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

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SENIORS N 2002 Skull

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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

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Temple University School of Medicine • 23