Ten years after the Boston Marathon bombings, one of the people seriously injured in the blasts is sharing her story of healing.
7NEWS’ Adam Williams recently spoke with Rebekah Gregory and her husband about how their family has made it a mission to help others overcome trauma.
“I remember I was in a pool of my own blood,” Gregory said. “There were nails, ball bearings, everything those brothers packed into those pressure cooker bombs. That was so much to be able to get past.”
Gregory, who lost a leg in the bombing, transformed the pain and trauma of the loss into the driving force of her life.
“It goes back to the minute that I was waking up from a medically induced coma, knowing that I shouldn’t even have been alive,” she said. “It was just that moment of gratitude for, not only being here, but for my son being here and I just think that as long as we’re breathing, there is a purpose in that, a bigger purpose.”
Gregory shielded her five-year-old son, Noah, from physical injuries that day. Still, both Rebekah and her son continue to suffer.
“It’s still very present,” Rebekah said.
Rebekah was asked about how she gets through the trauma and finds support.
“This huge, horrible tragedy happened and we saw evil at its finest,” she said. “I mean, of course, that day was a war scene. But what we concentrate on and what we try to help our kids to focus on is the good of that day.”
Rebekah continues to focus on the good, starting Rebekah’s Angels in 2018.
The organization helps provide mental health treatment to children and families experiencing trauma.
“Everyone concentrates on the physical part of it — the surgeries that we’ve had, the loss of limbs — but nothing compares to the emotional aftermath that you really have to wrap your head around after you’ve experienced something like this,” Rebekah said.
Rebekah credits her treatment and therapy for helping her complete her first Boston Marathon in 2015.
This year, she’ll be cheering on her husband, Chris, as he runs the race.
“It’s hard not to get emotional thinking about it and the memories that it’s going to create for our family in the moment,” Chris said
Rebekah said she can’t wait to stand up and hug Chris at the finish line.
College sweethearts, Chris said Rebekah has always been the inspiring person she is today.
“She really does smile,” he said. “I know she smiles through a lot of pain as well, but that’s just who she is.”
Ultimately, Rebekah and Chris said no storm is too great to not see the sunshine at the end.
“As long as we have that beat in our chest and air in our lungs, there is a reason we are here,” Rebekah said.
“We would never be where we are today without the love and support that we’ve seen in the last 10 years,” she continued. “And that’s why I believe there’s more good in the world than bad.”
Learn more about the Rebekah’s Angels charitable foundation and see options to donate here.
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