Mum who lost her leg in the Boston Marathon is enduing more surgery on amputated leg
- last year
A mum who lost her leg in the Boston Marathon is enduing more surgery on her amputated leg - as her husband prepares to run the same race.
Rebekah Gregory, 35, was standing less than a metre away from a bomb when it went off during the April 2013 race.
The mum-of-two was spectating with son, Noah, then five, sitting at her feet after he got bored - but says his position "saved his life” and he got just a few cuts.
Rebekah spent over a year on bed rest and endured 27 surgeries before her leg was amputated in November 2014.
She recently had more of her leg removed due to shrapnel still being in her body, and won’t be able to walk until March.
She had hoped to run in the Boston Marathon, in support of her own charity which helps children and families with PTSD after trauma, but will no longer be able to.
Instead, her husband Chris decided he would run in the race and is now in training.
Meanwhile her kids called her "robot mum" thanks for her prosthetic leg.
“My kids will come and watch Chris race,” Rebekah said.
“It’s like we’ve come full circle.”
Rebekah, who said she teaches her children to not live in fear, added: "I want to show people you can have a beautiful life and not let what’s happened to us define it."
Rebekah was watching her friend run in April 2013 when two bombs were set off near the finish line by Dzhokahr Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev – killing three spectators and wounding 260 people.
The public speaker and founder of Rebekah’s Angels, from Tampa, Florida, US, said: “Noah had got bored so I sat him on my feet to play.
“It saved his life.
“My kids call me robot mum.
“The bomb went off in a backpack just 3ft behind me.
“My body shielded Noah where he was sat on my feet.
“I remember my left leg being on fire and I was in a pool of blood.
“It was a war zone – body parts all over the place.
“I’ve had 76 operations and counting but my little boy walked away.
“I traded my leg and health for his life, and I would do it again.
“When I look back on that day, I still see the horror, but I see so much light too from those who helped.
“I’m just grateful to wake up every day.”
Rebekah still vividly remembers a bystander rushing to tie a belt as a tourniquet around her leg.
Rebekah spent 56 days in Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, Boston, Massachusetts, US, and over a year on bed rest.
Doctors attempted to save her limb but after 27 surgeries they decided to amputate.
“By that point my leg was like a bad boyfriend - I’d had enough of,” Rebekah said.
Rebekah received her prosthetic leg in January 2015 and started her new life after tying the knot with husband, Chris Varney, 35, the same year.
She was back walking and running within weeks of getting the prosthetic.
Rebekah Gregory, 35, was standing less than a metre away from a bomb when it went off during the April 2013 race.
The mum-of-two was spectating with son, Noah, then five, sitting at her feet after he got bored - but says his position "saved his life” and he got just a few cuts.
Rebekah spent over a year on bed rest and endured 27 surgeries before her leg was amputated in November 2014.
She recently had more of her leg removed due to shrapnel still being in her body, and won’t be able to walk until March.
She had hoped to run in the Boston Marathon, in support of her own charity which helps children and families with PTSD after trauma, but will no longer be able to.
Instead, her husband Chris decided he would run in the race and is now in training.
Meanwhile her kids called her "robot mum" thanks for her prosthetic leg.
“My kids will come and watch Chris race,” Rebekah said.
“It’s like we’ve come full circle.”
Rebekah, who said she teaches her children to not live in fear, added: "I want to show people you can have a beautiful life and not let what’s happened to us define it."
Rebekah was watching her friend run in April 2013 when two bombs were set off near the finish line by Dzhokahr Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev – killing three spectators and wounding 260 people.
The public speaker and founder of Rebekah’s Angels, from Tampa, Florida, US, said: “Noah had got bored so I sat him on my feet to play.
“It saved his life.
“My kids call me robot mum.
“The bomb went off in a backpack just 3ft behind me.
“My body shielded Noah where he was sat on my feet.
“I remember my left leg being on fire and I was in a pool of blood.
“It was a war zone – body parts all over the place.
“I’ve had 76 operations and counting but my little boy walked away.
“I traded my leg and health for his life, and I would do it again.
“When I look back on that day, I still see the horror, but I see so much light too from those who helped.
“I’m just grateful to wake up every day.”
Rebekah still vividly remembers a bystander rushing to tie a belt as a tourniquet around her leg.
Rebekah spent 56 days in Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, Boston, Massachusetts, US, and over a year on bed rest.
Doctors attempted to save her limb but after 27 surgeries they decided to amputate.
“By that point my leg was like a bad boyfriend - I’d had enough of,” Rebekah said.
Rebekah received her prosthetic leg in January 2015 and started her new life after tying the knot with husband, Chris Varney, 35, the same year.
She was back walking and running within weeks of getting the prosthetic.