I imagine we are going to hear and see some amazing stories of those who survived the Boston Marathon Bombs. This woman took my breath, and my words.
Some of the conversation:
Marine One (Who also lost his legs): "You wonder -- 'What’s my life going to be like? Am I going to be, you know, dependent instead of independent?"
Celeste: "Yeah, I can’t do anything right now." (crying)
Marine One: "Right now, yes. But I’m telling you with all my heart you are going to be more independent."
Celeste: "I’m so glad to see you. I can’t believe it’s the same." (camera shows his two leg prosthesis)
Marine One: "Just so you know… This is a new beginning. There are so many opportunities going to come your way ...and support. Clearly you have a support system. That’s huge. You gotta have that positive attitude to pull through. You know this is a start. You have your daughter to go through this with you which is a huge blessing in disguise. This isn’t the end, this is the beginning."
Marine Two: (Hugging Celeste and pointing To Marine One): "Gabe here, he’s moving right in there. He’d doing the Paralympics. And you might want to do that one-day."
Celeste: "Well, you know what? (Cheering up a bit) My sister... I don’t know if you’ve heard anything about our story... My sister did her first Boston marathon, this marathon. I've ... lived in this area my whole life. I’ve have always watched the marathon. I’ve never actually come to the marathon to watch it. I was so proud of her. She wasn’t a born runner like some people are. She worked so hard to do it. And I was so proud to be there to cheer her on.
She didn’t actually get to finish the race because of the bomb and everything. So after…Her eleven-year son said, 'Mommy are you going to run the race again next year for Auntie Cel?' (Fighting tears) and she (her sister) said, 'Yes.'
I've always joked around... I’m not super athletic, (smiling big now) I like to work out and stuff, but running was never my thing, because I always used to get horrible shin splints... 'So I was like, 'Hey! I have no shins anymore. (Laughing) I won’t be getting shin splints. I can do this!'"