Remembering September 11

By early afternoon on September 11, New York was a different city than it had been just hours before, and lower Manhattan was a different world. A thick cloud of smoke from the devastation at the World Trade Center filled the sky and could be seen from almost every corner of the city. Sidewalks were filled with stunned throngs of people who had been directed to walk north. The shrill sirens of fire trucks and ambulances could be heard blaring as they raced in the opposite direction. Lines formed around hospitals and other facilities where blood donations were being collected, and rescue volunteers assembled in front of armories where armed guards in full combat gear were stationed.For me, the day had started out like most others. I had planned on a full schedule of elective surgery in the morning, new patients …