Dear Listeners,

The following are e-mail correspondence we have had with Dawn regarding the death of her nephew, and friend on flight 175 on Sept. 11th.? We will be discussing these and other e-mails on Thursdays show with Dr. Paul Greene.? Please listen in and give us a call.? Dr. Heidi and Gloria

Dear Dawn:
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your brother, nephew, and friend on flight 175.? That is a lot of loss to go through at once.? I also had a brother that died, and know what a horrific loss a sibling death is, not to mention the death of your nephew and friend as well.? As my Mom mentioned, I work with Firefighters that lost a family member in the World Trade Center.? Many have found counseling to be very helpful, especially those that have suffered multiple losses.? I don’t know about your particular situation, but I do know that after a death it is often difficult to concentrate because of intrusive thoughts about the traumatic event.? I know many have found support groups and counseling to be helpful.? As far as websites that are specific to 9/ll families, I am not aware of any.? However, a lot has been written about 9/11 deaths on the internet and I know several individuals that found journaling on Legacy.com to be helpful.? All the best to you.? Take Care
~Dr. Heidi

Dear Dr. Heidi:
I am sure support groups and counseling are helpful and I know there are lots of resources in New York.? Unfortunately, I live in the Midwest.? The prevailing attitude here is “thank goodness it wasn’t us.”? I have tried to find a counselor, but there is no one who can understand why September 11 is different.? In addition to September 11, my father committed suicide, my? mother-in-law died in 2002 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, my mom died in 2004 of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and my husband is in the bottom of the eighth inning of his fight with cancer.? I am emotionally spent.
Dawn

Hi Dr. Gloria:
I think it would be wonderful if you discussed this with others.? I wish I could call in, but I will be helping with a bereavement camp for children ages 6-18 called Camp Anew.? The camp is from Tuesday, July 31 to Friday, August 3.? We have several bereavement activities for the children, but mostly we just have fun.? This is our sixth year.?
I will listen to the archived show when I get back.
Thanks again for taking this seriously.? Sometimes I really feel alone in my grief.?
Dawn

Dear Dawn, thanks so much for posting the picture, it helps to put faces up as it kind of brings what was lost home for us. You have so much loss. I hope you can find a group on which to dump some of your grief. They really do help some.
thinking of you Jamie