1979 was a memorable year in my life, but not only for the TMI accident.
My husband Jim and I were young parents of a thirteen month old. Jim worked for the state and I was a stay-at-home mom. On February 22nd I received a call that Jim had been in an accident on Route 322. As I later learned he was driving a state vehicle and slid on ice and hit a tractor trailer head on. I was relieved when I learned that Jim had broken his leg. Little did I know or understand the extent of his injuries with his femur bone having been pulverized I wouldn’t be taking him home that day. Jim would spend the next six weeks in traction in Polyclinic Hospital. After surgery and a lengthy stay he would return home three months later.
My life changed drastically in those few weeks. Life became a blur of hospital visits and finding child care for my son.
We had recently started attending a new church and they put faith to action and helped me with child care because we had no immediate family in the area.
Jim was especially nervous about me staying in the area.
Jim saw plenty of TV in the hospital and when the news started coming out about an accident at TMI, he followed intently.
My neighbor’s children were sent home from school on Friday, March 30. I remember being outside and it was warm that day and there was a metallic taste in the air. Some friends and I went to see Jim and celebrate my birthday that evening at the hospital. I spent my 29th birthday in the shadow of TMI.
Jim was especially nervous about me staying in the area. I finally, agreed I would take Ryan and we would go visit Jim’s mother in Philadelphia. I remember traveling through Lebanon to get to the turnpike trying to stay clear of the ten mile radius. I don’t remember much of our visit but my husband was relieved we were out of the area.
There was discussion about transporting patients from the hospital to Allentown or Maryland but it never happened.
We were glued to the TV
It was a confusing, frightening time because there were so many unknown things transpiring. We were glued to the TV and the news was not generally positive but Harold Denton from the NRC was a calming force. When Governor Thornburg and President Carter visited the area it also relieved some of our fears.
Later when I had my second child in 1981, I was contacted for a study and responded to some questions. I never heard anything about those results. Being an educator, I sometimes would hear teachers jokingly referring to difficult classes because they had been TMI babies.
Ruth
