Junie Volcy - Junior Nursing Student, New York University

I am 36 years old, divorced with two children. I am raising my daughter, Vanessa who is 14 years of age, and my son Garry Jr., who is 10 years old, with the help of my parents. I have been working at Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York since 1992 as an O.R. Secretary. I had the opportunity to work closely with the nurses and the doctors in the O.R. I was very impressed with the care the nurses were giving the patients. I then realized that nursing was the right path for me.

My sacrifices are great, but I feel privileged to be in this challenging and vibrant nursing program. I am planning to reunite with my children next year after my graduation as a nurse.

As a NYU student nurse, I felt compelled to do something. On Thursday morning, I went to the Division's Nursing Office to inquire about volunteer work. I also met my classmate, Faith, who was busily gathering supplies to go to the site. Amputation trays, heavy gloves, masks and other medical supplies were badly needed. Faith and I hailed a police car, and the police officers took us to the Hospital for Joint Diseases

The O.R. Director gave us masks, gloves, and other medical supplies. We went across the street to Beth Israel Hospital begging for more supplies. We met with the manager of the Central Supply Department who was also very generous. She gave us a tremendous amount of supplies, and two amputation trays. We were very pleased to have sufficient supplies. The road to nursing at ground zero wasn't easy. We rushed out of the hospital and walked down 2nd avenue and 14th Street to find transportation to the disaster site. We stopped a car that had a flashing red light on its roof. The gentleman in the car was an assistant DA. He gladly took us to Pace University where the national guards were being stationed. Two of the soldiers helped us into the back of their truck and drove us to Liberty Plaza/ground zero where our NYU Clinical Instructor, Melissa Oftenhartz, was expecting us.

The site looked like a war zone. Military trucks were all over the place. I saw private cars, police cars, and fire trucks that had been destroyed. As we approached ground zero, I spotted Melissa.

Melissa was in charge of the medical staff. I helped her organize the acute care triage center. I then helped re-arrange our back-up supply area. While I was doing so, the evacuation sirens went off. We were told to stop what we were doing and run. Another building in the area was about to collapse. I became very scared, and we all ran. I did not think that I could run so fast. While I was running, I kept thinking about the fireman I had treated next door. We were not allowed to go back. I felt empty due to the fact that I did not know what happened to our patient, who could not breathe. After running three blocks from the site, I spotted Melissa. Faith finally came along. I anxiously asked her about our patient. Faith calmly told me to relax and that our patient was fine. She actually ran hand in hand with him. After a brief meeting, we were told to walk back slowly to the site and gather our supplies.

I must say that what I experienced at Liberty Plaza/ground zero will stay with me forever. I've come to realize even more the importance of nurses in health care. It really takes a lot of knowledge, patience, organization, commitment, and caring to be a registered professional nurse. I feel that my contribution made a difference. The experience I had at ground zero will help me be a better nurse.

Junie Volcy
Junior Nursing Student
New York University
Division of Nursing
The Steinhardt School of Education