Amelia Week 3: Remembering the Heroes of 9/11

   With 9/11 approaching tomorrow, I was reminded of a meaningful experience from last year that I did in honor of 9/11. Last year was the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and I saw online that people were doing a challenge using the Stairmaster machine in their gym to climb 110 flights of stairs in honor of the 415 emergency workers in New York City who passed away, 343 of which were firefighters. My parents were both in New York City during this time, and it significantly impacted them. After seeing this online challenge, I was inspired to ask my mom to do it with me. She said yes and was so happy to be doing this for a good cause. 

Starting this challenge, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do it; I just knew that I would try my hardest, and that was all that mattered to me. Most of the people I saw doing this were people who went to the gym every day or were bodybuilders or added 70 extra pounds of gear to help further put themselves in the heroes’ shoes. I knew this would be extremely strenuous and difficult for me, but my mom and I went to the gym and got started anyways. I was already familiar with the machine, as I do use it when I go to the gym, but I’ve never done more than 20 flights of stairs at one time. As I got to 35 flights of stairs, I realized that I had to do this in increments because it was practically impossible for me to do 110 flights of stairs without stopping. I did stop a couple of times to go to the bathroom and to sit down and catch my breath, but I kept in mind that the heroes of 9/11 did not stop, and the smoke undoubtedly made it even more difficult for them to climb the stairs. I didn’t have half the bravery and strength they did, but I tried to put myself in their shoes as much as I could. 

I did 35 flights without stopping, then 40 without stopping, then another 35. My legs did not hurt, it was just extremely hard to keep up with my breathing, exhausting that much energy. My mom was able to climb more steps with more ease, but we both ended up climbing a total of 110 flights of stairs regardless. It took us marginally less than an hour, and it was unbelievably draining on my body and energy, but the reward of knowing we did it in honor of the courageous and brave heroes of 9/11 was the most priceless feeling. I do have plans tomorrow, but I know that my mom and I will absolutely find time to do it within the next few days. Do I recommend doing this? That’s up to you and what you’re able to handle. But I do 100% recommend watching videos and doing research to help yourself learn more, especially about the heroes. They deserve to be learned about and appreciated by everyone, whether it means climbing 110 flights of stairs or telling your friends and family the names you’ve learned of heroes of 9/11 who have passed away.

List of the Fallen Heroes of 9/11

I'll start. Moira Smith, Peter J. Ganci Jr., Carl J. Bedigan, Robert Parro, William M. Feehan, Ronald Paul Bucca, Steven Marcado, Jeffery Stark, Sean Patrick Tallon, Joseph Maffeo… this 9/11, educate yourself on the heroes. And remember their names.