Marathon Bombing Survivor Foxtrots Across Finish Line
BOSTON (CBS) – Marathon Bombing survivor Adrienne Haslet-Davis took a huge step in her recovery Tuesday, she danced across the marathon finish line on Boylston street.
Haslet-Davis is a professional ballroom dancer who lost her left leg in the bombings, she danced the Foxtrot with her partner Shane Crellin in front of a crowd of friends, family, and supporters.
"Just returning to the finish line is emotional and difficult but I'm so incredibly thankful to have a new memory here, a great memory," Haslet-Davis said.
She was standing near where the second bomb exploded in 2013. She testified last week at the Tsarnaev trial that she thought she was dead because she couldn't hear herself scream.
Tuesday morning Haslet-Davis wore a sparkly evening gown, high heels, and a smile. Just looking at her you'd never know she had a prosthetic leg, you'd also never know she's still in pain.
"PTSD is real, depression is real, and a lot of survivors in the survivor community are dealing with that. You saw me when I was first walking towards Shane and a car backfired and I jumped and I was like okay take two," Haslet-Davis said.
"Some people have scars on the outside, some on the inside. To see her go through that, I draw strength from that," Brian Walker said.
Walker was on Boylston street taking pictures during the bombings, he came Tuesday to watch Adrienne dance and take pictures once again.
"She's such a positive person, you can't help but smile and get excited when you're near her, I just expressed that to her," Walker said.
The dance was part of a commercial for Oberto beef jerky. The company is focusing on healing heroes. The hope is that stories like this will inspire others to take the necessary steps on their own journey towards self-improvement. The commercials will begin airing this summer.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Doug Cope reports