Boston bombing victim throws leg party before amputation

Rebekah DiMartino faces the tragedy with sparkling humour and a great attitude.

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by Megan Sirisena |
Published on

19 months ago, Rebekah DiMartino was at the finishing line of the Boston Marathon. At 2:49pm, two pressure cooker bombs exploded, killing 3 people and leaving her amongst the 270 with serious injuries.

It has been an endurance of pain for Rebekah since then, nursing a leg that is effectively useless. She has had 17 operation to no avail and now she's just had enough.

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‘I told people that my leg hasn’t been my leg since the bomb happened. It may still be attached, but it isn’t mine,’ she said.

So on the 10th of November, Rebekah entered the Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital near Houston, Texas and had her leg amputated. But not before she celebrated its going away in every way possible.

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The 27 year old posted a long 'break-up' note to her leg on Facebook. She took a picture of the offending limb, the words 'It's not you, it's me' scrawled boldly in black. And finally, on Sunday night before the operation, threw 'a left leg last supper'.

A heartfelt goodbye to her left leg.

"The fact that I was given a second chance at life that day is something that I will never again take for granted,' said DiMartino speaking to NBC. "If I have to lose my leg in that process, so be it, because I'm still here."

For Rebekah, who has been confined to either bedrest or a wheelchair, losing her leg will be a relief.

"I am relieved to know that this is a step forward, when I have been in limbo for so long... I am relieved that I will FINALLY be able to start the process of a FULL recovery"

Gone but never forgotten, Rebekah commemorates losing her limb.

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Rebekah is so upbeat about her new life that she's even decided to compete in next year's Boston Marathon. Doctors, however, she'll have to hold off any training for the first 3 months first.

Her Dr. Bill McGarvey praised Rebekah's attitude saying: "I think that with that kind of attitude and drive that she'll actually do very, very well. If we can get rid of the pain for her, I have no doubt that she's going to be successful."

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