Mother, Son Share Birthing Experience on Sept. 11

Most everyone you talk to can remember with vivid detail where they were and what they were doing on Sept. 11.

Not many were in the middle of what would turn out to be one of the happiest days of their lives.

In the minutes between the first tower being struck and the devastating news that the second tower had come under attack, Sigale was giving birth to her oldest son, Matthew.

“It was a scheduled C-section that morning at Edward Hospital,” she said. “The doctors and nurses were in the recover room watching the TV in disbelief. It was seven days in the hospital, watching video over and over.”

Sigale said it was hard making phone calls letting her close friends and family knowing that the newest member of their family had been born and was completely healthy.

For Matthew, now 10 years old, still finds it hard to grasp the magnitude and significance of the day.

“It was a sad day to be born on because that is when the Twin Towers were knocked down,” he said. “No one believes me (that I was born on that day).”

But year-by-year, Matthew’s mother fills him in on a bit more.

“At each age, we have shared with him what happened the day he was born and each year, the questions are different,” she said.

Nikki Sigale said Matthew’s personality is representative of how Americans were defined in the weeks and months after the tragic terrorist events.

“He is a smart, caring kid that always cheers on the underdog, finds the kids sitting alone at the playground and asks them to play,” she said. “He is just a joy to be around with a smile a mile wide.”