Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor Will 'Dance' Across the Finish Line Again
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Adrianne Haslet-Davis, a leg amputee and Boston Marathon bombing survivor, hit another inspirational milestone on Monday.
She finished the Boston Marathon with her team #AdrianneStrong for charity. She told The Huffington Post that this would be her year. “[I said to myself], ‘I think this is the year that I’m going to do this.’"
Haslet-Davis crossed the finish line with 26.2 miles behind her from one of the toughest major marathons in the world. ESPN snagged this picture of her as she started the race.
In 2013, two bombs went off near the Boston Marathon finish line and one of them was next to Haslet-Davis. The pressure cooker bomb tore through the ballroom dancer's foot and ankle, and seriously injured her husband. He had just returned home from serving with the Air Force in Afghanistan. Three people were killed and hundreds were injured that day in the terror attack.
At the hospital, Haslet-Davis became one of 17 bombing survivors to lose a limb that day, but that was only the beginning of her amazing story.
Less than a year after becoming an amputee. Haslet-Davis literally ballroom danced across the finish line of the Boston Marathon in a show of resilience and strength.
In 2014, her brothers finished the Boston Marathon, and Haslet-Davis walked across the finish line with them. This year it's her turn.
Haslet-Davis began training with a new running blade this past fall. She told The Huffington Post that when she got the running blade she promised herself she would run, but didn't expect to be in the Boston Marathon.
“[When I first started] learning how to use the blade, I made a pact with myself that I would at least try to run,” Haslet-Davis said. “I [thought], ‘Gosh, this blade is so difficult to use,’ so I decided to make it a challenge that I would overcome.”
Soon after her trial runs, Haslet-Davis made the commitment to run the Boston Marathon in 2016. Twitter is giving her support with the hashtag #AdrianneStrong, which is the name of her marathon team.
Haslet-Davis isn't just running for herself. She's raising money for Limbs for Life, an Oklahoma City based organization that helps amputees get prosthetic limbs. About 150,000 Americans become amputees each year, according to the organization.
Seeing Adrianne Haslet-Davis do something so inspirational is important for amputees everywhere, according to Greg Reynolds from the Wounded Amputee Softball Team. The team plays able-bodied teams across the country. Reynolds told ATTN: that he lost his arm in a motorcycle accident near his home in Massachusetts. Reynolds is second from the left.
Greg Reynolds
"When you see somebody like her going after the marathon, it's pretty cool in a lot of ways," he said. "I like seeing that stuff. It's always great to see somebody push themselves."
Reynolds would know. He completed the 26.2 mile Bataan Memorial Death March last month in New Mexico with a team of amputees. "There were over 7,000 people signed up to do it," he said. "I never did a marathon or anything before and most of it is in the desert where it is very sandy or rocky."
Greg Reynolds
He's going to be heading out to Charleston, South Carolina this week to teach amputee youth how to play softball.
Think about that the next time you can't find the motivation to hit the gym.
