Article and Podcast Interview
Two-Time Survivor
Kayla’s personal story of surviving 9/11 and the unresolved trauma that followed.
iconic 9/11 image of kayla bergeron. Copyright Reuters.
Kayla Bergeron is pictured here, in the middle with a tan jacket near her face, as she emerged from the North Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11/01.
Out of the Ashes, Into the Fog
9/11 Survivor Finds Recovery 20 Years After Terror Attack
Kayla Bergeron bears no physical scars from the 9/11 attacks that occurred when she was at work in her office on the 68th floor of the World Trade Center in New York. A public information officer for The New York and New Jersey Port Authority, Kayla was one of the last survivors to emerge from the stairwell of the North Tower before the building collapsed.
While Kayla emerged a survivor on 9/11 when close to 3,000 others perished that day, her struggle to survive was only beginning.
***
“I had walked those stairs a hundred times. Now they were all that separated us from the devastation behind us and life in front of us.”
- Kayla Bergeron
Kayla was in full-on work mode the morning of 9/11/01, preparing for a meeting, when she felt the building sway some 10-feet. A Port Authority employee, Kayla knew the North Tower of the World Trade Center well and was confident in its ability to withstand. Switching gears, she began to put the agency’s emergency response plan into action, handling various administration-related tasks—including turning off her computer—before a security guard insisted that she must leave the building NOW.
Kayla joined a small group of people headed down the stairwell, and together they made their way down the 68 floors, a journey lasting about 45 minutes that at times was harrowing as they navigated through darkness, rushing water and stairwell obstructions, before finally emerging from the building.
“My mind couldn’t comprehend the devastation I was seeing,” said Kayla. “I could barely see or breathe. It was like Beirut.” She did not yet know that the dust and devastation were from the collapsed South Tower.
Minutes later, the command to “Run!” came from a police officer on the street. Exhausted from her descent from the stairwell, Kayla sneaked a peek over her shoulder then somehow found the energy to sprint (in pumps) some 16 blocks, doing her best to escape the rolling black cloud that had once been the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
***
Work was what saved Kayla immediately following the attacks. In fact, she claims she never left work mode on September 11, 2001, even while in the staircase.
After catching her breath and dusting herself off, Kayla regrouped what was left of her team and went back to work. The first order of business: Who from the Port Authority was alive? And who was missing and presumed dead?
An endless succession of funerals then followed. She attended 33 funerals of her fallen friends and coworkers. 72 Port Authority employees died that day, including her boss and mentor, Neil Levin, Director of the Port Authority.
***
Kayla never thought to worry about her own emotional and mental health state and the emotional toll that could occur from being a survivor of the 9/11 attacks. Nor did she receive help or assistance as a civilian survivor. Kayla dealt with it the only way she knew how—by numbing the pain with work.
“It was a gift at that time, I didn’t stop from work mode,” said Kayla.
In 2006, a job opportunity eventually brought Kayla to West Palm Beach, Florida. It was good, healing work but an eventual layoff and downsizing of the organization in 2011 and her mom’s cancer diagnosis added more pain to her unresolved trauma. Kayla numbed the pain with alcohol and isolation; she got a DUI but was too ashamed to tell her parents. She began to spiral after her mom passed away. Her drinking increased as her savings dwindled. Kayla eventually lost her home to foreclosure.
“The anxiety is so paralyzing; it affects you physically,” said Kayla.
Kayla’s father offered her a place to live in his home in Cumming, Georgia, just north of metro Atlanta. She found work at a Subway sub shop.
Not long after making the move to Georgia, Kayla was arrested for a second DUI.
It was this second arrest that finally put her on a path to healing and recovery.
“Rather than jail, I was given the option of going through Accountability Court,” said Kayla. The Forsyth County Court System has a comprehensive “Drug Court” program for those arrested and struggling with substance use disorder as an option to jail or costly rehab.
In this program, Kayla finally received help and counseling and a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
“I thought that was something that only impacted military people,” said Kayla. “I had no idea I had PTSD.”
“That program saved my life,” she said.
***
“After the 9/11 attacks, I think I just lost my way,” said Kayla. Encouraged throughout her life by her mom to get into public service and live a life with purpose,” Kayla began volunteering at The Connection, a non-profit addiction recovery support center in Cumming. Her many skills were of tremendous value to the small nonprofit. She soon transitioned to a full-time staff position.
As Program Director of The Connection, Kayla continues to work on her PTSD and her recovery from addiction. She also has the chance to serve others by sharing her story of trauma, hope and eventual recovery. She is a peer-certified recovery coach and is on the front lines of helping people, like herself, get the help they need.
Kayla also continues to work on self-care through equine therapy. The non-profit Special Equestrians of Georgia, located nearby in Milton, provides respite and continued healing for Kayla as she volunteers and helps care for the horses who in turn serve those with special needs. She calls the farm “Peaceville.”
“To have this opportunity at The Connection, I realized I have found my purpose again,” she said.
***
This September marks the 20-year anniversary of the terror attacks on the U.S. September is also National Recovery Awareness Month.
Special thanks to Kayla Bergeron for sharing her 9/11 survivor story and personal story of recovery and PTSD.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
The Connection: Theconnectionforsyth.org
Special Equestrians of Georgia: Specialequestrians.org
To listen to Kayla’s full interview on the Relevate Podcast: https://bit.ly/911survivorstory
Kayla cheers on Bill Whitney, Executive Director of The Connection, a nonprofit dedicated to providing free support services to those in recovery from substance use disorders.
