[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 149 (Thursday, November 1, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S11356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN MEMORY OF KATHY T. NGUYEN

  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, yesterday, we received tragic news: 
Kathy Nguyen, a 61-year old Bronx woman who worked at the Manhattan 
Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital on East 64th Street, passed away from 
inhalation anthrax. Her death, she is the fourth person in our country 
to die from anthrax, has saddened New York, and our entire country. Ms. 
Nguyen, who worked at the hospital since 1991, was a clerk in the 
stockroom in the basement of the hospital.
  Ms. Nguyen came to America from Vietnam in 1977 with the help of a 
New York City police officer. Like many refugees from Vietnam, she left 
without any money, and started a new life for herself in America. She 
settled in the Bronx' Crotona Park East area near the Bronx River. She 
married an American, but later divorced. They had a son, who tragically 
died in a car accident years ago.
  Ms. Nguyen's friends and neighbors have spoken kindly about the tiny, 
generous woman who had no family of her own, but always inquired about 
their families. She enjoyed cooking meals for her neighbors and their 
families, even sharing Thanksgiving dinner, and was known for her 
fondness for offering coworkers food.
  Working afternoons and evenings at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat 
Hospital, Ms. Nguyen was responsible for stocking the emergency room 
and operating rooms with medicine and instruments. She sometimes 
returned home as late as 11pm. Her neighbors noted her late working 
hours and said that she was planning on retiring. Although she did not 
handle mail, it has been reported that the supply room where she worked 
was adjacent to the hospital's mailroom.
  Last Thursday night, Ms. Nguyen complained to her neighbors that she 
was feeling ill, but she brushed it off as a cold. She went to work as 
usual on Friday, but by Sunday night, she felt worse and the 
superintendent of her building brought her to the emergency room at the 
Lennox Hill Hospital. She was in critical condition in the intensive 
care unit with pneumonia and was placed on a respirator. Initial tests 
showed anthrax and additional tests confirmed the diagnosis on Tuesday 
afternoon. Although she fought hard to battle this terrible infection, 
she passed away.
  Ms. Nguyen was too ill to aid investigators who sought to retrace her 
movements before she became sick to determine the source of the anthrax 
and it remains a mystery. Federal and local health officials are 
vigorously pursuing all avenues to uncover the source of the anthrax 
that sickened Ms. Nguyen.
  I know that Ms. Nguyen's friends and neighbors will miss her greatly. 
Her kindness and concern for her neighbors were a special part of the 
Bronx neighborhood where she lived. Her everyday courtesies, in a city 
that is known for its anonymity and incredible size, made the world a 
little smaller, and a little nicer, for her neighbors.

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