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As the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 nears, many Americans are reflecting on what the historic event meant to them. Dr. David Abend, an editorial advisor to Family Practice News, is one of them.
Dr. Abend was halfway down the Garden State Parkway, on his way to teach a class and do rounds at Union (N.J.) Hospital, when he placed his usual Tuesday morning call to his father. He remembers the unusual worry in his father’s voice about not being able to contact his sister, who was then a lawyer working in Manhattan.
His father said that something had happened in the city, so Dr. Abend turned on the radio to hear that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center. He turned his car around and spent the rest of the day watching live news coverage with his family. (His sister did arrive home safely.)
Like many, he wanted to help. Finally, in October, Dr. Abend got the opportunity to volunteer his osteopathic skills in manipulative medicine to treat rescue workers and volunteers.
"I thought it was the right thing to do, given what I could offer ... It was either that or enlist. I was ready to just go," said Dr. Abend, who practices in Oradell, N.J.
Equipped with his hands, a heavy heart, and a portable osteopathic treatment table, he drove an hour to the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island where the rubble was being deposited. Having previously served as a police surgeon, he had the identification to work and commute without any difficulties.
He treated workers for severe neck and back pain, as well as headaches caused by stress, anxiety, and intense labor. He volunteered there for 6 months before he was called to work out of Nino’s, a lower Manhattan family restaurant that served meals and provided respite to Ground Zero workers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Dr. Abend spent hours treating hundreds of patients from the New York Police Department, the Port Authority Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Army, the New York City Fire Department, and the American Red Cross.
He swapped stories with first responders who were exhausted from working double and triple shifts.
"It was just a general feeling of camaraderie," Dr. Abend now recalls. "I had a new-found respect for New Yorkers and for how we all came together when I was down there."
This May, the American Red Cross recognized Dr. Abend for his extraordinary community service at its annual Touch of Red Gala. He was the only doctor of osteopathy recognized among the 16 other health care providers who were honored for their humanitarian efforts after a disaster.
Dr. Abend said the experience of volunteering at Fresh Kills and at Ground Zero strengthened his resolve in practicing osteopathic manipulative medicine.
"What I did there gave me a lot of confidence in my field," he said. "It’s kind of like being born again and saying, ‘You know, this stuff really matters.’ " He added that the ability to provide instant relief quickly established a rapport with those he treated.
Dr. Abend said that he hopes the medical community will recognize the power of osteopathic medicine, or what he calls the "best-kept secret" in the medical profession. "Those of us who have continued to embrace and give our patients this, it’s quite an advantage."
As the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 nears, many Americans are reflecting on what the historic event meant to them. Dr. David Abend, an editorial advisor to Family Practice News, is one of them.
Dr. Abend was halfway down the Garden State Parkway, on his way to teach a class and do rounds at Union (N.J.) Hospital, when he placed his usual Tuesday morning call to his father. He remembers the unusual worry in his father’s voice about not being able to contact his sister, who was then a lawyer working in Manhattan.
His father said that something had happened in the city, so Dr. Abend turned on the radio to hear that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center. He turned his car around and spent the rest of the day watching live news coverage with his family. (His sister did arrive home safely.)
Like many, he wanted to help. Finally, in October, Dr. Abend got the opportunity to volunteer his osteopathic skills in manipulative medicine to treat rescue workers and volunteers.
"I thought it was the right thing to do, given what I could offer ... It was either that or enlist. I was ready to just go," said Dr. Abend, who practices in Oradell, N.J.
Equipped with his hands, a heavy heart, and a portable osteopathic treatment table, he drove an hour to the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island where the rubble was being deposited. Having previously served as a police surgeon, he had the identification to work and commute without any difficulties.
He treated workers for severe neck and back pain, as well as headaches caused by stress, anxiety, and intense labor. He volunteered there for 6 months before he was called to work out of Nino’s, a lower Manhattan family restaurant that served meals and provided respite to Ground Zero workers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Dr. Abend spent hours treating hundreds of patients from the New York Police Department, the Port Authority Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Army, the New York City Fire Department, and the American Red Cross.
He swapped stories with first responders who were exhausted from working double and triple shifts.
"It was just a general feeling of camaraderie," Dr. Abend now recalls. "I had a new-found respect for New Yorkers and for how we all came together when I was down there."
This May, the American Red Cross recognized Dr. Abend for his extraordinary community service at its annual Touch of Red Gala. He was the only doctor of osteopathy recognized among the 16 other health care providers who were honored for their humanitarian efforts after a disaster.
Dr. Abend said the experience of volunteering at Fresh Kills and at Ground Zero strengthened his resolve in practicing osteopathic manipulative medicine.
"What I did there gave me a lot of confidence in my field," he said. "It’s kind of like being born again and saying, ‘You know, this stuff really matters.’ " He added that the ability to provide instant relief quickly established a rapport with those he treated.
Dr. Abend said that he hopes the medical community will recognize the power of osteopathic medicine, or what he calls the "best-kept secret" in the medical profession. "Those of us who have continued to embrace and give our patients this, it’s quite an advantage."
As the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 nears, many Americans are reflecting on what the historic event meant to them. Dr. David Abend, an editorial advisor to Family Practice News, is one of them.
Dr. Abend was halfway down the Garden State Parkway, on his way to teach a class and do rounds at Union (N.J.) Hospital, when he placed his usual Tuesday morning call to his father. He remembers the unusual worry in his father’s voice about not being able to contact his sister, who was then a lawyer working in Manhattan.
His father said that something had happened in the city, so Dr. Abend turned on the radio to hear that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center. He turned his car around and spent the rest of the day watching live news coverage with his family. (His sister did arrive home safely.)
Like many, he wanted to help. Finally, in October, Dr. Abend got the opportunity to volunteer his osteopathic skills in manipulative medicine to treat rescue workers and volunteers.
"I thought it was the right thing to do, given what I could offer ... It was either that or enlist. I was ready to just go," said Dr. Abend, who practices in Oradell, N.J.
Equipped with his hands, a heavy heart, and a portable osteopathic treatment table, he drove an hour to the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island where the rubble was being deposited. Having previously served as a police surgeon, he had the identification to work and commute without any difficulties.
He treated workers for severe neck and back pain, as well as headaches caused by stress, anxiety, and intense labor. He volunteered there for 6 months before he was called to work out of Nino’s, a lower Manhattan family restaurant that served meals and provided respite to Ground Zero workers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Dr. Abend spent hours treating hundreds of patients from the New York Police Department, the Port Authority Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Army, the New York City Fire Department, and the American Red Cross.
He swapped stories with first responders who were exhausted from working double and triple shifts.
"It was just a general feeling of camaraderie," Dr. Abend now recalls. "I had a new-found respect for New Yorkers and for how we all came together when I was down there."
This May, the American Red Cross recognized Dr. Abend for his extraordinary community service at its annual Touch of Red Gala. He was the only doctor of osteopathy recognized among the 16 other health care providers who were honored for their humanitarian efforts after a disaster.
Dr. Abend said the experience of volunteering at Fresh Kills and at Ground Zero strengthened his resolve in practicing osteopathic manipulative medicine.
"What I did there gave me a lot of confidence in my field," he said. "It’s kind of like being born again and saying, ‘You know, this stuff really matters.’ " He added that the ability to provide instant relief quickly established a rapport with those he treated.
Dr. Abend said that he hopes the medical community will recognize the power of osteopathic medicine, or what he calls the "best-kept secret" in the medical profession. "Those of us who have continued to embrace and give our patients this, it’s quite an advantage."