BOSTON (WHDH) - Heather Abbott’s life has changed tremendously since the Boston Marathon bombing five years ago, so she’s decided to dedicate her time to helping change other people’s lives.
“Sometimes its hard to believe its been five years and then other times its hard to remember what life was like before,” said Abbott.
Like other survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing, Abbott has had to move forward.
“Things haven’t turned out how I would have expected them to but all-in-all, I think things are good and I’ve done the best with what happened,” explained Abbott.
In 2013, Abbott was cheering on the runners when one of the bombs exploded. She lost a leg.
As the anniversary of the attack approaches, she said her thoughts are with the families of the four victims who were killed by the bombers.
“Their life was changed in a different way. Even though they still have to get on with their lives, they’re missing somebody, and that’s something I think of a lot this time of year,” Abbott said.
Abbott is grateful to the charities that helped her pay for expensive prosthetic limbs. Now, she helps other amputees through the Heather Abbott Foundation.
“There were a lot of people out there that couldn’t do the activities they wanted to do, look the way they wanted to look or just couldn’t afford a prosthetic at all because of the cost. So that’s why I started the foundation,” she said.
Abbott’s “Team Limb-It-Less” raises money every year running in the marathon. She’s always there cheering them on.
“There are many more good people in this world than there are bad. Two people that did this and so many more wanted to help, and that was amazing to me,” Abbott said.
Her foundation has helped about 20 amputees get prosthetic limbs and she said she hopes to expand it.
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