Thats 600 miles round trip. Do i have a green right . You have a red one right there. This is my 278th trip to washington, d. C. Thats 278 times. Thats 600 miles round trip. Thats enough to circumnavigate the earth three times. Yeah. Thats why im cranky. Thats why im mad. This sucks. This country was based on volunteerism. [john] weve had to fight, overcome every obstacle, every hurdle for almost 18 years. Im, like, ive been vacillating from like being incredibly sad to, like, incredibly mad, to being nervous, to being, you know. Why . Why are you nervous . I dont wanna f this up for everybody, you know. Couldve called it quits and go get a beer. [jon] its insane, right . Were gonna testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee to hopefully give some insight into congress as to why 9 11 survivors and victims are dying. [man] because i know you left your business, your talk show and stuff to come to this and its so important now. Yeah. How do you feel, like you made the right move . Oh, listen, i mean were. Hes fighting. Were gonna keep fighting until we dont have to fight anymore. Hes fighting for people that are sick and dying, of course, he made the right move. For people who say democracy is working, it works for some. It should work for everybody. [dramatic music playing] [kenny] i pretty much know when i got sick i was here. I believe it was the third day after the incident, they put me and another Police Officer next to a hole in the ground, that was probably about 15 feet across. And in that hole was a fire. You would see the heat waves coming about three or four feet out of the hole. And then it was like a birthday cake, they were different layers of cloud. It was white and gray and then it ended in black. And at the top of the cloud that was probably five feet high, it was actually snowing ash out of cloud. And we will be in covered with ash and i was breathing in in that stuff i believe is. From that day forward, i had what they later deemed. Excuse me, i have problems with my. Catching my breath, they later deemed the World Trade Center cough. I coughed from that day for the next five years, every day, all the time even in my sleep, i would cough. [dr. Luft] oh, on 9 11, you had a true disaster that was almost incomprehensible. It was a tremendous amount of toxins in that environment. There were mutagens and carcinogens, things that could cause nerve damage. Theres a variety of other toxins that were there. [michael] my legs were blown up two times the size of it overnight. I had like these blisters all over my legs, didnt know what that was from. I had a high fever. Before we knew, i was in a hospital bed getting ready to be cut open and they were Gonna Biopsy One of the lymph nodes in my chest. And some pulmonologist happened to walk in and pulled the sheet of my legs and he said something thats called sarcoidosis. [cindy] your skin is the largest organ on your body and dermal exposure is our largest root right now, but were swallowing it. Were literally inhaling it. And our protective equipment is not made to protect us from the carcinogens. Its made to protect us from the heat of fire. [richard] the pundits at the time, the medical experts that told us that possibly we might find cancers ten to 20 years down the road and we started finding them almost immediately within two years, which is unprecedented. [ray] you know, one toxin over time will give you cancer. But 2500 different chemicals mixed together, we were lab rats. [dr. Wilkenfeld] think about a halogen light bulb, right, with the trace of mercury in it, okay . You break a light bulb, youre not worried that youre gonna get mercury poisoning. You break 2,000,000 light bulbs, okay, its a lot of mercury. [cindy] weve heard some stories of folks that were identified by carrying other persons dna or traces of other persons body fluids. This is something weve never seen before and hopefully we never will again. [kenny] do we know we were gonna get sick . We joked about it. The fires burned for three months. We were putting fires out for three months. [ray] the responders, they were digging on the pile without sleeping, 24 hours a day for days. So youre talking about a longterm massive exposure, versus a much shorter term, much lower exposure. [dr. Luft] in the way that these toxins act, because they dont act necessarily, immediately. They can get into our bodies, they can get into our tissues, they can get into our dna, and those things can only manifest themselves later on in life. [stephen] my son, robert c. Grossman, a Police Officer, went up here on the first time on this wall when we built the park. He remembers he was shaving and he started feeling on his face and felt funny, wound up, going to a doctor who told him he had this brain tumor. 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Not at tmobile they have plans that make upgrades work for you. They even have a plan which makes you upgrade ready every year. Thanks ben now can i do the thing . Do the thing excellent take charge of your upgrades with our best go5g plans at tmobile. Lets have a huddle you dont know what huddle is do you . No. Tourists tourists that turn into scientists. Tourists photographing thousands of miles of remote coral reefs. That can be analyzed by ai in real time. So researchers can identify which areas are at risk. And help life underwater flourish. [dog barks] [john] seven, come here, baby. Come on, go get him. [dog pants] [john] her name is seven. And i named her after where i got hurt at building 7. Love you, baby. And seven is a cool name, right . All right. Get your stick. Now go. Hey. Go. Come on, girl. Sit. Hey, easy. [dr. Luft] john feal is an extraordinary person. Go that way. [dr. Luft] i think that people dont fully understand or comprehend how important he is. [indistinct chatter] [dr. Luft] john really put the whole idea of advocacy, Patient Advocacy on its head. [dr. Wilkenfeld] his advocacy and his dedication has helped Tens Of Thousands of people to get medical care and survive. So he. Hes actually responsible for saving a lot of lives. [dr. Luft] they went from being heroes to being victims. And what john feal did is that he said, no. You are heroes. And the world needs to recognize what your condition is. [john] ive had people call me a cop, fire fighter, thats just not the case. Hey, yeah, a lot of people call me a first responder, too, but i wind up correcting them. I was. I responded to 9 11. I was hired and i went to ground zero to delegate orders, but i wound up working because, how can you not get involved . It was about 5 30, had about half an hour left in my shift and i went back to trucks and as close as i could to the pile to load debris on the trucks. There was a piece of steel on its side that was being torched to fit the next truck, the truck was backing up. The person on the other side wasnt taller than the piece of steel that he was cutting on its side. That steel tipped over that truck was coming this way, i jumped out of the way because i thought i was Gonna Be A Truck Steel Sandwich and it got my foot. They did two Emergency Surgeries that night, theyre called debridements. Nine days later, i got gangrene and the doctors like, you know, you could die because youre septic, your organs will shut down. And then it was, youre gonna lose your leg. And then it was the next week, youre gonna lose your leg below your knee. And then eventually, it was like you will lose your foot. Let us take part of it now. And, you know, i was never that close to death. [dramatic music playing] [john] i was denied the first vcf because i didnt fit the timeframe, you know, anybody hurt after 96 hours, i got hurt at, like, 120something hours. All the benefits that i paid into, i was. I was like, why am i having to fight for workmans comp . All three companies, because i was subbed out to a company Who Subbed Me Out to a company, Who Subbed Me Out to a company. They fought on who was gonna pay me in court. Meanwhile, im losing everything. [chris] during that period, ive seen him fight from nothing. I mean trying to live day to day with no. Not being able to work, waiting for, you know, workers comp, waiting, you know, just some type of help. [dramatic music playing] [john] and, you know, my parents raised me, always fight for what you believe in. Be respectful, but fight. And i fought. But then at the time, i was going to therapy physically and mentally. And in the process, i started going to Support Groups and, you know. You know the old saying, you always meet somebody worse off than you, and i see these guys married with kids and theyre losing their houses, their health. [chris] thats what, you know, led that fire inside him to really, you know, step up and help these people. That people shouldnt be going through this when they tried to do the right thing. [john] but the whole process started, i started helping others. You know, i. When i was going to Support Groups, everybody was like, hey, i heard you were that guy that got. You know, i heard you were that guy. And then i was just be like, whoa, alls you gotta do is this. And then, you know, one thing lead to another, like, well, start a foundation, and i was like, what . How do you spell foundation . You know. But again, i surrounded myself with good people and, yeah, thats how it all started. [dramatic music playing] [john] ray pfeifer. [door knocks] [ray] come on in. Coming in. [ray] i got the gate. Hey, doggies. [dog barking] hey, hey, hey. Hey. I shaved for this event. I was thinking about it, but i dont know if im going to. When im in uniform, i dont like to be. Because its not in our dress code. [john] tomorrow well be doing the reading of the names, so the park that we built, called the 9 11 responders remembered park is a park dedicated to those who died since 9 11 from their illnesses. Tomorrow well add 61 names to the wall. Those names will be read followed by the ringing of a bell. At our events, we give the flag that flew over the park to an honoree, and tomorrows recipient will be ray phifer, rays had stage four cancer since 2009. Hopefully, it will be a moving tribute to a Living Legend in the 9 11 community. So, how do you feel . Me . I got cancer. Well, how the hell do you think i feel . Whatd the doctor say . Doctor says im gonna die, just doesnt know when. [john] hows your leg . [ray] well, its all good. No big deal. Who can complain . You could, but not me. I complain all the time. [laughs] [john] are you ready for tomorrow . I am ready. Not about me, but im ready. [dramatic music playing] [indistinct chatter] [jon] somebody smells like a hero, somebody smells like a beautiful. [ray] oh, there he is. How are you . Oh, my god. Good. Whats up with you . Last week, i found out that the tumor shrunk. Now, this is. Hey. You know, so it shrunk and now im on steroids. Once i get off the steroids, then im gonna be able to walk because, its in. Its on the brain stem. Oh hes juicing. I knew he was juicing. [ray laughing] with steroids. If you saw me, i looked like. I looked like. Hey. [jon laughs] [ray] i got a cankles. [john] dude, his diet is steroids and Johnny Walker black. There you go. Two fingers every day. Two fingers. Please. You should have four. You earned four, for gods sake. Im the luckiest. Please. And i would say it all the time, im the luckiest guy out there, i really am. Yeah, you know . This is gonna be some day, though, this is nice. Yeah. [jon] Sergeant James betso, nypd. [bell dings] [jon] joseph t. Callahan, fdny. [bell dings] keith m. Loughlin, fdny. [bell dings] [jon] charles s. Szoke, fdny. [bell dings] [ray] this event was over the top. Ive been to several. But like i said, any time you get to tell a story, its a good day. Anybody who wants to get a selfie or jon stewart autograph . Please wait till the meeting finishes. Anybody who wants to have their park or lawn designed and manicured by john feal also come up. He will design. He does tremendous work. Topiary, engraving, truly reasonable prices, john feal. All right. [cheers and applause] colbert was my first choice. [laughter] why do you get to be in the middle . Because i got a wheelchair. What . But what happens if we went like this . Well, itd be off balance. [jon] yeah, it doesnt work. It doesnt work. Why . So why cant you be all balance . Why is everything have to be balanced . Come on, you design the park. You know. And i would say i think that. I think that one is sinking. Can i borrow some money . [jon] i hope you someday take the time to step back and see what youve done. One day, not now. All right. But thank you. All right. I could say that to you though. I love you. I love you more. Good man. Thank you, sir. Byebye. [indistinct chatter] [dramatic music playing] introducing new Buttermilk Biscuits in sweet and savory flavors. So, everyone can have their perfect biscuit. Or add one on the side. Get a breakfast biscuit sandwich with a side for just Seven Dollars for a limited time. You were always so dedicated. We worked hard to build up the shop, save for college and our retirement. But we got there, thanks to our advisor and vanguard. Now i see who all that hard work was for. It was always for you. Seeing you carry on our legacy im so proud. At vanguard, youre more than just an investor, youre an owner. Setting up the future for the ones you love. Thats the value of ownership. [dramatic music playing] [dog barking] [bird chirping] [ken] i met john at Suffolk Community college. Honey, im home. Talking about the healthcare, trying to get the healthcare going, and john was up on stage. John said that with his half of foot he was gonna stick it up some congressmans. Butt, you know. And thats how i met john and weve been friends ever since. Found a dollar. Oh, jeez. [laughing] i worked for New York City. Okay. Highway department for 20 years. On september 11, 2001 i was called down to assist with search and rescue. [john] why werent you there saturday . I was sick as a dog. I lost one teeth. Yeah, uhhuh. [ken] 2006, i got so sick that they forced me to retire. So the only thing you basically worrying about is your family, you know, because you know your life is cut short. You know its just a matter of time. Because i never got so sick and john has seen it from one thing to another, you know, from having a 9 11 cough to a heart attack in 05, to the lung diseases, to the ptsd, to my bones deteriorating, to my teeth popping out, its just, like, one thing after another. And, you know. And nobody understands it unless you are there, or you have someone like john to explain it you, like, one lady said to me you have to forget about 9 11. I got to take 32 pills a day. I never took pills in my life until i got sick. [ken coughs] so i take a cocktail, like, john says, i put them in a. Basically a shot glass and i just do a quick hit, you know. I take four xanax, this i take four tabs, four of these, i got my heart, ptsd, lungs, the cough, the stomach, the gastro reflux. I take five for the heart, this ambien help me sleep. If i turn that, the aspirin, the avapro, the plavix, six for the ptsd, cough syrup, and all the Asthma Medications with the inhalant and nebulizer. I got to use this when nobodys around, because its embarrassing, like, i was telling john. You know, put it on. And i have a button and then this hooks up with my belt. Why is it embarrassing . You know, i. What do you mean its embarrassing . You have no reason to be embarrassed. Thats. Ridunculous, stop. [marc] a simple medicine like a respiratory medicine could cost 300 a month, and that could be one medicine. A lot of people are on multiple medicines. Um, you talk about medicines for cancer, youre talking about thousands of dollars. Um, you talk about psychiatric medicine its also very, very expensive. Uh, one of the first bills i got would. Uh, 200,000, like, looking at this thing is, like, how the heck am i. And i had a good insurance. I had good insurance from my job but it doesnt pay for everything. Insurance doesnt pay for your medications. Insurance doesnt pay for your copayments. When a doctor tells you get a mri, which is 3,000 here in new york, im covered, but then he wants another one, its not covered. Youre only allowed one a year. So then he wants bloodwork, youre allowed, like, four a year, he wanted twelve. So now its snowballing. Ive seen patients that they were cutting their pills in half. You give someone three months worth of medicine, right, and they come back and they see