Even now, more than two decades after the Columbine school shooting, survivor Heather Martin is trying to learn how to take care of herself.
She struggled with her mental health for a decade before seeking professional help. There were dark days and years including intense trauma after the 9/11 attacks. Those struck more than two years after she barricaded herself in a Columbine classroom with 59 other students in 1999.
Martin, 39, heard about the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks over the radio while driving to work. She has blacked out most of what happened next. She only remembers her coworkers at a restaurant asking why she was hiding behind an ice machine.
Surv…
Keep on reading: Still a mess’: Trauma haunts U.S. mass shooting survivors due to gaps in mental healthcare