Temple University School of Medicine - Skull Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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SEPTEMBER 1 1th reflections In a nursing dormitory in Bethlehem. Pennsylvania at around 3:00pm on September 11th, 2001, a medical student named Pete wandered into the television lounge sleepy-eyed. A dozen other medical students sat with eyes like glazed marbles watching the television. I was one of them.doing an away rotation in cardiology. ’Hey guys. How's everybody doing? And then he stopped short and asked innocently, ignorantly, still in a groggy state, ‘What's going on?’ A couple students simply looked in his direction in disbelief, their thoughts were undoubtedly on the order of “How could you be so stupid to not know? Where were you for the last six hours? How could you sleep through such an important event? How could anybody sleep through such an important event? A few simply shook their heads. Pete slowly sat down, while another student in hushed tones enlightened him about the monumentous tragedy that overtook the spirit of all citizens of the United States of America. Holy something was his only reaction before he too joined the stony-faced cadre of students to watch cable news in an unsettling state of disbelief. The event now known as simply “September 1 lth“ occurred on a beautiful September morning in New York City, the major site of tragedy. The sun shone bright and the sky was blue. Many New Yorkers were arriving at their workplaces by car, bus. train, and foot, when at 8:48am the large Boeing 767 jet of American Airlines flight 11 crashed into the 85th floor of the World Trade Center's north tower. My wife Lori who worked at Mount Sinai in the upper-east side was in the laboratory around 9:00am, where the whole floor was speaking of the crash. There was a consensus that this must have been some sort of accident. Then. United flight 175 crashed into the south tower at 9:03am. At that point everybody knew what had happened. For the first time since Pearl Harbor, and In an equally devious way, the United States was under attack on its home soil.Work in the lab stalled as all honed in on the radio news broadcasts. The fire of the World Trade Center sent smoke towering into the air, and people were seen peering out of windows above. Trapped, some chose to leap to their deaths rather than die in flame. At 9:43am a third plane crashed into the organizational seat of American military might, the Pentagon. Twenty six minutes later the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed in a cloud of dust and debris as the supports buckled under the intense heat of burning jet fuel. We all watched in utter disbelief as thousands were killed. Telephone calls to New York City were met with busy signals from 9am until after 3pm. Lori wisely emailed a “text message to my cellular telephone, communicating her safety which I quickly relayed to her family.Airports across the country were shut down. Around 10:10am. Lori was sent home amidst some minor concern that a tall “jewish hospital might also be a target. Shortly afterwards the second tower came down. Finally at 10:40am United flight 93 crashed in Somerset east of Pittsburgh. It was learned that this flight also was hijacked and bound for a target in Washington DC, but was prevented from fulfilling its fiery goal by a heroic group passengers who sacrificed themselves by overtaking the hijackers. The series of destructive events thus ended, and America was left to digest the occurrences of the day. It is strange to remember a particular day so vividly. We will all remember where we were and what we felt. I was on my way into the hospital, when a student in the television lounge beckoned. Confusion, disbelief, sadness, concern for loved ones, a feeling of helplessness went through my mind in rapid succession. September 11th had been for me and many the worst day of our lives. A mere two weeks until the Step2 boards, my studying was hindered by an angry numbness which overtook all concrete thought processes. I like others sat around and watched the news for days. Our perspective of the world would never again be the same. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives or remain missing. On a day in between residency interviews. I visited the viewing platform at the World Trade Center site. The 800.000 tons of debris had been largely cleared away, and an empty pit was all that remained of the skyscrapers. It was a sad and moving day. Walls along the streets held thousands of pictures of loved ones, prayers for the police and fire departments of New York, crosses, and flowers. People from all over the country had given their support in words and art. The quiet desolation was profound, but I knew that our country eventually would overcome. Deep inside behind the new vulnerability there lies a confidence that we will prevail, adapt and arise anew, that freedom begets strength and that righteousness triumphs over evil. Our world is changed, but we are up to the task. -Huchun Hu 20 • 2002 Skull

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IN LOVING MEMORY OF Holly Ann Canavan IN MEMORY OF HOLLY CANAVAN TUMS CLASS OF%02 Healthier Todays. Brighter Tomorrows.' Some people come into our lives and quickly go. others stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never the same. A Healing Touch From time to time God sends people to earth who are meant to inspire us by their daily lives. Holly was one of those people. Despite discouraging words from her father, her professor and others. Holly never wavered from her goal of becoming a doctor. Daily busy-ness and difficulties have a way of sapping the energy out of life, but Holly always had the extra strength to help others with their studies, their struggles, and listening for many hours, giving counsel when needed. A quiet calmness in the midst of troubled waters, describes one of Holly's gifts. A gift that was the foundation for healing the physical and emotional ills of others. Her heart was pure. You got to laugh! You got to laugh at yourself! Holly had the gift of laughter. When we think of her we can always hear her laugh - it lightens the load. A smile and a kind word to lift another's spirit - or her own. She sure had this gift. We remember the rejection letters from various medical schools - Holly's response was Oh well, and then she would smile and say I still have one more to hear from. And then the acceptance letter from Temple came - oh the joy! Holly enjoyed 60 days of medical school, making new friends and living life to her full potential. On November 1,1998, she was called to a higher place to inspire others with her heavenly touch. So whatever hour you are blessed with, take it with grateful heart, nor postpone your joys from year to year,so you may truly say you have lived happily! Thanks Holly for your healing touch!!! Love Always, Dad, Mom, Michelle Kristen Temple University School of Medicine • 19

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No oo€ person con articulate wtiot September 11, 2001 means to everyone We share the horror, the disbelief, the pain of those who lost their lives that day and the pain of those who mourn. As the world is changing and threats of biologic warfare flood the mass medio, we as physicians are expected to meet those challenges. As l watched NYC close to the world with the exception of medical personnel, l realized what would someday be required from me, would never be tested on a shelf or board exam. What we may witness, no matter what specialty we choose and the limit of what we are able to do is daunting What if it had been Philadelphia, what If the first wave hod come to Temple? And while we can never truly fathom the what Ifs . next year it maybe my city, and I may be the doctor waiting for the ambulances to arrive That day I lost friends yet like so many others I goined a reality of whot this profession means, not only to my friends and family but to the community, city and country we live in -TashannaK N Myers No one will ever forget December 7,1941, the day that will forever live in infamy. Everyone who lived through November 22.1963 remembers exactly what he or she was doing when the news of President Kennedy’s assassination was first broadcast. We still have vivid images or the American hostages taken twenty years ago, the attempt made on President Regan s life, and the bombing of Pan Am flight 103. Each generation of Americans must overcome national tragedy, and ours Is no different. Where were we when we first learned of the horror that occurred on September 11.2001? Who were we with? What were we doing? Having taken block 3 as vacation, I took the time to prepare for Step 2, and was in the midst of my morning routine. I hopped into the car around 10am and turned on the radio just like always. Instead of hearing music, I heard a dj's voice simply say, The twin towers are gone.’ It only fully sunk in when I returned home to see the disturbing video footage with which we have all become so hauntingly familiar - the planes, the crashes, the collapse, desperate individuals jumping and being thrown from 100th story windows, and the chaos below. I was scheduled to begin an away elective at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan the following Monday and received numerous phone calls from family and friends asking me not to go and worrying over my safety. Upon arriving in New York, the city was still covered by a cloud of dust. People had returned to daily life, but an eerie silence befell the streets anytime an airplane flew overhead.The most surreal part of this tragedy, however, was not the fact that it occurred, rather, it was our response to it. Blood donation centers and fund raising organizations were so overwhelmed by the outpouring of support, they were forced to turn people away. I went to the Jacob Javitz Center to volunteer in any way possible, but was informed that the help on hand was already far more than enough. That fact remains simply amazing. I heard stories from patients who were eyewitnesses - individuals who saw it all, who were in the buildings, who lost loved ones. This diverse.sprawling city of ten million people came together with one united voice. Invariably, every account I heard was followed by concern over my personal safety. I was asked daily by patients whether I was alright, whether I was the victim of any prejudice, whether I had suffered from any hate crimes. I attended a U2 concert in Manhattan one month later. A seemingly endless list of victims from September 11th was shown, instantly moving 20.000 people to tears. I was standing next to an NYPD officer who turned to me and thanked me for coming, showing my support, and not living in fear. I shook his hand, thanked him for being a police officer, and replied. ’Because of the incredible job you've all done. I don't have to live in fear.- The workers in all the buildings attacked, the passengers and crew of the airliners, the volunteers, the firefighters, the policemen, and the EMS personnel who were involved will forever be heroes, and may God rest the souls of those we have lost. We will never forget the evil that struck us that Tuesday morning.nor will we ever heal from it completely. But along with this, we will also never forget the good that we have seen in all of us afterwards. We have all grown from this experience, and this renewed sense of spirit and patriotism will be with us for all time to come I wish the best of everything to my fellow 2002 classmates, always. -Amopreet Bams Temple University School of Medicine • 21