Victims who suffered excruciating, life-changing burns during the 9/11 terrorist attacks say people have forgotten about the day’s catastrophic devastation — and are even treating them with disrespect.
asserted
people → suffer → disrespect
“There are people who tell the survivors of 9/11 that we need to get over it,” said Ken Summers, 76, who suffered third-degree burns at the World Trade Center.
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who → be → Center
“They say, ‘I know your story.’
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I → say → story
People don’t want to hear about it anymore,” Summers, of Long Island, told The Post ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
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Summers → want → 9/11
“People are 9/11’ed out – they’re done with it.
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they → do → it
They’ve had enough, and I’ve felt like that for years.”
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I → have → years
Summers, who worked on the 27th floor, was about to mail a check in the lobby of the North Tower at 8:46 a.m, when American Airlines Flight 11 slammed into the building.
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Flight → work → building
He was engulfed by a massive fireball — hurling him backward onto the sidewalk.
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He → engulf → sidewalk
The blast left him with painful third-degree burns on his hands and arms, and second-degree burns in his face and head.
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blast → leave → face
The former Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield analyst has since endured about a dozen grueling skin grafts and surgeries, has suffered from PTSD, and was forced to give up hobbies that once brought him joy.
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that → endure → joy
“It’s been tough — I’m always in pain.
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I → ’m → pain
It’s with me every day,” said Summers, who’s now a grandfather.
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who → ’ → me
Too many people minimize the terrorist attack and his own gut-wrenching injuries, Summers said.
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Summers → minimize → attack
An insensitive friend once blurted out, “Oh, sh-t – we’re going to hear this story for the rest of our lives,” he said.
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he → blurt → lives
Others have dismissed his burns — which caused charred bubbling skin that destroyed his hair and peeled off in sheets — as worth it for the payout.
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that → dismiss → payout
“At first almost everybody says, ‘Well, you must have gotten a lot of money,'” he said.
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he → say → money
“Yes, I’ve got a substantial sum of money, but I’ve also had a substantial amount of pain and recovery.
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I → get → pain
Are you factoring that in?” he said.
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he → factor → that
The glib remarks happen so often that Summers, who said he’s received about one million dollars from the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund, has a prepared “comeback.”
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he → happen → comeback
“Do you think I would have liked to have given up piano playing, golfing, tennis and skiing – things I loved?” asked Summers.
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Summers → think → playing
He pointed out he can no longer grip a racquet or club, adding, “I can’t feel things like other people.”
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I → point → people
“Do you think I would have given all that up for money?” he said.
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he → think → money
Of the roughly 50 people who were severely burned on 9/11, Summers is one of about half to survive past the first year.
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Summers → burn → year
Lauren Manning, who is also a 9/11 burn victim, told The Post some people are uncomfortable hearing stories about the attacks.
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people → tell → attacks
“People gravitate towards stories that are easier to hold,” said Manning, a Cantor Fitzgerald senior executive, who suffered debilitating burns on more than 82 percent of her body during the attack.
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who → gravitate → attack
Manning — who was engulfed in a fireball in the lobby of the North Tower — said “time fades” and “the immediacy of this horrific mass terror attack appears somehow less” for people.
But the mom of two, who has endured years of surgery and physical therapy, said she hasn’t let it get in the way of her recovery.
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it → engulf → recovery
It happens generally out of sight, but it was my own act of defiance.
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it → happen → defiance
I had one simple goal: I was not going to let the terrorists claim another kill,” she said.
uncertain
she → have → kill
Other survivors said it’s common to feel slighted.
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it → say → ?
William Rodriguez, a North Tower custodian dubbed a hero for helping first responders rescue people, said fellow survivors feel they’ve been treated with “disrespect.”
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they → dub → disrespect
“Survivors tell me they’re always dealing with people who tell them to ‘move on, don’t dwell on it,’” said Rodriguez, who lost 200 friends on 9/11
“People believe we made off with a lot of compensation money and that’s not true,” Rodriguez said, blasting the false assertions of a big pay day.
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Rodriguez → tell → day
With “extreme PTSD and survivor’s guilt,” Rodriguez found himself destitute in 2005, living in a car under the Pulaski Skyway bridge.
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himself → find → bridge
“I went from national hero to zero,” he said, noting that he was “victimized again – begging for help” to no avail.
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he → go → avail
“Survivors suffer in silence – people have to defend themselves.
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people → suffer → themselves
They have to validate their pain because some people don’t get it,” he said.
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he → have → it
People no longer want to hear about the fallout from 9/11, said Brian Branco, who’s dealing with lifelong PTSD from the attacks.
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who → want → attacks
“People get bored – they have no interest,” said Branco, who worked for the software company Baseline on the 78th floor of the South Tower, where colleagues died.
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colleagues → get → Tower
The Lyndhurst, NJ dad said insensitivity surfaced immediately, when a family member challenged his wife three weeks after 9/11, asking, “What are you complaining about?
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you → say → What
Your husband lived.”
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husband → live → ?
He added, “People think if you don’t have any physical injury, what’s your problem?
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what → add → injury
…and 7 more, not listed.
