Boston Bombing Survivor Readies For Testimony

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Rebekah Gregory-DiMartino got something new yesterday.

REBEKAH GREGORY-DIMARTINO: So I woke up this morning and I thought it was a dream. I had to actually look at it and say oh, my gosh, like, I just got to take that home yesterday.

BLOCK: What she took home is a new leg. DiMartino was gravely injured in the Boston Marathon bombings. She was standing near the finish line with her boyfriend - now husband - and her young son. She had 17 surgeries to try to save her left leg. Then this past November doctors amputated it below the knee. Now she's beginning the new year by learning to walk with her prosthetic.

GREGORY-DIMARTINO: When I put it on it hurt like heck and I know that it's going to be a lot to get used to. It was kind of a big reality moment for me that this is what I'm going to be doing with the rest of my life, but it's also a huge blessing to be able to be at this point and move on.

BLOCK: Just as she looks forward to moving on, Rebekah Gregory-DiMartino faces the start of the trial for the accused bomber, Jahar Tsarnaev. Jury selection began on Monday. We asked her about that today when we reached her at her home outside Houston.

GREGORY-DIMARTINO: This week has been really hard. I have a lot of sadness in my heart right now. I just - my heart goes out to the survivors and the families that have to deal with the loss of their loved ones and it's just - I can't even imagine what people are going through because I know what we go through on a regular basis. And it's just a part of us now. And my prayers and my thoughts are with everybody that's affected, everyone that has to testify, and the people that are sitting on the jury because I can't imagine having to make such a huge decision.

BLOCK: I was struck, Rebekah, by something you wrote on your Facebook page this week. Normalcy, you said, is another piece of us permanently left on Boylston Street.

GREGORY-DIMARTINO: Yes, and that's how I feel. You know, Boylston Street is such a big part of our lives now. And there was so much left there that day. And there's a part of us that's always going to be there. Physically, my bones were laying next to me on the sidewalk, and, emotionally, I left my sense of peace and security. And now the only choice that we have is just to try to make the best of everything and not let us be weak and instead be, you know, the popular phrase Boston strong.

BLOCK: How much do you think you'll be following the trial?

GREGORY-DIMARTINO: I actually have to testify in the trial and originally I wasn't going to follow along at all. But the more I think about it and the more I kind of have reflected, I do want to follow along because I think maybe it will give me another piece of some closure. I don't know how much closure we would ever have from this, but at least I know after this trial is over that it's another point of which everyone can move on.

BLOCK: Now, you were very close to the first bomb that went off near the finish line.

GREGORY-DIMARTINO: I was. Originally, I thought that I was 10 to 15 feet away and I recently found out that I was about three feet away. So it was incredible to think about and, you know, one of the young ladies that unfortunately died that day, I watched her take her last breath. And that's what keeps me up at night and that's where the nightmares come from. And I just - I wonder every day, you know, why I was the one spared and other people had to die and have much more severe injuries than I did because I'm really in the best possible situation. Yes, I lost my leg, but I can move forward from here and technology is so amazing and I just feel like there's so much worse that could happen, and I feel very, very blessed.

BLOCK: Rebekah, the prosecutors asked you if you saw anything before the bombing that day, saw the suspect, saw a backpack, anything like that.

GREGORY-DIMARTINO: I have - did not see anything that day. Up until then I was not very observant of my surroundings. Now, that has changed definitely, but I had my 5-year-old son with me and I was just worried about him getting lost in the crowd. And the craziest part about that experience is when the bombs went off he was sitting on my feet because I had told him, you know, just to sit down and play in the rocks 'cause he had gotten bored watching all the runners pass. And they said that my body acted as a human shield for him and I took everything in the back of the legs so that he could be saved and had he been standing up the way that he was supposed to be he would've died instantly. So anytime that I think about feeling sorry for myself or just thinking about how bad things are I just feel so silly because my son is here and he's fine and he's running around like normal. And I just - I'm so thankful for that.

BLOCK: This is, of course, a capital case. What are your thoughts about the death penalty here?

GREGORY-DIMARTINO: It's hard to really answer where my head is on the death penalty. I believe that people should be held accountable for what they do. And this is just absolutely the most unimaginable thing that you can possibly think of. I mean, I don't know how people have that much hatred and sickness in their hearts to want to hurt people so bad. So I do believe that, you know, justice should be served. But it really doesn't matter what happens at this point because there's nothing that can help what's happened or erase things or make it better because it's never going to be better.

BLOCK: I read this, Rebekah, and tell me if it's true, that you have plans to run not just one marathon, but more than one marathon this year.

GREGORY-DIMARTINO: (Laughter).

BLOCK: With your new leg, including in Boston.

GREGORY-DIMARTINO: Yeah, I'm officially crazy. My friend and trainer he told me - he said now, I'm going to try to get you prepared for Boston, but you're cutting it a little close with the Italy marathon. I'm going to be a keynote speaker for a marathon in Italy in March, and then my biggest goal and what I am going to do is everyone is going to see me running the Boston Marathon. I've never been a runner before. I ran a half marathon a couple of years ago and I wanted to die. Like, it was awful. I hated every minute of it (laughter) but I also didn't train properly for it. And I just didn't understand how people could do this for fun, but it's just something that I have to do. I have to do it for me. I have to show people that this is not going to defeat me. This is going to make me stronger. And I've been given such a platform to help others through their struggles, and I just really want to do my part in changing the world.

BLOCK: Well, Rebekah, all the best to you and thank you so much for talking with us.

GREGORY-DIMARTINO: Thank you. It was a pleasure. Thank you so much.

BLOCK: Rebekah Gregory-DiMartino survived the marathon bombings in Boston and she expects to testify at the trial of Jahar Tsarnaev. She just got her prosthetic leg yesterday and celebrated with a Facebook post written like a birth announcement. She wrote (reading) after what seemed like the most excruciating labor and much anticipation I am pleased to announce the arrival of my new edition at 1:06 p.m. today. Meet Felicia - four pounds, eight ounces, 18 inches long and absolutely beautiful. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.