Leigh Gilmore, an MS sufferer who had to use a wheelchair to stay mobile, and her mother, were staying at the Marriott World Trade Center Hotel when the planes hit.
Arnulfo Ponce, the chief building engineer, had been called the day before to their room to fix a broken shower grab bar, and when the attack happened, and all was chaos the next day, he told his fellow worker, Gregory Frederick, that they needed to check on them.
Mr. Frederick made his way through the pandemonium to help get them out of the building just as the south tower collapsed on the hotel.
They were able to arrange a reunion later when the two men saw Leigh and her mother, Faye, on the History Channel's "Hotel Ground Zero" documentary.
Shawna Aman, of Lima and a MS sufferer herself, finds herself remembering where she was at when she heard the news of 9/11, "I was at work just starting the day as usual when I heard someone yell across the room that someone had just flown a plane into the Towers and all I could do was start at him, not really focusing on what I'd just heard because it sounded so "not real" to me."
She continues, "We all jumped up and ran to the conference room to turn on the tv and from there we all just stood in silence and horror at what we were seeing. It truly was the saddest day of our lives, I think."
Ms. Gilmore died last December just before Christmas of complications due to MS and her mother has been spending her time being an advocate for the physically disabled since they lived through 9/11 and all the horror it brought.
Faye testified before the Chicago City Council in 1999 and helped get an ordinance passed that required a percentage of taxicabs be wheelchair-accessible. She was also there when Chicago reviewed its disaster preparedness plan and argued for provisions to protect the disabled in emergency evacuations.
Tomorrow, millions will be gathered in rememberance of those who died when this horrific event unfolded. Thousands more will share their story of how they made it out alive and giving thanks to those heros who helped them and, this story of Leah, Faye, Arnulfo and Gregory, will be one of those.
For more info: for those who live in Lima, Ohio, the Northwestern Ohio MS Chapter can be reached at: 401 Tomahawk Drive , Maumee, OH at (419) 897-7263. They are located approximately an hour and a half from Lima, Ohio and 45 minutes from Findlay, Ohio. For directions please click here at Bing Maps.
Sources: www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=13&articleid=20091222_11_A14_Leigh
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