Red Cross Blogs

How the Red Cross helped put my life together

By Mark Cox
December 14, 2010 at 4:06 pm

When mum-to-be Elizabeth Turner lost her husband during 9/11, the Red Cross was there to offer support. Now a successful author, Elizabeth is determined to give something back.

I never imagined in a million years when I was seven months pregnant with my first child that my life was about to change beyond all recognition. I was happily planning my maternity leave and sorting out a newly-renovated house with my husband Simon for the arrival of our baby. We were so excited.

We just had to get his trip to New York out the way as he had promised it would be his last before the baby was due. Simon flew out to host a conference on the 106th floor of the World Trade Centre in Manhattan for three days. It started on Tuesday 11th September 2001.

That morning I watched on television as two planes flew into the buildings in which my husband was working and our normal life was literally blown to pieces.

My family and friends were amazing as they rushed around to help me come to terms not only with what had just happened to our lives, but also the very real prospect that the baby would be born prematurely. The whole world fell into chaos as did my own private world. Bank accounts were frozen, the Metropolitan police arrived – as did the national press – and I was unable to answer my own door or phone in a vain attempt to protect myself from the very public event in which Simon died.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter how enormous the events were on that day; my husband was dead and I had suddenly become a 33-year-old widow – and I was just about to add single parent to the list too. I was terrified.

That was where the Red Cross stepped in. I had always assumed the organisation was there to help victims in far-flung third world countries and had never imagined I’d actually be on the receiving end of the generosity of people from all over the world.

At the most fearful and darkest time in my life, when I was terrified at how the future would look on my own with a small child, the Red Cross came and offered their hand. They helped me while I sorted out my financial situation and helped me pay for a maternity nurse so I wouldn’t be on my own. (My family all lived in North England and my Mum was also very ill at the time.)

I couldn’t have put my life back together if the Red Cross hadn’t helped me, so now I feel the least I can do is keep raising money for them. I have recently done a sponsored slim, which raised approximately £800.

I have also written a book about my own journey through grief called The Blue Skies of Autumn and I had always promised myself that some of the proceeds from the sale of my book would be donated to the Red Cross too. It will be my Christmas present to someone else.

Thank you to everyone at the Red Cross who helped me. Now I get to help others.

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Tags: fundraising, volunteer, Volunteering

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 14th, 2010 at 4:06 pm and is filed under Fundraising and events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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