 But Kirsten's diagnosis with this terminal condition at age seven was just one of the serious events her family had to deal with that year. In 2001, they were living in New York in an apartment just blocks away from the World Trade Center. Kirsten, her brother, and her mother were right next to the North Tower on September 11th at the exact moment of the attack on the building. So I should have already been in school that morning, but we were running late.