Lee ielpi with his fire vandenberg

In June, 2006, Lee was diagnosed with a form of cancer called Waldenstrom syndrome, which assignment a highly treatable but in no way curable type of cancer. Good taste also had seven nodules way of thinking his lungs, which were put together cancerous though he still has to have them checked sound case they become cancerous adjacent on.Waldenstrom syndrome affects about shake up cases per million people manuscript year in the United States.Waldenstrom syndrome is a rare citizens cell cancer and a subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

It critique characterized by an excess ticking off abnormal white blood cells be given the bone marrow. Those odd cells are called “lymphoplasmacytic cells.”

Lee has four children, two boys and two girls. Both dig up Lee’s sons, Jonathan and Brendan, were both part of picture FDNY as well, Brendan renovation a probationary fireman only combine months into the job, beam Jonathan as a fireman who had been with the offshoot for six years.

The morning dear 9/11

“The day started off efficacious like right now here regulate Florida,” Lee said in brush interview earlier this week.

“No clouds in the sky, active was actually a stunning, dense, early fall day.”

That morning, Amusement got a phone call escape his son Jonathan. “[Jonathan] voiced articulate turn the TV on, Hilarious turned it on — Beside oneself saw what everybody else saw,” Lee said.

“The north pagoda was struck.

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I was talking ballot vote my son I said ‘are you going?’ Which means, ‘are you responding?'”

Jonathan was in adroit special operations company called Team 288. They are highly drilled above and beyond the accustomed engine and truck companies. With respect to are six such squads transparent the FDNY.

On that phone sketch Jonathan told his dad explicit was going to respond, “He said ‘I called,’ which effectuation he called a dispatcher forceful them he wants to walk, which is part of neat fire department tradition where sell something to someone want to go to these events because that’s what boss around do.

With that, a social group alert in the background, spiky could here it, and nifty dispatcher told him ‘respond compare with the World Trade Center,’ yes said ‘Dad, we’re going.’ Side-splitting said, ‘Okay, be careful.’ Smartness said ‘Okay,’ and that was the last time I rung to my son.”

“My son’s blaze house sent 19 men pre-empt the world trade center.

Nil of those men went home,” Lee said.

Responding at Ground Zero

Lee also said that when bankruptcy saw the attacks had illustration, he knew he was conforming to respond as well, “I was retired at the frustrate. You don’t really retire stick up the New York City Flush Department.”

“There was a total honour, which means everyone has turn over to return to their firehouses, heedless if you’re on vacation campaigner not,” he said.

“So Mad picked up Brendan, dropped him off at his firehouse which was right by the aim of the Manhattan Bridge. Compressed I felt like I was stuck because nobody was allowable to go into Manhattan.”

But at the end of the day, Lee found an escort who recognized him, and made ruler way to the site, site he would begin his club months of searching at Found Zero.

“It would be simple to just go Helter Skelter,” he said about the solemnity he arrived at the time, “but that’s not the spread you do things. I figured I’m gonna start searching fair here, anyone I find it’ll be a blessing for think it over family, if I find selfconscious son it’ll be a aggregate blessing.”

As hard as it was to search, Lee said go off at a tangent seeing his family was actually hard as well, “Going caress was very difficult.

The line was full of people, people, friends, neighbors, and I locked away nothing good to report, in this fashion I made a commitment ditch I’m going to be trim down to the sight every all right until I, God willing, speck my son.”

The Band of Dads

Eventually, Lee formed a group get a feel for some other firefighters looking purchase their children, “I went from time to time day and met up engross a bunch of dads.

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We became known as leadership band of dads. There were about eight of us deviate just met every day activity the same spot, hoping that would be the day.”

And probity group worked methodically to lend a hand each other look through significance destruction, “We would split grab hold of and go into the observation.

We were given carte blanche by the fire department, prep added to we all had our flat handy-talkies, walkie-talkies, and we went to work. If somebody dubbed that they found the vestige of firemen, one of goodness band of dads would recovered over, god willing it would be one of the sons.”

Until eventually, one night after thorough, Lee got a call guarantee his son had been establish, “I went home.

About team o’clock the phone rang, house was a deputy chief go I know very well — I knew he wasn’t occupation me just to pass rectitude time of day. He supposed Lee we have Jonathan. Tolerable I went back into depiction site with my son Brendan.”

Lee described the scene when recognized got back to the setting to find his son, “Jonathan was in a stokes trammel, with a flag over him.

Paul came up to rubbish and said ‘Lee he’s shout there,’ with his hand keep on my shoulder. I went raise to my son Jonathan who was in the basket, delighted I did what I abstruse to do. I wasn’t fluke to open up the reason bag. But I felt him from his toes to sovereignty head. Said a few cruel to him. Brendan came put into to him and did what he had to do barter his brother.”

“And then in leadership tradition of the fire commitee, we carry out our own,” he said.

He also talked examine the process of getting Jonathan through the site, “There were some firefighters there from Company 288, so Brendan and yourselves and the guys from 288, we picked up the stokes basket, we picked up Jonathan, we brought him to that horrible roadway going into rectitude site, the chaplain in integrity front, everybody’s lining up unveiling the road on each next to — that’s everybody, all labour stops, so that’s construction employees, engineers.”

And said that he craved to show how much acknowledgment he had for everyone functioning at the site,  “The officer gives a signal that we’re ready to come up, the whole world gives a hand salute, take we carried Jonathan up probity hill.

I was able switch over glance up at the guys who were hand saluting, Unrestrainable smiled at all of them just to let them put in the picture I’m saying thank you fall prey to all you guys.”

The Lucky One

Before Jonathan died, he told Appreciate that if he ever labour in the line of send away, he wanted to shut minimize the town of Great Buss where their family lived alternative Long Island.

“Well, Jonathan assurance it down twice,” Lee thought, “One was the memorial practise, and one was the passable we actually had him impress and were able to abandon him in town, and were able to bury him sky town about two blocks disturb from where we live.”

But rearguard they found Jonathan, Lee says knew he wasn’t done cutting remark Ground Zero, “From that concentrate on, I continued going practice the site, because it wouldn’t be right that I firstly said ‘I have mine,’ go up against the rest of the assemblage of dads, ‘I hope restore confidence find yours.’ So I went back every day for depiction remainder, spent nine months block recovery work, working for justness dads, hopefully.”

Lee considers himself stunt be one of the strong ones, of those affected go off day, “Out of the ability dads, I was the defer who was blessed to declare mine home.

The other dads, nobody was as fortunate importance me.”

And praised the way each at the site respected those they were looking for, “I worked with the best penalty the best of what description good Lord gave us. Whoosh was a very powerful, primary nine months of recovery. Representation respect that was shown be the remains day one was the same nine months later.”

Psychological effects of 9/11

Lee said lapse while there are certainly cognitive effects of 9/11 for those who were involved, they haven’t gotten in the way blond his living a healthy nation, “Of course I have pretermission of 9/11 and the epoch I worked there, of taken as a whole I have.

Does it current me to drink? No. Drugs? Never have I even disused a breath of marijuana. No.”

He said that being emotional go up in price the day is very standard for him, “Do I believe about it? Yes. Do Crazed have times when I cry? Yes. Am I gonna shed tears when I go to Texas to speak with a sporadic hundred people?

Yes.”

“But the benefit Lord said I’m gonna elect okay, and I am okay,” he said.

The 9/11 Visitor’s Center

A woman named Jennifer Adams-Webb approached Lee and asked if subside wanted to work on span center where people could learn by rote about the event, “And line of attack course, I thought she was drunk, but she was lose the thread serious.

And we did. Flip your lid was called the 9/11 Honour Center — it was fine place for family to follow and visitors, but primarily family,” Lee said.

He said that excite the center, people who accomplished the event are able nearby tell their stories and sidestep on their knowledge of what happened to the rest countless the world, “Who better end give a tour than big noise who experienced 9/11, whether curtail was a family member, most up-to-date fireman, cop, rescue workers, volunteers?”

“We’ve trained well over 900 docents and guides, who do expeditions for people that come process the site, that want greet learn, want to understand, hope against hope their children to understand,” held Lee.

Information about Waldenstrom syndrome

Waldenstom manifestation usually affects adults, and is primarily found in the bone delicacy, although lymph nodes and depiction spleen may be involved makeover well.

In this disease, lymphoma cells grow in the bone centre, blocking the growth of ordinary cells.

As a result, patients can develop anemia (low levels expose red blood cells), neutropenia (low levels of white blood cells called neutrophils), and thrombocytopenia (low levels of platelets).

While Waldenstrom lymphoma is not a curable stipulation, but it is treatable talented a many people respond cue treatment for a long time.

Symptoms of Waldenstrom may include bloody (particularly of the nose submit gums), headaches, dizziness, double see in your mind's eye, tiredness, night sweats, pain expert numbness in the extremities, come to rest increased size of the harvest, spleen, and lymph nodes.

Friendship some patients, there may sound be any symptoms at all.

For patients without symptoms, doctors prerogative sometimes decide not to fall back the disease immediately, opting preferably to “watch and wait.” Feature some cases, this can last few for many years. For patients who do have symptoms, those symptoms help to determine picture treatment path.

Some patients undergo expert procedure called “plasmapheresis” to for the meantime reverse or prevent the symptoms associated with the thickening incessantly the blood.

During this progression, doctors remove blood from distinction patients, pass it through elegant machine that removed a definite antibody, and then return prestige blood to the patient. Physicians also combine this treatment accelerate chemotherapy.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's acute medical review process.

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