Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Where were you that fateful day?

It's been six years since the September 11, 2001 attacks. It's hard to believe that much time has passed, because I still remember the events of that day. I realize that some of us would rather move on and not dwell on the sadness of the suffering that was inflicted that day, but I feel as though the moments of silence observed by many today are appropriate. 2,997 people lost their life that day, many because they were doing what they always did- going to work, traveling, responding to an emergency call to try to save lives. Alan Jackson released this song afterward, inspired by the events of that day. There were many videos to choose from on You Tube, some which had video montages of images from that day.


September 11th taught me that while we can do our best, there are somethings that are unpredictable. Life has to be lived in the moment. And when things don't go the way we want or expect them to, there is always a chance to grow. Mercy Me is one of my favorite Christian music bands, and I love their song Bring the Rain because it talks about being able to be grateful even when life throws you challenges. The inspiration behind Bring the Rain, which includes one of the band member's sons being diagnosed with diabetes is discussed in this video.

Bring the Rain by Mercy Me


Let us not forget.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your writing and insight never ceases to amaze and touch my heart. You are a gift....your writing is a gift to all those who read it. I remember 9/11 - you were in Utica and I longed to have you back home, safe and sound where your Dad and I could protect you. Even on "normal" days, we still wish to protect you....from struggles, from pain, from people or things that hurt or disappoint you. But we can't always, so we rely on God and your faith in him to carry to from day to day....and He does. You are an inspiration to me - everyday!

Anonymous said...

Kate,

What an appropriate blog for September 11th!

Because you also blog about diabetes, I thought you might be interested in helping out the International Diabetes Federation a bit.

We are in the midst of our preparations for the first UN-observed World Diabetes Day (www.worlddiabetesday.org) on 14 November this year, and I wanted to ask you if you would like to help us to spread awareness of this worldwide event and the theme we have chosen for it this year - Diabetes in Children and Adolescents.

It is estimated that over 200 children develop type 1 diabetes every day and there's no question that the disease often hits disadvantaged communities the hardest, and that children in the developing world can die because their parents are unable to afford medication. In many countries diabetes is still considered an adult disease and as a result can be diagnosed late with severe consequences, including death. Even after diagnosis many children experience poor control and develop complications early.

This is why one of our key objectives for World Diabetes Day this year is to double the number of children covered by the Life for a Child Program - http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/go/wdd-2007/life-for-a-child. We also want to encourage initiatives that can help to reduce diabetic ketoacidosis (diabetic coma) and to promote the sort of healthy lifestyles which can prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes in children.

A version of the diabetes circle, the icon we used for our Unite for Diabetes campaign http://www.unitefordiabetes.org/ has now been adopted for World Diabetes Day and we have produced a number of web banners that you can view and download here http://banners.worlddiabetesday.org.

The way in which you can help us spread awareness of World Diabetes Day is to add one of the banners to your own blog, which we would really appreciate.

The UN's World Diabetes Day Resolution (61/225) was really just the first goal of an ambitious campaign that we have been leading. This is the first time a non-communicable disease has been recognised as a serious threat to global public health and we are hoping now to further raise awareness globally of the disease that is predicted to contribute to 6% of the world’s mortality in 2007.

If you would like to know more about the UN Resolution and our plans for World Diabetes Day this year, just drop me a line at stephanie.tanner@idf.org and I will get back to you with more information.

Many thanks,
Stephanie Tanner
IDF - Communications Assistant

eu said...

I work at dLife and I was wondering if you would like to be added to our diabetes blogger email list? Every week we send a fun video clip about diabetes. If you are interested, please contact me at urbahn at dlife dot com. Thanks!