R adios. This morning everyone had their radios on. Listening for news. At lunch we left clinic and went to our office.
I saw the horrific scenes of a plane flying into a building. Our social worker had seen it live - as many have. During the noon news they released the flight numbers.
Our transplant nurse gasped. "My brother is a pilot on that plane!" she said. She knew his regular routes. She knew that was his plane. Later that day she called me, it was confirmed. Her brother-in-law had been the co-pilot on American Airlines flight 77 out of Dulles - the plane that crashed into the Pentagon. She left town to be with her family.
The horror.
Churches. I biked tonight. A clear blue evening. The mountains were purple. Many people gathered in churches throughout the country. But the sky. Clear, clear blue. And no planes. No jet trails. A clear sky.
Watching TV. The Pentagon, on Virginia soil, still burns.
I told my kids, Luke 11, and Chase, 8, they will remember this day until they are old.
We were in clinic. We saw patients. I was distracted, wrote down decisions. Everyone was numb. Stunned. Some cried.
Stories will come out. Nurses and doctors will work for days. Rescue workers will work around the clock. The tragedy will touch everyone in this country. The enormity.
A plane downed in Somerset, Pa. People called on their cell phones.
Tonight it is quiet. Very quiet.
Addendum: David Charlebois, 49, was the co-pilot on American Airlines flight 77. He died September 11, 2001.
Mark Robbins, M.D.
Medical school faculty
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