ORLANDO, Fla. — People in Central Florida and across the nation will spend this weekend remembering the terror that unfolded on Sept. 11, 2001.
More than 3,000 people died at the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and when a fourth plane went down in a Pennsylvania field.
Channel 9 spoke with former NYPD sergeant Nancy Rosado, who rushed into action during the terrorist attacks.
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She brought what she experienced in 9/11 to Central Florida to help other first responders cope with their trauma.
“I don’t care what you saw on TV,” Rosado said. “And it was right for media to minimize that. But it rained people and what you got to see was people making the very last decision of their lives.”
Rosado was one of the first people on the scene and rushed to the World Trade Center to move people nearby to safety.
In all the initial chaos, she said her mind protected her from what might hurt you.
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The next day, Rosado returned to the towers and offered mental health counseling and comfort to first responders.
On her days off, she’d search for survivors.
She consoled upwards of 1,200 first responders after the attack. Five months later, she realized the attack had affected her too.
She was one of the many diagnosed with PTSD.
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Rosado moved to Central Florida 14 years ago. She has glass from the scene, a piece from the tower, the hat from that shift and she takes the memory of that into work with her every day.
She works for UCF Restores Now and helps to treat trauma for first responders and diagnose them with PTSD.
See more in the video above.
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