Boston Marathon survivor moves past bombing & lost leg - by her faith 'in the Lord'
HOUSTON, Texas (Christian Examiner) -- Monday, Nov. 10, Rebekah Gregory DiMartino, bombing survivor of the 2013 Boston Marathon, completed a deal she made with God. After 17 surgeries and countless days of pain, she underwent a final procedure to amputate her left leg and move on with her life "unleashed."
The 27 year-old spent the last 18 months trying to save her left leg from the severe injuries she sustained when two brothers, Muslims of Chechen descent, detonated homemade explosives near the finish line.
But after a year and a half of living in the wake of that April day, she finally let go of her injured limb.
Her plea to God was not a vain appeal. DiMartino is a Christian who says her faith "in the Lord" is what helped her survive the bombing and its aftermath.
In an interview right after the bombing, she said she was ready to go if it was her time, but she asked God just to let her know first her son was okay. She late learned her son was saved because her body had absorbed the shrapnel that would have ripped into him.
The weekend before her surgery she addressed her Facebook supporters, "This is a status that I have waited a long time to write. Monday at 12:30 p.m. I will go into surgery and the doctor will finally cut off the one thing that is holding me back."
"Monday is the day that my new life begins," she wrote. "And I am SO excited to see what it holds. God has given me peace beyond all measure and I am going to rock this surgery just like the rest of them."
The days before the surgery were positive and lighthearted for the Texas mom and newlywed. She treated the impending loss of her left leg like a bad break up -- complete with a parting letter on Facebook. She even had a final pedicure and held a "last supper" party.
After the procedure DiMartino spoke as a woman willing in better days ahead, telling ABC News "Watch out! This is Rebekah unleashed!"
She also updated her Facebook supporters, writing, "As I look down I see that my leg is really gone but there is not an ounce of sadness anywhere in my heart," she wrote. "What has been anticipated and stressed about since April 2013 is over and I am moving on to the next chapter."
Yahoo News also reported on another DiMartino post suggesting the amputation was the end of some previously unfinished business.
"Instead of concentrating all your prayers on me, save most of them for my family so that they may have peace. God and I made this deal a long time ago. So I'm good."
Dimartinio is one of more than 260 people injured at the Boston Marathon April 15, 2013. Since her initial recovery she has taken up motivational speaking to share her faith, testimony and inspirational message. She was most recently a guest speaker at Houston's First Baptist Women's retreat in early October.