Terese oral history interview conducted by Eliza Marcus, December 7, 2010

About

On the morning of 9/11, Terese saw the attacks on TV and was worried about her brothers, one a NYC fireman and the other an electrician who was at the site. Her father is a retired battalion chief for the FDNY. She knew she had to help, so she packed up her massage table and went to the site. She did not expect the devastation she saw-the smells, smoke, and collapsed buildings. Men and women were already on the pile; everyone pitched in to do something. Terese set up on a corner for the first few days and treated workers. When the Spirit of New York cruise ship arrived, she was assigned to a respite office with chiropractors, physical therapists, and massage therapists. She eventually became a Red Cross Coordinator in charge of organizing treatment by these specialists, and created a list of 400 chiropractors, physical therapists, and massage therapists who volunteered to help. She gave medical massages to treat responders' aches and pains, and give them some relief so they could go back to the pile. She described her time at Ground Zero as a "city within a city" and generally had no idea if it was day or night. During these months, she stayed with her brother in Greenwich Village, as she was working 18 hours a day, 7 days a week until November of 2001. She contracted a lung infection.

Archive

Library of Congress, in Library of Congress

Licence or status

Rights statement at the Library of Congress, as the Library of Congress states it.

Credit

Library of Congress

Language

English

Country

United States

Who can watch

The archive gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from its collection and subjects. How films are placed