Boston Marathon Survivor Provides College Amputee With Prosthetic Leg, Toes And All
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork)-- A Rhode Island woman who lost her left leg after being severely wounded in the Boston Marathon bombings started a foundation to provide prosthetic limbs to other amputees.
Heather Abbott came to Long Island to make one young lady's fashionable summer dreams come true, CBS2's Alice Gainer reported.
Abbott enthusiastically delivered the one-of-a-kind prosthetic limb that 21-year-old Savannah Booth said will now truly give her a leg up in life.
"It's super. It's almost scary to look down and be able to see all ten toes and painted toenails. Now, I can go get a pedicure and do whatever I want to do," Booth said.
The North Carolina college student couldn't stop testing out her new completely lifelike limb that was created for her inside a Hicksville prosthetics lab. Skilled technicians literally painted on a silicon based skin that was then fitted over titanium artificial limbs.
"She basically learned how to walk as an infant with a prosthetic," Truett Booth, the recipient's father, said.
Her previous prosthetic limb had no toe definition. Booth's parents said their daughter's right leg had to be amputated shortly after birth because of a bone defect and she's had 18 different artificial limbs since.
A typical prosthetic that insurance covers comes with no toe definition since insurers consider that cosmetic.
"She wanted a leg that looked real, that she could wear flip-flops with and not have people notice that," Abbott said.
Abbott totally understood where the 21-year-old was coming from. After losing her left leg to the Boston bombings, she struggled to find a prosthetic she could wear high heels with.
Abbott presented Savannah Booth with some very fashionable sandals meant to complete her dream of proudly walking the boardwalk this summer in her hometown of Wilmington.
"I can look down now. Nobody will be staring at my feet, it looks amazing," Savannah Booth said.
Adding a boost of confidence, the college student said she will proudly step out to launch a long-planned marketing career.