The Woman Who Wasn't There Page #2

of my lungs like a,

like a change in pressure.

I, then I was flying.

I was flying through the air

from the impact.

I was just flying.

I remember very well the pain of

hitting the wall,

the marble wall, and then I,

then I remember the warmth from,

from the explosion, and then I

passed out.

[Fire sounds]

My back was, was on fire and my

arm, and I was,

I was smelling my own skin

burning.

I remember Welles Crowder, the

man with the red bandanna.

He had some type of cloth,

and I felt him use that to, to

put the flames out,

and um, he hugged me, and he

said, um,

"Just stay awake. Stay awake.

Help is coming."

[MUSIC]

I was, I was in the hospital

until Thanksgiving,

November, 2001, and my back was

really burned

and my arm was burned and I

couldn't walk.

So, I was in a wheelchair.

I couldn't even pull myself on

the wheelchair

because I only had one good arm.

(Laughs)

So, you know, between the

wheelchair, the trauma,

the loss, I, I didn't know where

to start.

It was just too hard.

It was like looking at a

mountain

that was 20,000 feet tall.

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

BRENDAN:
My story was so

insignificant

to what she went through that my

first reaction

writing to her was, "That's

horrible,"

and, "I don't belong in this

group,"

and a lot of people wrote that,

and she was very supportive,

saying, "No, you do.

You know, what we all went

through was equally important."

ELIA:
She was fabulous.

Here's this person who went

through so much

that who in the world could

possibly survive this,

yet she's a survivor.

Here she is. She's a survivor!

[MUSIC]

TANIA HEAD:
I think you find

that by talking to other people

and helping others, getting

involved,

it helps carry your own burden,

and I think that's how you mask

it.

You, you kind of, um hide your

pain

by getting involved helping

others.

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

GERRY BOGACZ:
I became aware of

Tania,

and I was very curious as to how

she got through all that.

It was a story that pulled you

in, obviously.

But I did notice that her arm

was, looked like it had been,

I don't know, it almost looked

like skin grafts

on her right arm,

and I remember thinking that it

didn't look like

it had been burned.

GERRY BOGACZ:
I had felt mad at

myself for even thinking

that there was something amiss,

but I often wonder why I was

even asking the question.

[MUSIC]

GERRY BOGACZ:
I first

encountered Tania Head

on the Internet group.

We began having an email

conversation,

and she shared her story with

me,

and I shared my story with her,

which is kind of normal for

survivors to do.

I was struck by how dramatic her

story was.

GERRY BOGACZ:
It was pervasive.

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