On Sept. 11, 2001, Dolores Elementary fifth-grader Jeremiah Torres was one day old and struggling.
He was born early, at 24 weeks. He was born weighing 1-pound, 9-ounces and his chances of survival were slim.
Most people remember exactly where they were on that day, the day that the world watched as planes took down the World Trade Center, but to Troylene Torres, the day was fuzzy. It was a day filled with nurses, doctors and the sterile quiet inside the Presbyterian/St. Lukes Medical Center in Denver.
Every time I work up, the same thing was on TV, Torres said of her hospital stay. Everyone was quiet. I just thought they were watching a bad movie.
The previous day, Torres knew something wasnt right with her pregnancy. She had just been shopping for maternity clothes in Farmington, she was barely showing.
Torres went to the hospital. She was in labor.
She was then taken by ambulance to the airport in Durango. She flew out on an airplane and then a helicopter took her to the hospital.
Jeremiah was born at 2:11 a.m. on the 10th.
They let me see him for one second. He was this teeny, tiny face.
He was given a small percent chance of survival. Was hooked to tubes, placed in an incubator and put under lights.
When Torres was told about the attacks, the news started to sink in.
And then, she was thankful she didnt go into labor one day later, planes were grounded.
They couldnt have flown him out, let alone both of us, she said. He was so early, he needed stat-of-the-art care. Today, it is rare for a premature baby to survive born at 23 weeks.
Today, Jeremiah is an active boy, a quiet boy to those who first meet him. He likes spending time with his family, helping on the family ranch and riding horses.
He knows (about the attacks) because everyone talks about them, but I dont think he knows what could have happened, she said.
