'My experience of tragedy on 9/11 gave me a second family'

ByHayley Coyle

Reporting fromBaildon

"It was a bid of sliding doors moments that led america to each different and from thing truthful tragic, came an enduring, peculiar friendship."

On 11 September 2001, Louise Rayner was surviving with the Lawrence household successful Summit, New Jersey. Then successful her mid-20s, she was moving arsenic a nanny for Bob and Suzanne Lawrence's 2 children.

Louise was a photography pupil from Bradford, but ended up forming a lifelong enslaved with the Lawrences aft Bob, 41, was killed successful the attacks connected the World Trade Center, conscionable 1 time aft starting a caller occupation connected the 104th level of the South Tower.

She ended up staying with the Lawrences for a further 2 and a fractional years to assistance successful the aftermath of the atrocity and they stay adjacent today.

On the 25th day of the attacks, Louise, 52, told the BBC however 9/11 changed the "whole absorption of my life" and gave her a 2nd location successful the US.

She met the Lawrence household by accidental - she changed her archetypal formation to the US by 2 weeks and connected the level met different au brace who introduced her to Bob, Suzanne and their children Bobby and Toland.

The mates sponsored Louise to survey portion moving arsenic their nanny.

"Toland was astir 8 and Bobby was six - I got connected truly good with them and they were truly cute and lovely.

"A batch of Bob's household lived successful Summit, truthful determination was loads of cousins and it ne'er felt similar a job."

On the time of the attacks, Suzanne was moving distant and Bob had near aboriginal that greeting to get a assistance into New York, wherever helium worked for an concern slope successful the South Tower.

"I had taken the kids to schoolhouse and hadn't seen Bob arsenic helium near truthful aboriginal and I went backmost to furniture - and I retrieve the landline went and started ringing and ringing.

"It was a nanny person who lived 2 towns implicit and she said, 'are you watching the news?'," Louse recalled.

"It had been specified a beautiful, cleanable greeting with wide skies and what unfolded was truthful surreal.

"We were watching it unneurotic unrecorded and I was talking to her arsenic the 2nd level hit.

"And past my mobile started to ring."

Louise said that immoderate of Bob's household did not adjacent cognize helium had taken a caller occupation astatine the World Trade Center and Suzanne, who was successful different state, could not alert location arsenic craft were grounded, truthful it was her who had to prime the children up from school.

For weeks, Louise said determination was tons of "clinging to hope" astir missing radical being recovered but it was understood that anyone connected oregon supra the 77th level of the South Tower had died.

The level struck the gathering betwixt the 78th and 84th floors.

"And of course, nary 1 expected the towers to fall; the skyline, it was similar a kid losing its bony - it was conscionable truthful stark to spot it.

"Everyone was presumed dead.

"I tried to conscionable beryllium a unchangeable beingness for the children - but I don't deliberation it was officially confirmed for a agelong clip that Bob had died," she added.

What followed for Louise was a feeling of "tiptoeing done idiosyncratic else's grief" arsenic the household navigated the nonaccomplishment of Bob, who she described arsenic "bigger than life" and an "incredible household man". He was a keen jock who loved tennis and hockey.

"But I wasn't going anywhere. I didn't adjacent request to accidental it - Suzanne and the household needed me," Louise added.

Suzanne, who worked successful finance, had to instrumentality to enactment soon after so for 2 and a fractional years Louise helped with the cooking, cleaning and homework and kept Bob's household informed astir the children.

"I conscionable knew that they were grateful for that", she said.

Louise near New Jersey successful 2003 owed to her visa expiring and adjacent though determination are much than 3,000 miles betwixt her location successful the colony of Baildon and New York, her relationship with the Lawrences was cemented.

Suzanne, who is "so beardown but not overly sentimental", sent her an engraved miniature representation framework retired of the bluish years aboriginal simply thanking Louise for being determination erstwhile she was needed.

She is particularly adjacent to Toland, present successful her 30s, a manager and quality plan specializer who is "very cosmic".

"She says to maine 'you were meant to beryllium there, it wasn't conscionable anybody...it was you that was meant to beryllium determination you were sent to help'.

"She is close - if I had gone connected that archetypal formation I would ne'er person met the miss who introduced me, truthful there's each these ripples, each these similar sliding doors moments that led america to that and I truthful consciousness truthful adjacent to them adjacent now," Louise added.

Suzanne, Bob and Toland person been to Bradford and Toland was adjacent Louise's bridesmaid erstwhile she married.

Toland said the "love and care" Louise showed her household changed the people of her beingness for the better.

Louise's ain 3 children, aged 19, 17 and 14, besides met the Lawrences successful New York, which was "two worlds coming together".

Louise said that experiencing thing truthful catastrophic astir archetypal manus has altered the mode she sees the world.

"9/11 perfectly changed the people of my life, it gave maine these friendships with the household with 2 adjacent friends who were determination with maine erstwhile it happened, we stock it.

"So overmuch kindness came retired of it, specified a crisp opposition to what happened.

"I've got this household successful New Jersey that wouldn't person happened if it wasn't for 9/11."

Toland added: "Her kindness and patience during those years is simply a assets I transportation with maine ever and I'm truthful gladsome she is simply a portion of my life."