9/11 First Responder Survivor Foreclosure Fund

Rabbi Akiva went out and declared: “Charity delivers from death.  And not just from an unnatural death, but from death itself.”

Many of you don't know that I am a 9/11 NYC Law Enforcement first responder. (NYC Department of Investigation - 18 Maiden Lane).

Although I am eligible, I have not received any benefits from NYC, (under WCL Article 8-a or WTC Vol3 - Liver and intrahepatic bile ducts -tumors) as many of my eligible brothers and sisters in LE, EMS, FD and others in the Public Sector have not and whose claims may not be resolved until after 2022.

Lawyers want to bleed us and our pensions have all gone to medical expenses. It seems like there is a funeral every week from all kinds of lethal complications. In fact the current death toll of "survivors" exceeds the total of those deceased on that day by three-fold. Many were close friends from FDNY downtown and DOI/NYPD Manhattan South (where my office was a half a block away on Maiden Lane). I was under the towers on Liberty Street when the first explosions were heard and the first plane hit.

Through out that fateful day, I personally rescued close to a hundred people and led them to safety in the deep basement of the Chase bank, my office building at Maiden Lane or to immediate triage.

We were sworn to and willing to give our lives for you. So many of us did selflessly and bravely and continue to do so, actively or suffering after that tragic and most horrible attack on our great nation. Will you help me out with whatever you can?

In the Fall of 2009 I was diagnosed with a rare liver disease that had been growing for years until it formed into a huge abscess the size of a melon, that practically killed me. I spent nearly six weeks in the hospital. There were only 2 prior cases known. A young micro-biologist from Rutgers university came up with an experimental cocktail in the last two weeks and it worked! Thank God it was like a miracle. I was the only one to ever survive this illness. I actually was read my last rights. Of the three known cases I was the only one that survived. B'Chasdei Hashem. And a cure was found.

It was a super-bacteria that takes years to evolve with no symptoms until it's too late. This has been written up in the medical journals. The doctors suspect it was because WTC responders were exposed to many substances known to cause serious progressive liver disease in other populations and in animal models; and it is thus highly likely that the WTC attack exposed responders to the hepatotoxins that cause severe liver damage at Ground Zero. (Mt.Sinai Study). The other possibility is that I got them from a case where I was tracking a fake UPS truck in a joint NYPD/FBI investigation connected to a Brooklyn mosque which was registered next to the Letterkenny US Army Ammunitions Depot in Pennsylvania where much lethal materiel is stored. Following the 9/11, Letterkenny supported the Global War on Terrorism by  recapping PATRIOT Missiles. Should that truck have gone live, untold thousands would have been killed.

This year I started to feel discomfort and pain in that area again until in July it became unbearable. From July through September I had been in the ER 5 times. Finally after several tests (needed to get pre-approval for) on October 18, I had surgery again to clean out what was there including removing my gall bladder and opening up obstructions. Thank God again, so far so good.

In November 2017 I suffered a sever pain in the area, despite being on pain medication and I fell and I fractured my knee. Surgery nor replacement was not an option in my case. Replacing the knee or screws and metal was not feasible as the injury involved numerous small fractures that were underneath the knee. The immobility for 8 weeks led to venal thrombosis which is a blood clot that can Chas V'Shalom travel to your lungs, heart or brain and is potentially fatal. I still have some trouble getting around, but God willing, with continued Physical Therapy, blood thinners and pain medication, in time it will be better.

As you can imagine, being out of commission for a year can add up really fast. Now, our modest house is in foreclosure and we are battling for disability for one of my beautiful children. I am seeking financial assistance to keep our home and pay off the accumulating debts and medical expenses as well as to cover everyday necessities. This is why I need help. I never thought I would ever try a Chesed Fund  or GoFund Me, but my friends urged me to do it. So here I am hoping to get some relief for my family and myself.

We are getting a little medical assistance but the battles with the insurance company are frustrating. We are on a fixed income, as I took Social Security early to help out. We get Meals-on-Wheels but we are in over our heads for over $50,000 dollars including back mortgage payments and that increases every month as it adds up.

Will you help us out with whatever you can?
Please sign and share the Change.org petition. 

Checks can be sent made out to: K'hal Zichron Yaakov, 175 Sunset Road, Lakewood NJ, 08701 with RBEF in the memo section.

Thanks to all those who have donated and may God bless you and yours in everything.

With your generous help IYH we will be able to get through.

My shield found in the rubble by a good friend FDNY who succumbed to cancer from 9/11.

My badge found at ground zero.