On Sept. 10, 2015, the eve of the World Trade Center terror attacks' anniversary, Ken Muller collapsed while running a data center for a Connecticut investment firm, stricken with kidney cancer. His brother-in-law, a cop who’d labored “on the pile” clearing debris in the tragedy’s aftermath, recalled that Ken was a 9/11 “civilian,” a Goldman Sachs employee who was working blocks from Ground Zero when the pirated jets pierced the Twin Towers. “One of my first memories after the operation is of my brother-in-law handing me these forms,” says Muller. “He said, ‘You have to join these 9/11 health care and compensation programs.’”
Following the removal of a huge cancerous tumor surrounding his left kidney, and the kidney itself, Muller underwent 54 weeks of chemotherapy. The side effects left him unable to return to a job. But a large cash award for pain and suffering, and guaranteed payments for the costs of treating his condition not covered by his regular insurance, have secured Muller’s financial well-being and assured top care from physicians who currently rate him “cancer-free.” “Now I’ll be around to see my granddaughters as young adults,” declares Muller.
