Debilitating cough
Following 9/11, Shawn experienced his first health-related issue by November, which was an uncontrollable cough. His doctor said he had the World Trade Center cough from being around all that dust.
“It didn’t go away,” Shawn said. “What the World Trade Center cough was and is and turned out to be is chronic acute bronchitis.”
He described how the cough was very debilitating, saying he would be fine during a live TV hit, but when the report went to a soundbite, he would cough uncontrollably; by the time he came back on air, he would be fine again.
Shawn went on to describe how he suffered from gastroesophageal reflux, which he has since recovered from. When he went to see his pulmonologist, he was told he has every mark for asthma, without actually having asthma.
He also started experiencing elevated PSA levels, suggesting he had “the highest probable level of cancer cells.” Shawn said it turned out to be PI-RADS 5, and he is currently under active surveillance, getting checked every three months.
In addition, Shawn explained that, because of the dust, he has skin cancer, and the only reason he brought up the issue a year ago on Fox News was to point out how widespread the illnesses are.
“There are now 50,000 people who have 9-11-related illnesses, and that is a tragic, sad, new legacy,” Shawn pointed out. “I’m not the story. The story is the widespread grief and tragedy of so many people being sick.”
Shawn added that he is very fortunate he is in good hands, but noted there are still victims dying from the actions of al-Qaeda: “People are dying from al-Qaeda today, quietly in their bedrooms, quietly in hospital beds. It’s from the al-Qaeda attack,” he said.
He went on to say, “The victims were not just that day, but they will grow, and they are continuing, and I think that’s something important as part of the legacy to take away from what happened.”
You have to climb the stairs
Looking back on 9/11 coverage, the journalist recalled a sobering impression of Ground Zero: “I’ve been in war zones, and I’ve covered war zones, and it was beyond imagination. The horror, the astounding shock of seeing those gleaming, glorious Twin Towers reduced to this smoking rubble,” he said.
Shawn added that the acrid smell of the metal was piercing, and he can still smell it to this day. He pointed out that seeing it on television does not do justice to the devastation and the shock.
Knowing what he knows, and the consequences of his actions, would he still have done what he did on that day?
“I would not have changed a thing. That’s what we do,” Shawn said. “Jimmy Breslin, the great New York columnist, said you have to climb the stairs. You have to go there. You have to go see what the story is. You have to tell the humanitarian stories of the rescue workers, of the firefighters, of the police officers, the bravery, the selfless bravery. That was one of the worst days in American history and for humanity, but it also brought out some of the best of humanity.”
