As many of you know, someone very important to me was on the 35W bridge when it collapsed on August 1, 2007. Erica was on the southbound side of the bridge. She was leaving a voice message for one of her friends when you can hear a waver in her voice. Suddenly she starts calling out. Listening to that voice message was very difficult.

Thankfully, those weren't Erica’s last words in this life. But the horror of that day lingers for her. Erica has suffered every day since the tragedy, both emotionally (over what she experienced and saw) and physically—she herniated two disks in her back and has been going to physical therapy ever since. Both of these factors have caused Erica to miss a lot of work, and it seems likely that the effects of that August day will continue to hamper her for the rest of her life.

Erica’s story is frightening, and yet it isn’t the worst. There were many people more severely injured, and 12 groups of families and friends lost someone important to them that day. There is little that can compensate for a collection of such pain, but it is the responsibility of some to attend to the great needs that manifested themselves that fateful day.

Unfortunately, the Minnesota state government has capped the amount of money that they are going to give to the bridge victims.

What does that mean? Under the current system of compensation, Erica would receive nothing and be left to deal with the future management and financial burdens that she will undoubtedly face her in the years to come—alone.

That is not an acceptable solution.

Below is a website where The Bridge Victims are requesting help to encourage the state legislature to create a compensation plan that can actually compensate. I am asking that you tell your friends and family about the site. We need to write letters and leave voice messages to our congressmen (state and federal), letters and calls to the Governor and letters to the local paper stating the current proposal is not a solution.

We cannot let the 35W bridge victims continue to be victims. They need your help, still.

www.35wbridge.com

This next link is another link posted by a bridge victim who talks about her experience and the role her faith played in it all.

www.survive35w.com