Life after 9-11 for a struggling survivor
More than five years after the attack on America, a Myrtle Beach man is now becoming a victim.
He volunteered to help in the clean up, and now doctors say he suffers from an illness related to his time spent at Ground Zero. He can't work and now with medical bills piling up, he's going to auction off his most prized possesion to make ends meet.
Jay Bingham was a volunteer in the clean up after the 9-11 disaster. He has memory after memory of his two week challenge to find survivors left in the aftermath. Now he faces worries of his own.
"I worry about Rose and the baby, and I just want to make sure that they're taken care of," said Bingham. "I don't want her to have to worry when we have bills and stuff."
Bingham's been in and out of the hospital, and now the medical bills are piling up along with other bills for insurance, taxes, and basic utilities. Doctors aren't sure what's wrong with him, but he has headaches, nasal problems, and constant shortness of breath.
"This is the honest to God truth," said Bingham. "I'm giving the baby a bath, I'm not doing anything, it's just a five minute bath, and got so out of breath, I couldn't finish, and I'm like what's wrong with me."
After the disaster, doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York say they've treated hundreds of other people suffering from the same symptoms as Bingham. The government will pay for treatment, but not at hospitals here where he lives on the Grand Strand. His closest option is Duke, which is almost four hours away. He's been paying for his visits to local hospitals out of his own pocket and says he can't do it anymore.
"This whole time, I'm frustrated, because I'm already spending money, and now I've spent my savings," said Bingham. "And now I'm trying to start all over, and every time I try to start, I'm having health problems."
So now he plans to auction off something very dear to his heart, the helmet he wore during the clean up. It's one of only twelve signed by celebrities and others who visited the site of the disaster.
"I want the baby to have a good life," said Bingham. "So that's more important than the helmet."
Bingham has his helmet on E-bay now, and it'll be posted until Christmas Day for bids.
http://www.wpde.com/news/viewarticle.asp?view=3330
He volunteered to help in the clean up, and now doctors say he suffers from an illness related to his time spent at Ground Zero. He can't work and now with medical bills piling up, he's going to auction off his most prized possesion to make ends meet.
Jay Bingham was a volunteer in the clean up after the 9-11 disaster. He has memory after memory of his two week challenge to find survivors left in the aftermath. Now he faces worries of his own.
"I worry about Rose and the baby, and I just want to make sure that they're taken care of," said Bingham. "I don't want her to have to worry when we have bills and stuff."
Bingham's been in and out of the hospital, and now the medical bills are piling up along with other bills for insurance, taxes, and basic utilities. Doctors aren't sure what's wrong with him, but he has headaches, nasal problems, and constant shortness of breath.
"This is the honest to God truth," said Bingham. "I'm giving the baby a bath, I'm not doing anything, it's just a five minute bath, and got so out of breath, I couldn't finish, and I'm like what's wrong with me."
After the disaster, doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York say they've treated hundreds of other people suffering from the same symptoms as Bingham. The government will pay for treatment, but not at hospitals here where he lives on the Grand Strand. His closest option is Duke, which is almost four hours away. He's been paying for his visits to local hospitals out of his own pocket and says he can't do it anymore.
"This whole time, I'm frustrated, because I'm already spending money, and now I've spent my savings," said Bingham. "And now I'm trying to start all over, and every time I try to start, I'm having health problems."
So now he plans to auction off something very dear to his heart, the helmet he wore during the clean up. It's one of only twelve signed by celebrities and others who visited the site of the disaster.
"I want the baby to have a good life," said Bingham. "So that's more important than the helmet."
Bingham has his helmet on E-bay now, and it'll be posted until Christmas Day for bids.
http://www.wpde.com/news/viewarticle.asp?view=3330
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