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Thom's blog
The invisible diseases of 9/11
We have money for wars but not for heroes. Today is 9/11, the anniversary of one of the darkest days in American history. On that fateful day, nearly 3,000 people lost their lives at the World Trade Center, on the hijacked planes, and at the Pentagon. But 9/11 is still claiming lives, some thirteen years later.
Often lost in talk about 9/11 is the story of the brave men and women who rushed to the World Trade Center, to help rescue victims and save lives. These first responders dug through piles of rubble, inhaled countless asbestos particles and other toxic chemicals, and risked their own lives to save others. And on that terrible day, a total of 411 first responders lost their lives.
Today, those first responders who managed to survive 9/11 are dying off, and our government is doing very little about it. According to the latest figures, more than 2,500 New York City police officers, firefighters, and EMT's reported they had cancer as of last year - twice as many as was reported in 2013.
Similarly, the New York Fire Department has said that at least 863 current or former firefighters and EMT's have cancers directly related to their work on September 11th, 2001. And, the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides healthcare treatment for police officers, construction workers and others who had a role in rescue efforts on 9/11, reports that it has 1,655 patients with cancer - up from 1,140 cancer patients in 2013.
Additionally, according to 9/11 Health Watch, at least 30,000 first responders have some sort of injury or illness from 9/11. And, at least 70 firefighters and 60 NYPD officers have already died from 9/11-related illnesses, like cancer.
One of those 9/11 first responders who has since passed away was John Devlin, who I had the opportunity to speak with on multiple occasions on The Big Picture. John was a healthy and athletic engineer, who arrived on September 12th, 2001 as part of the wreckage-removal process. He worked at Ground Zero twelve hours a day, seven days a week, for nine-and-a-half months.
For nine-and-a-half-months, John dug through rubble and wreckage that was filled with toxic chemicals while the Bush Administration assured him and the rest of the first responders that everything was safe.
In 2009, John was diagnosed with throat cancer, which, since he wasn't a smoker, almost certainly developed because of his exposure to the toxic chemicals at Ground Zero. Unfortunately, John's throat cancer progressed, and he lost his battle with that dreadful disease six months ago today.
So, with dozens already dead, and more and more first responders developing cancer and other deadly illnesses from their life-saving work on 9/11, you would think that our politicians would be doing everything in their power to make sure these men and women, these heroes, have access to the healthcare they need and deserve. Right?
You would be wrong.
-Thom
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