Letter from Will Rivera

9/11 Has Lasting Health Impacts

In 2015, while serving survivors of violence in Otsego County and caring for my newborn daughter, I was diagnosed with a 9/11-related cancer. I grew up just blocks from Ground Zero, and years after the attacks, the toxic air we breathed caught up with me. What I thought was a routine emergency room visit turned into a fight for my life: three years of chemotherapy, radiation and a stem-cell transplant.

What carried me through was my family and Oneonta. Neighbors brought food, checked on us, raised funds for medical costs and gave my family strength when we felt most alone. Their support taught me what community really means and reminded me that none of us makes it through hard times without one another.