Robyn Bloem holds a frame with pictures of her daughter
Lindsay Bloem who was eight months pregnant when the
Sept. 11 terror attacks occurred. She and her family attended
a prayer session at that church that night. Driving separately
from her family, Lindsay's car was involved in a car crash in
which she and her baby died.
GRAND RAPIDS
Robyn Bloem’s story about her daughter’s death touched a retired New York City firefighter.
Her daughter, Lindsay Bloem Hoover, eight months pregnant, died Sept. 11, 2001, in a crash as she left a prayer vigil in Grand Rapids, MI for victims of the terror attacks.
Bloem, who shared the story at a conference in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., said her daughter felt a need to do what she could.
After the mother spoke, the firefighter approached. He explained that he had worked for the New York Fire Department. He worked at ground zero. He retired, but only after the ruins of the World Trade Center had been cleared. But what he really wanted Bloem to know was this: “When you said your daughter prayed for us, I sat here the rest of the morning, thinking, ‘We couldn’t have done it without the prayers of your daughter."
The words floored her. They brought such comfort.
As the nation marks the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks today, family and friends of Lindsay Bloem Hoover, 19, and her unborn child, Emily Hope Hoover, will think of them in a candlelight memorial tonight at 8:30 pm at 3343 Alpine Ave., NW, in Walker, where the crash occurred. The family — including her father, Steven, and brothers, Steven Jr., 31, Brant, 26, and Tyler, 21 — will release sky lanterns, while local musicians lead praise songs. They will remember “two more” victims of the terror attacks.
Bloem remembered the horror of that day.
Her daughter, upset and frightened by the attacks, called her several times. She wanted to help, too. She and her family attended a prayer vigil at Alpine Baptist Church that night.“She wasn’t a firefighter or first responder. She did what she could as a Christian: pray,” her mother said.
Her daughter left the service to pick up her husband, William Hoover III, at work. Her parents and two of three brothers trailed in another vehicle. They were right behind when a drugged driver’s car crossed into her path.She was trapped inside. Twisted metal wouldn’t budge. The mother screamed for help. Someone called 911, and police, firefighters and paramedics showed up. Pastors, too. Then, a police officer asked Robyn and Steve Bloem to get into a police car.
“We have to talk to you,” the officer said.
Lindsay and her husband were going to set up a crib the next day. She would have been a terrific mother, her mother said. She was a “sweet, sweet girl.”
She had a nurturing side that began as a girl. She let classmates win “musical chairs” rather than grab the last seat. Her dad called her the “advocatus” because she always came to others’ defense. She was especially protective of her youngest brother, Tyler. When he took trombone lessons, she told him he did a great job.“She would say, ‘Now, be quiet — let him play,’” their mother recalled.
After Lindsay died, Tyler lost interest in playing music. Family encouraged him, but it wasn’t the same.The sudden loss is was made even worse for Bloem when she saw the grief on the faces of her other children.
Bloem also thinks of her niece, who collapsed upon getting the news.
She imagined that scene playing out at thousands of homes after the Twin Towers came down. In a way, the losses kept some of Lindsay’s family from feeling alone.
There is an imprisoned driver responsible for Lindsay’s death.
But for her family, the national tragedy and personal tragedy will always be linked. Lindsay is never far from their thoughts.
But it is hard, too, the constant reminders coming with the 10th anniversary, her mother said.
“Whenever they say there were (about 3,000) people that died, I always think, ‘There were two more." E-mail John Agar: jagar@grpress.com
If you would like to see a video of the above event please folow the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFtc5mU1h08
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