Mods, please indulge me: Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers

[Doctor P]

I haven't been on the boards much the past few weeks and hate to return with a post like this, but the DVC boards have been my home for most of my time on the DIS so I thought this would be the appropriate place to make this post (I also posted a response in the Chicago area DIS'ers ongoing Community Board thread since there were some inquiring about my DW and I in that thread).

Some of you who I have met may know that I am a professor and department level administrator at Northern Illinois University. My department office is just a matter of a few yards from the lecture hall where the Valentine's Day shooting took place, and a few feet (maybe 30 or 40) from the back door the shooter used to enter the stage area. Last Thursday, I was overloaded in work at my other office and chose not to walk over to the department offices even though I was acting chair due to the chair's absence on that day. Instead, I spent the afternoon about 150 yards away in my other office working on department business and paperwork in my quieter office.

I will spare the details of my afternoon after the shooting started, but I will say that I am still shaken by the turn of events as you might imagine. One of my job responsibilities is to oversee the advising of our department's undergraduate students. I expect that this will be a difficult task over the next several weeks and months as things hit people in different ways. We will begin training in a couple days to prepare for the return of all of the students to campus for classes.

Please keep all of the victims, their families and friends, and all of the Northern Illinois University community in your thoughts and prayers. I cannot tell you how much we appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from around the world. Every little bit helps. We will survive, we will persevere, but our lives and my life will never be quite the same. National and international attention is something a university always seeks, but receiving it in this way is so very sad and troubling. Thanks for listening.

[drakethib]

Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with all who are going through this tragedy

[disynut]

I've been "out of the loop" on this story as we've had circumstances of no power, then a sick child, but I did see a little on this on MSN last night. What a sad, tragic event. May God Bless You and Keep You~:grouphug:

Jen

[CarolAnnC]

Glad to hear you were in your other office and away from the area where the direct shooting took place.

My DD who is a student at another university, had received information almost instantaneously of this horrific event. I spoke to her on the phone before it even hit the news sources.

Unfortunately, one of her roomate's ex-boyfriend's sister was a victim of the shooting. Very sad and our hearts and prayers go out to all the victims and students and staff at NIU.

Hugs to you Doctor P....

[Sammie]

Our prayers are with you and all the families and students.

[Dean]

Our prayers are with you and all who are affected.

[bobbiwoz]

:grouphug:

I have missed you from these boards. My prayers will be for you as you console and comfort your colleagues and students.

Bobbi:grouphug:

[pixiechick]

Doctor P: While I knew you were a professor, I never attached a school with you. As a member of your DVC family, you are definitely in our thoughts and prayers right now. As you can imagine, others in the NIU community were already there. :grouphug:

[sajetto]

Doctor P, my prayers are with you, the students, and the families of everyone affected by this horrible event. God bless all of you during this tragic time.

[BigMama]

SAYING PRAYERS FOR ALL,SO SORRY,STAY STRONG :grouphug:

[Sandy321]

Dr P - know that you and the students and families and friends touched by this unfathomable horrific horror are in our thoughts and prayers. We live in a suburb where many of our boys' friends attended NIU, where my son played Lacrosse against NIU - my boys attend Univ of IL - and we are all shaken by this...my dh's coworkers son was killed in this attack also.

for those that come here to offer their prayers, and give strength in those prayers....

Northern IL is in the midst of a cornfield, it is a small university, the pictures you see on tv, that's it - that's Northern - but to get to Northern, you drive through cornfields, nothing - it is middle America, boring, lame by media standards...

and this happens... here?

The shooter was attending my sons' University - 3 hours drive - its so incomprehensible why this happened, and I dont care why, I care that innocence was lost...

the brave teachers, staff, students are gathering together, and are in the thoughts and prayers of us around this world... May you feel His peace, and begin to heal, may you be able to reach out to those students who come to you, wanting "normalcy" but not knowing what "normal" is anymore... may you be able to give them "normal"

You will touch their lives. and they will remember you for that.

Thank you.

Bless you, and your staff, and friends, and others that are reaching out to give when it is so hard to give.

[DisneyFreaks]

Our local news has covered this horrific event quite extensively. It has saddened my heart since I first heard about it. Please know that you all are in my thoughts and prayers. :grouphug:

[Peepster]

Amen, Sandy321! Well said.

And Doctor P, don't forget to give yourself time to heal also.

[Laurabearz]

(((hugs))) Everyone is in our thoughts and prayers.

[mvc1997]

May God Bless and bring comfort to all the victims of NIU.
Especially to the families who have lost a beloved family member.
Our thoughts & prayers will be with all of you.

[ACDSNY]

Sending prayers your way:grouphug: .

[Saratoga Souris]

Our thoughts and prayers are with you. May God bless and keep you.

[tjkraz]

We'll keep you in mind. God bless.

[javamom]

Hugs and prayers
:hug:

[disneymom8589]

My thoughts and prayers are with you and the community. :grouphug:

[DisDaydreamer]

Anyone is welcome to link to or save.

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n219/arizonaborn/NIU.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n219/arizonaborn/NIU.jpg

[jimmytammy]

We will keep you and the entire N. Illinois family in our prayers.

[jakenjess]

My thoughts and prayers are with you and all who were touched by this horrible tragedy.:grouphug:

[BCV23]

Adding you to our prayers for the entire NIU community, Doctor P.

[gracelrm]

I, too, will keep you in my prayers, along with all the people affected by this tragedy. Doctor P, do not forget to take care of yourself during this difficult time. I know from my own experience that sometimes we concentrate so much on helping others and being the strong one because that is what our job requires, that we don't deal with our own grief and fears. Please remember to take time for yourself and your family.:grouphug:

[Doctor P]

Thanks to all for your support. I have spent the last couple of hours compiling information for the university listing all of the members of my department who interact with students in various roles. They are putting together training and counseling services for all of us and need to have precise lists of who we are and what we do. It is particularly important that they know about students who either serve as teaching assistants or teach their own independent sections since most of that information is maintained at the department rather than the university level. Fortunately, I pretty much maintain all of that information in a form that I can access quickly from almost anywhere so when I was asked to provide this info on short notice it was not too much of a stressor. I am forcing myself to stay in bed and sleep rather than getting up and working in the middle of the night (a normal pattern that has now been exacerbated by restless sleep the last few nights). As a result, I am not feeling too drained right now. I am on edge, but I am being very careful to also think about myself because I know that the worst is probably yet to come for both me and my colleagues both personally and professionally. I haven't yet walked to my office close to the scene. That will be a major step in getting through this and I expect I will go there tomorrow. Thanks again for all the support. It really is helpful and uplifting.

[littlestar]

My prayers are with you. :grouphug:

[btrim]

and prayers. Sandy said it the best. I work at the University of Illinois and just to think that he could have decided to walk into any building on this campus is a mind boggling thought. I know from one of our friends that it is almost impossible to move on when you lose a child. I pray that you are strong and can help the families and students affected by this horrible event start to heal. I also pray for your strength and dedication to the education and well-being of the students you interact with each day.

Bless you,
Binnie

[wildernessDad]

Our sympathies go out to you and NIU. You will find the strength and love to push on.

[CarolMN]

Adding you to our prayers for all impacted by this terrible tragedy.

[Kurby]

what a horrible thing to happen. it was even in our news up here in Toronto.

no one can imagine what goes through survivors minds so please make sure you talk to people and that this tragedy doesn't consume you or anyone else near you.

[Val]

Dr. P.....I am a prof at your sister university, ISU in Normal. I can only imagine what you are going through...I know that I was a little uncomfortable walking into my large lecture class at 9 AM on Friday, and only about 1/3 of my class was there. Our campus was eerily silent and subdued on Friday. Our campus is holding a prayer service for NIU in Redbird Arena on Tuesday- we definitely have you all at NIU in our thoughts and prayers.

Having had a stalker student for several years, I know firsthand how the universities want to look the other way. NIU was, thankfully, quite prepared. Our own ISU, I am afraid, is woefully unprepared. NIU is in a small town, in the middle of a cornfield- and it happened there!! We need to find a way to better identify students with problems- and help them before the violence starts.

I asked my students on Friday if they wanted to talk about what happened. I got the most interesting response. One student told me to just go on, lecture, and make everything the same- because that way they would know that everything was okay. The others agreed, and told me to just act normal. It seems that these kids, and in so many ways they are still kids, just want assurance and normalcy to return to their lives. I only pray that it can and will.

God bless you Dr. P.....but for the grace of God this could have been ISU. Again, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

[JimMIA]

You, your family, and the entire NIU community are in our prayers.

[MrsNick]

I will pray for you, your loved ones and community.

[AnnaS]

You will all be in our thoughts and prayers.

[mr. figment]

You and those affected will be in our thoughts and prayers.

[gk90]

Sending prayers and good thoughts to you and the NIU community. :grouphug: I teach in a community college and can only imagine how you must feel.

[SaratogaShan]

Doctor P,

My prayers go out to you and all who were touched by this tragedy.

I am a nurse practitioner at Georgia Tech, in student health services. After the shootings at our sister ACC school, Virginia Tech, there is not a day that goes by that I don't think "what if" kind of thoughts.

I don't ever want to witness the things that you have seen.

Take care of yourself. May your heart heal in time.

Shan :hug:

[disneynutt1225]

I will keep you, your family, and all others affected by this tragedy in my thoughts and prayers. Remember to take some time for yourself as well - you need to heal too.

[disney dumbo]

My prayers go out to you all!

[Cruelladeville]

Doctor P--My thoughts and prayers are with you.:grouphug: Your job will be quite difficult for the next few weeks.

I want to commend you and NIU for being prepared. My daughter takes a psychology class at your university, and I was scared to death about her safety, even though I knew that she was working several miles away when all this took place. Thanks to all of you and your message to your students to CALL HOME, I got a phone call from DD. She was amazed that I was so scared for her, no matter how illogical. Thank you for communicating immediately with your student body--I am convinced you all saved many lives.:hug:

[JimMIA]

just bumping because I think a lot of folks probably missed this on a holiday weekend.

[Nikisha421]

so sad and so tragic to hear about some of the events that are taking place in our country.

[tksbaskets]

I will keep you and your community in my prayers. May God give you strength at this time and help you guide and council the student in your care.

TK

[El&Asmom]

My thoughts and prayers are with you, the NIU community, and the families of the victims.

We are in the Chicago burbs, and it feels so close. I heard on the radio on my way to work about the shootings that night, and all they said was that one person was injured and was on the way to the hospital. My heart sank thinking thank God no one was seriously hurt. As the reports started coming in, it became horrifically tragic.
These shootings are always beyond comprehension, but for some reason this one struck me deeper than most. Maybe because of the proximity, hearing about kids who died from our surrounding towns. Maybe it's because I'm a mother, and I can't stop thinking about the tragedy these parents are going through. Either way, something needs to be done to stop these senseless killings. Our government needs to start worrying about what is going on at home and pass tougher gun control legislation. We can't continue to allow our children to die at the hands of these criminals.

[welovewdw]

Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Our 19 yo dd is now a sophomore at Virginia Tech but was a freshman there when the shootings occurred - she had classes in the classrooms where the tragedy occured but on different days. I have great sympathy for what you're going through -

Kim

[alldiz]

Many prayers for you, your family and the entire school:grouphug:

what an awful thing to go through
Kerri

[dianeschlicht]

Our prayers are with everyone caught up in this impossible situation. THANK GOD you were in your other office!

[Plutofan]

Our prayers are with you and your community.

[BCV23]

Continuing prayers as you and your colleagues return to work today, Doctor P. I hope you're doing OK.

[jejojual]

Our thoughts and prayers are with you, the faculty and administration, the first responders and the community as a whole. We will pray for strength and healing in the days ahead.

[BCV23]

Speaking of those first responders, they were incredibly fast. 29 seconds after the first 911 call. I'm sure it is very hard for them to deal with their memories.:sad1:

[Luigi's Girl]

:grouphug: So sorry you had to go through this. God Bless :grouphug:

[spiceycat]

thank you for telling us the situation.

so sorry your once security and safe place is no longer either.

as Diane says - thank goodness you were not in that area.:hug: :grouphug: pixiedust: :sunny:

[RLRDA]

Sending thoughts and prayers your way!

[kimberh]

DoctorP
I will pray for your family and the school.:grouphug: I am so sorry this has happened!

[Sandy321]

adding continued thoughts and prayers.

I know that teachers, staff, professors are getting together today, and the Virginia Tech 'family' has reached out, and has come to NIU to offer support, and any help they can in dealing with the aftermath... may God bless and send His peace...

[bcvdreamer]

:grouphug:

You will be in our prayers.

[Doctor P]

Thanks again for all the support. As I write this, I am sitting in my office about twenty five yards from the scene. I have been in this office most of the past two days. Amazingly, if you did not know this tragedy occurred next door you would see no outward signs. The building is unblemished on the outside, the glass is all repaired, there are no visible signs from the numerous victims. Just very quiet and sedate.

Things in the office today have been very quiet and sedate. I made sure I got to the office before any secretaries arrived this morning and left my hallway door open for students, colleagues, and others to wander in if they wished. I talked with each of the secretaries individually to make sure they knew I was concerned with how they were doing and asked them about how much they witnessed. None of them said that they had heard any of the shots fired (something I had feared since we are so very close to where he started shooting). They did see many of the victims, including some of the seriously injured, before help arrived. That seemed very sobering, though at the time they said they could not believe their eyes.

In any case, we are beginning to recover a bit. It was terribly unsettling today to have the campus crawling with news media. They are just doing their jobs, but it is quite intrusive and makes make private moments very public. Fortunately, I visited a couple of the shrines and the (outside) of the building this morning and had my private moments with news media there but not yet set up to capture me paying my respects.

Our dean stopped by our offices this morning and was very comforting to our staff. That was very thoughtful and helpful.

We have much work yet to do, but students are beginning to trickle back and the campus seems more normal with each passing hour. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers.

[JimC]

We will keep you, your family and your extended university community in our thoughts and prayers.

[r3ngels]

Thoughts and prayers are with you and all the families, faculty and administration :grouphug:

[loribell]

Just wanted to let you know you & your community are in my thoughts & prayers. God bless you all.

[SueM in MN]

:grouphug:

[eva]

Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your entire community there at Northern Illinois. We were so truly shocked when we saw it on the news.

[Caskbill]

While this thread is not specific to DVC, we do agree it is relevant to the DVC members who use this board. Therefore the moderators have decided to allow this thread to remain here on this board until the weekend, and then will move it to the Coping/Compassion board. At that time we will leave a link here on this board so that everyone can still find the thread.

Meanwhile, feel free to post your comments regarding this tragic event.

Thanks for understanding.

The DVC-Boards moderators

[Chellymouse]

please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.