NEW YORK CITY, NY - On June 15, 2008 in Lower Manhattan on the coners of Greenwich & Vessey Streets was the First Annual First Responders Day. It was a day for fellow responders to come and spend to the day.

I had the Pleasure of meeting Donna Michaels the wife of a Retired NYPD Detective whom became ill from working in the Rescue & Recovery of the WTC site (Ground Zero) Donna is a mother of four children..

After her husband's exposure, She noticed that he started to cough continually. She thought it was the smoke he inhaled at the site at first. She and her husband thought it would clear up. He developed horrible headaches. The coughing continued. He began to wake up at night gasping for a breath. He would eat some food and have food stuck in his throat as strange breathing attack occurred. She remembered telling him it sounded like bad asthma. But how does a person go through life "NOT" having asthma and suddenly get it. He went to a pulmonogist whom had him take a methacholine challenge test.. He was also told he has hyperreative airway. Also thrown as RADS do the exposure to chemicals. RADS was far worse than any asthma that she has seen and is an "OCCUPATIONAL" asthma. Any type of chemicals smells like Diesel, perfume, or Pasted fingernails would set him off. Walking though the city would be a nightmare.

Some other problems started to set in, He developed as what he called the "SPINS" Also known as Vertigo. He was also tested for possible brain damage causing memory loss. The test showed that he did. His doctors stated that is was due to his exposure to the chemicals during the aftermath of 9/11/01.

He went from a happy, Athletic happy person to a shell of a person that once was a man whom loved life.

She lost her husband to 9/11

The man she married was left at Ground Zero. The one that returned to her lost the quality of his life. He lost his ability to do the things he once did.

Towards the end of her husbands twenty years on the job with the NYPD. He had difficulty going to work. he developed GERD & hiatal hernia. He struggled to breath in his office. When he would drive to work, turning on the windshield wipers would cause him to pull over and vomit due to the vertigo being set off. he forgot streets he had one worked on and names of people he had worked with for years. When he completed his work days for the week. His days off would be in Bed.

Her husband, A highly decorated NYPD Detective with a Medal of Valor, An office with no disciplinary actions against him, was treated in such a horrible manner, That she will never be able to get over the anger. His ailments are listed in the World Trade Center Disability Bill. When he ad difficulty he begged for some help from the NYPD doctors and got "NO: help. Instead his Guns and shield were taken because he was sick. The NYPD doctors wrote a letter to the NYDMV to have her husbands drivers license suspended because he was sick.

An investigation was places on there home . There family was filmed. Her car was followed. A NYPD sergeant came the their house almost everyday while a car sat watching there home. Donna teenage daughter became afraid and scared, One of them asked "MOM, why are they doing this to him????? They"re Cops. Don"t they understand he is sick.

She had to drive her husband everywhere. We were forced to drive to Queens to take him to ordered medical appointment's with NYPD doctors. He was denied a ride by employee relations due to the same doctors telling employee relations the her husbands injuries were not job related. She was forced to pull her children out of school to drive her husband to those medical appointments.

You can't be a cop without a gun. You can't be a cop without a drivers license. And you can;t work as a cop with her husbands disabilities.

He submitted his records and information to the Article II disability board and was denied disability Within days the same NYPD doctors medically cleared him and sent hom to psychological services. They both knew there was a problem. With a few months before his retirement, The actions on behalf of the doctors made no sense????

Three months before her husbands retirement. The Psychologist tiied to push him off the job. The doctor tells him he can avoid the stigma of the psychological disorder that she placed on him if he Quits. He had recorded the entire meeting.

There is so much that she wants to say about everything that happened. There is so much anger that she has towards the NYPD for lacking in the checks and balances among their medical division and for allowing heroes whom have become ill to be forced to quit and not receive a disability pension that is rightfully theirs.

ONE MONTH after her husband retired they attempted to "Psych" him off the job which was not possible since he was already retired. This action just caused more stress on his family.

The most inhumane treatment is taking place with the heroes from 9/11. There are many first responders whom have lost the quality their lives and the ability to work.

They have Proven that they were there. They have proven their illnesses and disabilities. Yet they are treated like outcasts and victimized by the very people whom should be helping them (NYPD,PAPD, FDNY, American Red Cross)

The Tragedy is that heroes are treated so poorly by the Cities Emergency Services units (NYPD,FDNY,PAPD) & American Red Cross. Plus the NYPD turned their backs on on of the Finest Police Officer to Serve the NYPD. This man whom loved his job as a cop and loved life and would have given his life to protect others in need.. The tragedy s that he is not the only one...

The tragedy is that one one is putting a stop to it. It's time for the people of New York City and our nation to come forward and put a stop to the treatment of our heroes. They have suffered enough...

None of these men & women deserved to suffer the way they're been suffering. None of them deserved to have there agencies whom they worked for treat them so badly when they did what they were supposed to do. as a city employee, a patriot, and as a American citizen.

Now we need to make sure that they are treated in the end. As heroes they will alway be with us always........

Gone, But not forgotten, Forgotten,but not gone.. Let is never forget the heroes that gave there lives that will be suffering forever God Bless Them All...

In closing I would like to remember some friends of my family and
bothers firefighters

Kieth McHeffey
Mike McCabe
David Bauer
Mike (Emmit) Judge FDNY
Warren Stack
Timothy Stackpole

Thank you.