CBS News/Instagram/Adrianne Haslet Adrianne Haslet is a Boston Marathon bombing survivor who was struck by a car.
Adrianne Haslet is a Boston Marathon bombing survivor who lost part of her leg in the attack. She was hospitalized this week after being hit by a car while crossing the street.
Haslet posted a photo of herself wearing a neck brace in a hospital bed to Instagram, explaining that he had been struck by a car in a crosswalk.
Haslet wrote that she was “thrown into the air and landed, crushing the left side of my body.”
Her injuries require multiple surgeries, she wrote.
Haslet was a spectator at the 2013 Boston Marathon when two bombs went off, killing three people and causing her to lose part of her leg.
She competed in the 2016 Boston Marathon with a prosthesis and was training for this year’s race when she was hit on Saturday.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Adrianne Haslet Survived the Boston Marathon Terrorist Attack
Haslet and her husband, Air Force Capt. Adam Davis, were spectators at the 2013 Boston Marathon when two bombs went off.
“I thought we were fine, until I looked down and realized that my left foot was practically detached. That’s when I started screaming my head off,” Haslet told The Boston Herald after the attack.
Rescuers helped carry her and Adam to safety. Doctors were forced to amputate her leg below the knee.
“I felt the direct impact and it immediately blew off (part of) my left foot,” she later told CNN.
2. Haslet is a Ballroom Dancer Who Was Able to Return Despite Her Injuries
Haslet was a ballroom dancer before the bombing. After her injuries, Haslet vowed to The Boston Herald that the attack would not keep her from dancing again.
“Dancing is my life. Yeah, having my foot blown off, that really sucks. But I can’t wallow in woe is me,” she told the paper. “I can’t let some (expletive) come along and steal my whole life. So, I’ll dance again. And next year, though I’ve never been a runner, yes, I plan to run the marathon.”
A year later, Haslet performed for the first time after the attack at the 2014 TED Conference in Vancouver.
“I was always determined to dance again, and I knew that I had to, that I would, and here I am,” she told CBS News.
She was able to return thanks to Hugh Herr, the director of biomechatronics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Herr, who lost both of his legs in a climbing accident, was able to create a bionic limb that Haslet could dance with even though most prostheses are designed for repetitive motions like walking.
“In 3.5 seconds, the criminals and cowards took Adrianne off the dance floor,” Herr said at the conference. “In 200 days, we put her back.”
“We stopped for a quick second and stood in front of the curtain before we walked out, and I just started bawling,” Haslet told ABC News after her performance. “Before the dance even started, I wasn’t going to let this stop me. When I think I can’t do something, I just tell myself I’m not going to let them win.”
3. Haslet Competed in The 2016 Boston Marathon
Haslet made good on her promise to run in the Boston Marathon as well, completing the race in 2016 despite not being a runner before the attack.
“[When I first started] learning how to use the blade, I made a pact with myself that I would at least try to run,” Haslet told HuffPost. “I [thought], ‘Gosh, this blade is so difficult to use,’ so I decided to make it a challenge that I would overcome.”
Haslet told HuffPost that she is not content to live her life as a victim.
“I believe a victim is defined by what happened in their life, [while] a survivor is defined by how they live their life,” she explained. “And I’d like to be defined by how I live my life.”
“That’s not to say that I don’t recognize what happened — it will forever change me, 100 percent,” she added. “However, I also know that I can and have and will continue to live a long life and my life is what I make of it. I plan on making the most of it not only for myself, but for other amputees as well.”
Her perseverance caught the attention of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
“Two years ago, I was lucky enough to meet Adrianne Haslet, a survivor of the 2013 Marathon bombings,” Brady wrote on Facebook ahead of the 2016 marathon. “She’s on the course now, running the race for the first time — with a prosthetic leg. Adrianne, thank you for being my inspiration! #BostonStrong”
4. Haslet Was Featured on CNN’s ‘The Survivor Diaries’
Haslet’s journey to recovery was profiled by CNN on “The Survivor Diaries.”
“A victim … means that I somehow belong to somebody or I’m suffering because of him and I’m not suffering. I’m thriving,” she told the network. “I am a survivor.”
5. Haslet Says Car Accident Has Left Her ‘Completely Broken’
Haslet was training for this year’s Boston Marathon when she was hit by a car.
“Struck by a car on Commonwealth Avenue, while on a crosswalk,” Haslet wrote on Instagram. “Thrown into the air and landed, crushing the left side of my body. Yesterday. I’m completely broken. More surgery to come.”
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