They can stop this human disaster: A misdiagnosis story

Serving with the Morris County, N.J., sheriff's office, Jeffrey Endean arrived at Ground Zero on 9/11 when, he remembers, The Pile "looked like a war zone or a peek into hell." It was both. For two months, Jeffrey worked in a landscape he described yesterday as "surreal" and "terrifying," and soon breathing difficulties forced his retirement. "The coughing would be violent, with my eyes bulging," he said.

He went to the doctor. He was misdiagnosed with colds and allergies, and it was only in 2005 that he began getting proper care through the World Trade Center health program at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Now 57, he suffers from scarring and thickening of the lungs, a form of asthma called reactive airways distress syndrome, severe acid reflux, chronic headaches, post-traumatic stress disorder and more.

Jeffrey appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions in an effort to persuade the government to fund first-class medical care for the forgotten victims of 9/11. "We could not stop the attacks, death and continued casualties of 11 September," Jeffrey told the senators. "You have the ability to stop the human disaster."

Mayor Bloomberg testified that 45,000 workers and volunteers from all 50 states pitched in at Ground Zero. He cited studies documenting that many are sick and added that "thousands of residents, commercial workers and others have reported experiencing acute breathing problems, worsening asthma, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses which require sustained care."

Advice for 9/11 cleanup workers: Contact the Mount Sinai Medical Center about their World Trade Center health program.

Read another misdiagnosis story, or read the New York Daily News editorial.