Boston Marathon bombing survivor bids farewell to leg before amputation
A Boston Marathon bombing survivor had her left leg amputated on Monday — after bidding farewell to the limb during a heartwarming party.
Rebekah DiMartino, 27, of Richmond, Texas, was one of the more than 260 people injured on April 15, 2013, when bombs were detonated near the race’s finishing line.
The mother and newlywed treated her leg to a pedicure and held a “last supper” party for it over the weekend before going under the knife.
“I'm sure it won't come as a shock to you when I say that we've grown apart. The love that we once had has dwindled, and this relationship has become a real burden on my life,” she wrote in an open letter to the damaged limb on Facebook.
DiMartino, formerly Gregory, underwent 17 surgeries to try to save her leg before finally deciding to part ways with it, according to NBC News.
The news site reports that the operation at Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital outside Houston was a resounding success.
This was confirmed by DiMartino’s deluge of positive posts on social media from her hospital bed.
In one picture, the brave young woman beamed as she gave a thumbs-up from her hospital bed surrounded by loved ones, with the playful caption, “Hasta La Vista lefty!!”
DiMartino assured her many supporters that, though she may shed a few tears, Monday was not a sad day — it was a new beginning.
“So instead of concentrating all your prayers on me,” she wrote in an open message to her followers, “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.”
And she did not sign the message with her married or maiden name but with a new surname altogether — “Rebekah Unleashed” — suggesting that she won’t let this roadblock slow her down one bit.
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