Dear Readers,

At MD+DI, we don't normally venture outside of the medical device world. You should know I might ramble on, but in thinking about the 10 year anniversary of the fall of the World Trade Center, I want to stop for a moment to reflect on how my personal world has changed and how I plan to commemorate this coming Sunday.

My first thought is that this is a time to be grateful. I'm thankful that my strong support system, family and friends, are here to help me remember. I'm grateful that I get to serve the medical device industry. I've grown to love its people, its ideals, and its leadership in creating jobs and driving technology in the United States. And to be honest, I don't know if I would have ever landed here without the events of September 11, 2001.

In 2001, I was at the Natural Products Association, working in communications. Because of the economic dive after the terrorist attacked (ha...we called that a recession) I Iost my job. Just few years later, I got a call from Canon Communications to interview for an associate editor position. I had a love for technology, and I knew a bit about FDA and policy, very little about engineering, and basically nothing about business.

Now, I look around and I see myself surrounded with talented people, serving an industry that, on a daily basis, thinks about more than the bottom line.

BIll Weldon of J&J shared a message with his employees about 9/11 memorial plans. I thought his sentiments were quite beautiful. 

As to what I'm doing this weekend: I plan to take a drive out to the Ronald Reagan Library. I want to be with people. Strangers, friends, musicians, children. I want to reflect on what has changed, what we have lost, and how much we still have. 

To you and your family, from MD+DI and UBM Canon.

—Heather Thompson