came up was the NYT Portraits of Grief. His wife, to whom he had not been married for very long, had indeed perished in the Towers. I felt ashamed, then sad then extremely grateful that from this terrible tragedy on 9/11/2001, one man had decided to help others in need.
I don't want to expose Reiki man to any unwanted attention, but my initial donation to the Capt'n Dahl Fund is in his honor and his wife's memory.
Thanks for listening.
Last edited by squeakr; Sep 9, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Sep 9, 2011, 12:34 pm
#3
Moderator: Hilton Honors, Practical Travel Safety Issues & San Francisco
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: San Francisco CA
Programs: UA, Hilton, Priceline, AirBnB
Posts: 11,001
we send him a card every year on Dec 28
Letting him know we will never forget his help.
Sep 9, 2011, 4:13 pm
#5
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: LHR- ish
Programs: MUCCI, BA Blue
Posts: 4,295
That is a beautiful story. I went by another message board to bump the 9/11 thread up to the top (I feel it's my duty, i'm about the only person on there who is old enough to have understood what they were watching on TV); and I came across this message, which I found on yet another message board two years ago. It still makes me cry so I thought i'd share it with FT.
9/11
At that time I worked for the American Red Cross: Carolinas Blood Services.
I wasn’t due to be at work until 11AM. So I was enjoying a rare morning with my 3 yo son.
We had finished breakfast, and I turned on the TV, so he could watch Sesame Street.
TV came on to the images of the first Tower burning. My son was a fireman fan at the time, so we discussed how the firemen were going to put out the fire and rescue all the people. My son brought his firetrucks into the room, and we talked more. I was about to turn the channel to Sesame Street when the second plane hit.
I cannot explain nor can I ever forget the heartbreak in my son’s eyes when we saw that. He looked at me, and simply said: “Daddy, all the firemen are dead.” He then went to his room and cried. I finished getting ready, and went directly to work.
My little (40 unit goal) blood drive started 1.5 hours early, and ended up running 8 hours over its scheduled time. We collected 450+ units, and had nearly 1000 potential donors show up.
My son never touched his firetruck collection again.
His firetrucks are boxed up in the shed, because I can’t part with them.
9/11 victimized all of us.
United We Stand.
9/11
At that time I worked for the American Red Cross: Carolinas Blood Services.
I wasn’t due to be at work until 11AM. So I was enjoying a rare morning with my 3 yo son.
We had finished breakfast, and I turned on the TV, so he could watch Sesame Street.
TV came on to the images of the first Tower burning. My son was a fireman fan at the time, so we discussed how the firemen were going to put out the fire and rescue all the people. My son brought his firetrucks into the room, and we talked more. I was about to turn the channel to Sesame Street when the second plane hit.
I cannot explain nor can I ever forget the heartbreak in my son’s eyes when we saw that. He looked at me, and simply said: “Daddy, all the firemen are dead.” He then went to his room and cried. I finished getting ready, and went directly to work.
My little (40 unit goal) blood drive started 1.5 hours early, and ended up running 8 hours over its scheduled time. We collected 450+ units, and had nearly 1000 potential donors show up.
My son never touched his firetruck collection again.
His firetrucks are boxed up in the shed, because I can’t part with them.
9/11 victimized all of us.
United We Stand.
Sep 9, 2011, 9:42 pm
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2000
Programs: UA Million Miler (lite). NY Metro area.
Posts: 15,079
Sep 10, 2011, 12:56 pm
#7
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: PIT
Programs: OZ Diamond, UA Gold
Posts: 9,919
Wow two great stories that hit me in the heart. Before this year (as this is my first 9/11 on FT), I never have been hit that hard by 9/11. Almost brushed it off in fact, felt bad, but never really heard many personal stories. But all of these stories on FT, and more in newspapers because of the 10th, has hit me. It makes me relize how terrible this was, and how it affected everyone. (I was about 3 on 9/11 so I can't remeber it)
Sep 10, 2011, 7:37 pm
#9
Moderator: Hilton Honors, Practical Travel Safety Issues & San Francisco
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: San Francisco CA
Programs: UA, Hilton, Priceline, AirBnB
Posts: 11,001
Sep 11, 2011, 8:03 am
#10
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: EWR
Programs: AA, Delta, NWA,HHonors, Hyatt BF
Posts: 1,762
Yes. Along with pet therapy, art therapy, massage - a few others for the families of victims. If I'm where they are at I will take a peek and see if anyone fits your description.... I'm not sure where they will be stationed and I'm not sure how public the info is anyway but yes, Reiki folks should be there 
You can PM me a first name before noon today if you like.
You can PM me a first name before noon today if you like.