Discussion with
Boston Marathon
Bombing Survivor
Rebekah Gregory
Q: You are a survivor of the
Boston Marathon bombing.
Can you tell us a little about
that day and how that ex-
perience changed your life?
Rebekah Gregory
22 Solutions
A: On April 15th, 2013 I was
with a group of about nine
people, watching a friend
run in the race. I had never
been to Boston and it was
my 26th birthday weekend.
My son Noah was five at the
time, and had taken the trip
with me. At first, we stopped
at the 17 marker to track our
runner (we had an app on
our phones.) Then someone
decided that we should get
closer to the finish line so
that we could actually see
her cross. Noah had be-
come increasingly bored, as
the day wore on, and I de-
cided to place him on top
of my feet so that he could
sit and play in the “rocks”
until we were ready to
leave. That was where Noah
was when the first bomb off
only about three or so feet
behind us. Later I found out
that decision is what saved
his life. My own body was a
shield for my little boy, and
even though I lost part of my
leg and had numerous oth-
er injuries, if it meant saving
him, I would do it again in
a heartbeat. What we wit-
nessed that day was a true
miracle.
Q: What does your life look
like now? How is your family,
what are you doing, etc?
A: My life is quite different
now in both good ways and
bad. I always say that my
old world was left on Boyl-
ston Street, and it has been
difficult to accept the new
one to say the least. I am